DA: Improving public education will improve public safety 

Improving public education will improve public safety.   

That’s the view of Robert Turner Jr., who became the district attorney for the 4th judicial district 20 months ago. Turner said he favors a curfew and holding violent teens and their guardians responsible for the crimes they commit, but the community must address larger issues if it wants to control rampant crime.  

Turner said that people leaving the public school system – by using vouchers to go to another school or by moving to another town – leaves some school systems inadequately funded.   

Rather than abandoning their local school system, the community should work to improve it, he said.  

“Some of the things that deter businesses (from locating in an area) are high crime rates and an education system that is viewed as not being up to par,” Turner said.   

The number of jobs are not as much of a problem as having people to fill the openings, he said. “Are people adequately trained and prepared for the jobs that are open, and are they adequately compensated for the hard work they do,” Turner said.  

Another issue is whether people will take available jobs. “We live in one of the greatest economic systems ever. I believe in the capitalist system,” Turner said. But in the capitalist system, “you have to have a permanent underclass, so to speak,” Turner said. “You have to have people willing to work minimum wage.”  

Turner pointed out the gap between those with means and those without. “There are communities where the children don’t have swing sets, baseball diamonds, golf courses, tennis courts or three meals a day,” Turner said. He added that many people will say, “If they want better, they’ll do better.”   

As for the question of how to help parents and families now, Turner spoke of the lack of social workers and the fact they, like teachers and first responders, are not adequately compensated for what they do and how many hours they work.  

The complete interview is available at selmasun.com and blackbeltnewsnetwork.com in segments.