If we spent more on early education, we could save a fortune on policing

MY heart has gone out this week to all those thousands of young people doing their Leaving and Junior Certs in some of the most glorious weather we’ve had for years.

Here’s a statistic that ought to have a significant effect on the exams they are doing. It might not be immediately obvious, but if you bear with me all will become clear.

Every police officer appointed in a large US city costs $80,000 a year. But he or she saves about $200,000 in the cost of crime. So they must be good value for money.