CLEVELAND -- A new report released Wednesday by top Cleveland law enforcement leaders shows that high-quality pre-kindergarten education cuts down on crime.

The report was released by Cleveland Chief of Police Edward Lohn and Bay Village Chief of Police David Wright.

The report also shows that federal funding is inadequate to help Ohio reach all the state's high-risk children.

The report found that state funded programs serve less than 1 percent of all 3- and 4-year-olds, and that 60,000 at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds are still unserved by Head Start and state early education programs due to insufficient funding.

The police leaders said many parents can't afford high-quality pre-kindergarten programs on their own; tuition in Ohio averages $5,672 per child.

Anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids prepared the report. The organization is composed of 2,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and victims of violence, including 90 in Ohio.

"To allow Ohio's high-quality pre-kindergarten programs to remain under-funded will result in long-term, dangerous consequences," said Wright. "When government fails to support these proven crime-prevention programs, it forces police to fight crime with one hand tied behind our backs. By investing in our most vulnerable youth, we can guarantee that they never grow up to become our most wanted adults."

Law enforcement leaders also noted that research has found children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten are more likely to graduate from high school and get better jobs.

"The bad news is our state government can't do it alone and the federal government is falling far short of the investments needed in pre-kindergarten," said Jeff Kirsch, vice president of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. "The good news is that if Congress makes these investments we can greatly reduce violence and help youngsters get the right start in life."

Click here to access the report.