Between 1991 and 1997, the number of probation and parole agents in Michigan increased by more than half, and the average number of offenders supervised by each agent fell to 63 from 92. Washington's role in crime control has expanded dramatically since 1968. But the results have been mixed at best. Earlier this year, an American Bar Association report led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III detailed the dangers of further federalizing crime policy. Such changes would undoubtedly reduce the number of drug-only offenders in federal prisons by tens of thousands.
Scientific studies testify to the efficacy of faith-based efforts.
The report echoed the conclusion of a study published in 1995 in the journal Criminology, namely, that most of the best available empirical evidence suggests that religion significantly reduces crime and delinquency. The remarkable leaders and programs behind these findings know one God but many religions and ideologies. The Prison Fellowship Ministry, led by Watergate offender Charles Colson, a religious conservative, recently launched an initiative dedicated to ministering to the spiritual and material needs of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, including the over one million youngsters in this country who have one or both parents in prison or jail. Restorative justice returns America to the ethical understanding of those who founded the American penitentiary to reclaim public order and repair broken hearts, lives and communities on both sides of the walls. I have argued before and I continue to believe that demographic trends will exert strong upward pressure on crime rates in the years just ahead unless we take strong steps to prevent juvenile crime.