EDITORIAL: More lessons, fewer prisons
Advocate (excerpt)

As District Attorney Hillar Moore III, whose jurisdiction covers East Baton Rouge Parish, says frequently, the problem starts at an early age. Truancy from school doesn’t usually seem to be high on a district attorney’s concerns, but Moore said it is. “The simple fact is … that truancy leads to lack of education, which leads to delinquency, which leads to criminal behavior and a life of crime.” “Truancy is an issue for all of us,” Moore told the Press Club of Baton Rouge.

Moore said “virtually none’’ of the violent criminals prosecuted daily in Baton Rouge completed their education. Most have little in the way of family support, and they also have drug and alcohol issues as well as mental health problems. “We know that we are blessed with a growing community and growing economy, but should we be worried that a day may come when our two most significant issues — crime and education — become a brake on future growth?’’ Moore asked.

He is right, and we applaud him and other officials pushing the idea of a one-stop truancy center. As the district attorney, he sees the consequences if there is not an all-out effort in schools and law enforcement to keep children in the classroom and preparing from something better than residency in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.