CCSO supports early education initiative

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Research shows that investing in early education will help reduce the number of people who end up in jail later.

On Thursday, members of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office, including Sheriff Al St Lawrence and Chief Deputy Roy Harris spoke in support of a state-federal early childhood education partnership.

They said investing $75 billion into early education over the next 10 years will help raise the graduation rate and reduce the number of people put in jail. They said it will also cut costs for taxpayers.

"If we can keep a few hundred kids out of jail each year in every county and state, then we're getting a head start on it," said Chief Deputy Roy Harris.

In Georgia, more than half of prisoners do not have a high school diploma or GED and this partnership could reduce the number of inmates in the state by more than 5,000 each year.

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