All children need to grow up with books. There are countless benefits of reading to children at an early age, and many experts suggest doing so every day starting at infancy. A child's brain is 80% developed by age 3 and 90% by age 5.¹ Because of this early brain development, children should be read to before they begin reading themselves.

Books in the home are the single biggest indicator of academic success. Unfortunately, 61% of America's low-income children grow up in homes without them.² One-half of children from low-income communities start first grade up to two years behind their peers, and many never catch up.³ Students who cannot read sufficiently by third grade often struggle to keep pace with their peers and are four times less likely than proficient readers to finish high school on time.⁴ As a result, employment opportunities and overall quality of life are affected.

Why is this a law enforcement problem? Intrinsically, it might not be, but agencies can provide an easy and low-cost solution to this social issue while enhancing their image. Many departments have mission statements that address quality of life. One of the best ways to affect the community's quality of life is by helping the most disadvantaged and youngest citizens served.

Response

In 2017, the Sioux City, Iowa, Community School District identified early childhood illiteracy as a fundamental problem because only 45% of students entering kindergarten met basic reading benchmarks. The school district turned to the community for help.

To respond to this issue, the Sioux City Police Department (SCPD) created the Books for Kids program in 2018. This popular community policing initiative involves officers handing out children’s books. While many departments follow this practice, the SCPD’s program is different in that only law enforcement-related children's books are offered.

Officers provide these books after responding to residences during calls for service. The goal is to encourage parents to read to their children, promote a positive relationship with police officers, and better prepare kids to enter school ready to learn. Besides developing a love of reading, children learn about the role of police in their community. This program establishes goodwill with families and cultivates positive attitudes toward law enforcement.

Implementation

The SCPD obtained funding for the books through a grant.⁵ Members of the agency’s community policing unit choose law enforcement-related children's books according to criteria that include age appropriateness, quality, positive police message, and cost. For books written in Spanish, officers ensure photos focus on law enforcement in the United States because people in many parts of the world do not view police favorably. Age appropriateness ranges from newborns up to nine years of age.

Both softcover and hardcover books are ordered. To match Sioux City demographics, approximately 25% of those ordered are written in Spanish.

Initially, the SCPD ordered 500 books in English and 150 in Spanish. These were quickly distributed, and the department placed a second order within a few months. Officers have handed out approximately 25 titles.

A simple mission guides the program. Every day while performing their duties, SCPD officers encounter families with youngsters who do not have access to children's books. Understandably, officers cannot hand out books during high-stress or emergency calls until the situation stabilizes. Officers keep the books in their patrol bags or squad cars. They replenish their supply with additional books kept in the station.

Each book has a sticker encouraging young children to read and thanking those who fund the program.⁶ Officers further encourage parents and caregivers to read to the children, which will better prepare them to enter school ready to learn. Parents and caregivers who do not have contact with officers can obtain books at community policing events or the police station, where they are available at a free library in the lobby.

To further promote reading and to show its importance, officers often read to preschool students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, officers read books online. These reading sessions create positive police contacts and build rapport with younger children.

Results

The SCPD has supplied much-needed age-appropriate children's books to lower-income families who typically do not have them. Since the start of the program, the department has placed four orders of books and handed out over 2,000 to kids in need. The school district has credited the program with increasing reading readiness among children entering kindergarten, and it has been positively received by the community. Children in Sioux City are now better prepared for school. The Books for Kids program has improved their quality of life, which fits directly into the SCPD’s mission statement.

Conclusion

Police departments across the country can easily replicate this program. Law enforcement can increase the reading readiness of the most vulnerable citizens while gaining positive rapport with the community. The program could be a staple in departments across the country. Children who are read to every day have a much greater chance of reading themselves and being prepared for school. Reading to a child gives them the opportunity to succeed not only in school but also in life.

Endnotes

¹ “Brain Development,” First Things First, accessed June 14, 2023, https://www.firstthingsfirst.org/early-childhood-matters/brain-development/#:~:text=90%25%20of%20Brain%20Growth%20Happens%20Before%20Kindergart
en&text=Incredibly%2C%20it%20doubles%20in%20size,center%20of%20the%20human%20body.
² U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study, Marilyn Binkley and Trevor Williams, Washington, DC, 1996, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/96258.asp.
³ Jack A. Brizius and Susan A. Foster, Generation to Generation: Realizing the Promise of Family Literacy (Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope, 1993).
⁴ Donald J. Hernandez, Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation (Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012), https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-DoubleJeopardy-2012-Full.pdf.
⁵ The program has been solely funded by a grant from Siouxland Human Investment Partnership, a nonprofit organization that serves as a grant administrator for early childhood programs.
⁶ Ibid.