WHY IS THE VIOLENT CRIME RATE UP?

On Feb. 19, the front page of The Gainesville Sun asked the question:
Why is the violent crime rate up? The question should be: Why is the
violent crime rate not higher than it is?

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out; all the answers
were in the article. Among the factors driving crime rates in Florida
(and Alachua County) are education, drugs and politics.

Lack of education provides the foot soldiers that connect the drug
cartels and producers to the "responsible" recreational users. The
state claims a graduation rate of 71 percent, a number inflated by
including those who obtain special diplomas or a GED in the totals.

A high school diploma represents the minimal skills required for
successful participation in the workforce and society. As many as 40
percent of Florida students leaving school are not high school graduates.

We can see where many go by taking a look at the population of
Florida's prisons. In 2006 the median education level of our 88,576
prison inmates was the sixth grade. This number tells an even more
tragic story when held under a magnifying glass.

African-Americans comprise 50 percent of the prison population but
only 16 percent of the state census. Some 32,054 blacks (as opposed
to 18,083 whites) had grade levels so low they could not even qualify
for a GED program. If these percentages hold for the 600,000
disenfranchised felons on the streets of Florida, then there are 68
percent or 408,000 men and women whose GED Prep skills are below the
ninth grade.

The FCAT is part of Florida's plan to increase student achievement by
implementing higher standards. Florida's idea of implementing higher
standards is to set the minimal bar for a high school education at 10th grade.

About 24 percent of new inmates are 24 years of age or less. The
conclusion is clear: Florida schools are providing inmates for
Florida's prison industry.

The Florida prison industry provides a post graduate education in
higher levels of criminology. "Getting tough on crime" sets the
atmosphere and Florida prison's provides the physical structures.

If we mark 1988 as the start of getting tough on crime we will see
that 1987 had a recidivism rate of 35 percent. Recidivism for the
last five years has hovered at 48 percent.

The crime wave is fueled by the drug trade. Drugs are big business in
both Florida and in Gainesville. You have only to examine court
records if there is any doubt.

You would think that in over 30 years the war on drugs would have
made some gains. But drugs are more potent and just as easy to get.
Why is this so?

The answer is clear. It is not in the best interest of the powers
that be to end the war. Both the political and the criminal justice
communities depend on this war for their survival and growth.

The political gold of the war on drugs comes in two forms. One is
campaign contributions and the other is votes. We only need to look
to the last election campaign for governor as a case in point. The
Florida Police Benevolent reports donations of more than $2 million,
with heavy backing to the Republican gubernatorial nominee.

This is an association that represents 34,000 law enforcement and
corrections officers. Then there is the Department of Corrections
(DOC) with a staff of over 26,083 employees who work the prisons of
the state, where 60 percent of the inmates are incarcerated for drug
related or drug incited crimes.

Upon assumption to office, an important agenda item for our new
governor is the anti-murder bill and a special appropriation of $122
million in prison construction which will require an additional 300
or so new corrections officers. Florida's prison population is now
expected to crest 100,000 inmates in the next few years.

Everyone is focused on the symptoms and not the problem. The problem
is education and resolving the war on drugs instead of exploiting it.

The first step is a better education system. Educators argue that
higher pay will get a better system. Starting pay for a teacher in
Alachua County is $34,000; a corrections officer starts at $30,000.

Legislators argue there is no more money for education. There is a
$60,000 difference in the taxes paid by high school graduates and
non- high school graduates over a lifetime. Also, non-graduates are
30 percent more likely to be on welfare or in prison.

This means there could have been as much as $24.4 billion available
to the Florida general fund if the state had met its responsibility
to those 408,000 disenfranchised felons with less than a ninth grade
education. In addition, the state loses $7.3 billion in prison
related expenses for every year those 408,000 felons spend in prison.

The DOC says that for every rise in the grade level of the inmates
there is a 5 percent reduction in recidivism. Yet, our Legislature
has continuously cut prison education funding.

Think in terms of lost opportunities when only 1,322 inmates of a
prison population of 88,576 inmates have earned a GED. Now, tell me:
Is it any wonder there is not more crime?