Dan Macagni/Commentary

Crime too often starts when young people have no place to go and are looking for something to do.

Their parents are busy working, so when they get out of school, where can they turn? Too often, they turn to gangs, drugs and crime. Police statistics show that once the school bell rings, that's the prime time for juvenile crime.

But it doesn't have to be that way. If kids have an after-school program to go to, they can participate in all kinds of constructive activities instead. They might play sports, engage in community service, get tutoring, or do art projects. After-school programs are proven to cut crime, teach kids new skills, and even help them do better in school. They help keep kids safe, off the street, and out of trouble.

And don't just take my word for it: Kids say the same thing. According to a recent poll of 600 teens commissioned by the anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, kids regularly left unsupervised after school are more than twice as likely to hang out with gang members, three times more likely to engage in criminal behavior, and more than three times as likely to smoke marijuana.

But there aren't nearly enough after-school programs available. According to the same poll, nearly one million - three out of every 10 - California teens are left unsupervised after school three or more days each week.

Fortunately, kids in Santa Maria and across the state have hope because of Proposition 49, which boosts state after-school funding substantially. Voters approved this Arnold Schwarzenegger initiative four years ago, but it couldn't go into effect until the economy rebounded.

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Finally, this year Proposition 49 will provide hundreds of millions of new dollars in state funding to support thousands of new after-school programs.

Proposition 49 presents a great opportunity for Santa Maria because we've never received a dollar of state after-school funding before. Having more after-school programs will be good for our kids and make all of us safer.

Dan Macagni is Santa Maria's chief of police.

Sept. 4, 2006