After-school activities safeguard kids.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Jerry Smith For The Register-Guard

I've been a law enforcement officer for more than 38 years, but I am writing today as a concerned citizen and father.

We know that the after-school hours represent a world of opportunity for things to go wrong with young people. It's the peak time for risky behaviors and harm to come to our children - car crashes, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, fights, gangs, sex or just plain stupid stunts.

One of the toughest ironies working families face today is that as we work harder to provide more for our families, our children are left home alone for longer periods when they are at the greatest risk to themselves and our communities. It is also the time when kids are typically insecure and reaching for independence and approval of their peers.

Some of us make that 3 p.m. call to make sure homework is under way, that chores are being done and that the television and computer screens are limited. Some parents are lucky enough to have a spouse at home to greet our kids when they get off the bus.

But the reality is that most families have either a parent or parents at work. That means the average working family must leave children home alone unsupervised for up to 25 hours a week.

Now, more than ever, the need for child-centered alternatives to being home alone is a real concern for our communities.

It doesn't have to be that way.

We already know that after-school programs for children are the single greatest deterrent to juvenile crime, risky behavior and serious injuries and death. We also know that after-school programs keep children and neighborhoods safer.

And these programs have the added benefit of improving the academic and social achievement kids need to be successful, lifelong learners and productive members of society.

Here in Springfield, we have an opportunity this fall to safeguard our kids and communities by strengthening our after-school programs with the approval of Measure 20-138.

The approval of Measure 20-138 means every student who wants or needs after-school tutoring or enrichment gets it. The measure would expand the Willamalane Park and Recreation District's after-school and summer programs to 17 schools.

It includes students of all incomes and academic levels. It also would preserve programs currently serving low-income students in six schools.

Measure 20-138 would run for five years, raising $1.4 million per year and costing the average family a half a tank of gas. The annual cost would be 32.5 cents per $1,000 assessed value per year - about $35 a year for a home assessed at $108,000.

Voters can review a detailed budget breakdown at www.willamalane.org.

The need to keep our kids' minds and bodies stronger cannot be underscored too strongly when you consider the epidemic of childhood obesity the United States is already facing. Willamalane has found academic, recreational and physical activities keep kids active at times when they might otherwise get into trouble or simply sit in front of a screen.

After-school programs provide active physical play, academic enrichment and tutoring, exposure to the arts, drama, music and, most importantly, adult-supervised interaction with other kids!

After-school programs are there even when schools are closed during in-service days, holiday breaks and throughout the summer.

The research and crime data are indisputable - unsupervised teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as alcohol, drugs, sex and crime. That's why 1,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and crime victims who comprise Fight Crime: Invest in Kids (www.fightcrime.org) have called on all public officials to protect the public safety by providing all at-risk children and teens access to high-quality after-school programs.

Notifying parents of serious injuries, deaths or crimes involving their child is an experience most law officers would prefer to avoid. And we know crime rates drop when kids have supervised after-school care and are not left home alone to their own devices, boredom, imaginations and peer pressure.

Being unsupervised after school increases the risk that an eighth-grader will smoke, drink or abuse drugs. The cost to society is much greater for those who have traveled the slippery slope into criminal behavior than the cost of this program.

Giving working families and their kids after-school options increases everyone's quality of life because we are keeping our kids and our communities safer.

Join me and other law enforcement officers and vote yes on Measure 20-138.

Springfield Police chief Jerry Smith is a member of the Yes for Our Kids political action committee. The opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the city of Springfield.