In a new article published on Think Christian, Dr. David Schuringa, president of Crossroad Bible Institute, described how prison ministry plays a role in decreasing crime rates. The article was also featured by the Acton Institute’s blog.
In the article, Dr. Schuringa pointed out that violent crime has been in decline for the past twenty years. Although experts have posed several possible explanations about what has caused this trend, prison ministry’s role has been largely overlooked.
Many prisoners have a difficult time assimilating back into society upon release. They are likely to fall back into the same habits they developed before being incarcerated.
Discipled criminals, however, are less likely to be repeat offenders once released, as numerous studies have shown. “Prison ministry’s effect on recidivism rates should be good news for our communities,” Schuringa wrote.
Crossroad serves thousands of prisoners nationwide, and that number has been growing every year. Dr. Schuringa noted the correlation between twenty years of CBI student growth and the decline in crime over those same years.
If the trend continues at this rate, the number of discipled prisoners will continue to increase and recidivism rates will continue to decrease. “Prison ministry’s effect on recidivism rates should be good news for our communities,” said Dr. Schuringa, “whether one buys into the faith-based approach or not.“
Crossroad would like to thank all of the dedicated Instructors and generous donors who partner with us to reach 30,000 prisoners around the world. Together we are giving people in prison an alternative to continuing down the path of crime upon reentry.
Read Dr. Schuringa’s article on Think Christian.