Apparently a local police chief is relying on prayer to help cut crime in Devon (England), and he says it's working. Inspector Roger Bartlett says he started his initiative several years ago with local prayer meetings and since then, crime rates have dropped in several categories. While he seems to attribute the drop to prayers, I note that his initiative also includes locals who patrol the streets. I would think citizen vigilance would do a lot to deter crime, whether or not it's linked to religion. Read more about Inspector Bartlett and his praying officers and volunteers here and here.
I do wonder if only Christians are allowed or invited to participate in praying, and if police officers who aren't Christian feel pressured to participate in the meetings. The UK does, after all, have a Human Rights Act that protects religious freedom and speech rights, but it doesn't do much good if people feel that they can't express themselves because their supervisors are, well, expressing their own selves quite so openly.
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