Don't mock it till you try it
George W. Bush's faith-based initiative works:
Religious programs keep people from returning to jail,
while secular ones fail, says IAN HUNTER
IAN HUNTER Friday, February 9, 2001 -Globe and Mail
In only his second week in office, U.S. President George W. Bush convened a meeting at the White House with a diverse group of religious leaders in order to discuss "faith-based programs which have proven their power to save and change lives" (the President's words). While President Bush promised not to favour religious over secular institutions (the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would preclude that) he declared, "The days of discrimination against religious institutions, just because they are religious, must come to an end."
In attendance at this meeting was ex-Watergate felon Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, a worldwide ministry that works for prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims of crime, and their families. The President noted that, as Governor of Texas, he had overcome bureaucratic opposition and skepticism to approve Prison Fellowship managing a prison in Texas with a mandate to change prisoners' hearts and lives. This is the story behind that prison and the President's words.
The story begins 25 years ago in Brazil at Humaita prison in San Jose de Compos. Humaita prison was once an institution of such brutality -- violence among inmates and poor living conditions -- that the Brazilian authorities ordered it closed. The subsequent transformation of Humaita is an object lesson in what President Bush means by "faith-based initiatives."
A man named Mario Ottoboni, a Brazilian Christian and a Prison Fellowship Board member, together with other Brazilian Christians, first began praying for Humaita's inmates. Then they visited prisoners and assisted their families. When Dr. Ottoboni and his group heard that Humaita was to be closed, they petitioned the Brazilian authorities to allow them to take over the prison and run it.
The government agreed and, under the banner of A.P.A.C. (an acronym that stands for "Amando al preso, Amando el Christo" which translates as: "Loving the prisoner, loving Christ"), the ecumenical group began its work. Henceforth Humaita prison was run by A.P.A.C. and by an elected inmate council.
Changes were made. Every prisoner was now required to work. Every prisoner was now required to participate in training; moral and spiritual training, as well as health, educational, and vocational training.
Dr. Ottobini summed up the basic A.P.A.C. philosophy this way: "Two things that nearly all prisoners lack are community participation and unconditional love." The program offered community participation by emphasizing practical skills training and realistic work placements. The unconditional love was provided through a system of godparenting; each prisoner was adopted by an outside mentor whose responsibility it was to counsel and guide the prisoner throughout his incarceration and after his release.
In practice this has extended to the godparent offering the ex-prisoner work (a prison record is an impediment to finding a job) and even a place to live.
Almost from the moment when A.P.A.C. took control, the recidivism rates for Humaita prisoners dropped. But while there was early anecdotal evidence, there was not the kind of hard data that policy-makers crave. Now there is.
An independent academic study by Dr. Byron Johnson and a team from Vanderbilt University recently compared recidivism rates for former Humaita prisoners with rates for the general prison population; more specifically, the study addressed critics who sometimes argue that any in-prison vocation program will lower recidivisim rates, by comparing Humaita with rates for Brazilian prisoners who had done their time at the newest, progressive, vocationally oriented -- but secular -- jails. From 1996 to 1999, 36 per cent of prisoners from the best of the Brazilian vocational prisons (e.g. a brand-new, model prison, Braganca) re-offended. By comparison, 16 per cent of ex-prisoners who had participated in the A.P.A.C./ Humaita prison program re-offended.
The success of Humaita led to similar institutions being established in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. New Zealand has just opened its first A.P.A.C. prison. In 1999, governor George W. Bush approved the first APAC prison in Texas. Although it is early days, the results are already encouraging; of the 80 prisoners who have been through the Texas A.P.A.C. program, three have re-offended. This is a recidivism rate below 5 per cent, compared to an American average slightly above 50 per cent. Iowa and Kansas have recently established APAC prisons, and 20 other U.S. states are considering doing so.
To date, Canada has shown no interest, at least none at the political level. After all, Canada is where it is "scary" to have a political leader who is also a self-professed Christian. Canada is where the Prime minister mocked his opponent for taking Sundays off to attend church. Canada is where the Minister of Health threatens provinces that do not pay for private abortions with public funds.
So, for Canadians, better to have secular prisons that incubate crime, rather than prisons influenced by the Christian faith that prevent it.
Ian Hunter is professor emeritus in the faculty of law at the University
of Western Ontario. |
