In its report, the Task Force noted that inmates can not be reformed when state spending for rehabilitation programs like literacy training, anger management, drug and alcohol counseling, have decreased 31 percent per offender from 1974 to 1990. We think the answer is no. The Task Force Report noted that since nearly every offender will one day return to the community, the correctional system will ultimately not succeed in reducing crime unless victims are healed and offenders are rehabilitated. To help facilitate a renewed discussion, the Bishops' statement offered five principles that Catholics and law makers could use to guide personal and public policy responses to crime. The Bishops statement was applauded by former State Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, a lay Catholic who served on the Task Force but who could not attend the press conference.
Crime devastates communities, neighborhoods, families and individuals.
When we fail to adequately protect and help victims of crimes, particularly the children, we see many of them return to the system as criminal defendants. Each of us is called to actively find ways to live out our faith by playing a role in restoring peace in our midst. This document offers us all a roadmap to follow in addressing these complex issues.