AP Alert - California via NewsEdge
Corporation : SACRAMENTO_California officials
are crediting religious studies with
significantly cutting inmate violence at the
first prison to ever go through the 40-day
program.
So far, 440 medium-security inmates at Sierra
Conservation Center, in Jamestown, have
participated in the program based on the
best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," by
the Rev. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in
Orange County.
That's about a third of the unit's 1,200
inmates, about 125 of them serving life
sentences.
Before the program began last year, "we
couldn't go more than two weeks without a
lockdown or without one gang attacking another,"
said Hector Lozano, who coordinates the prison's
substance abuse treatment programs. "People used
to fight first and ask questions later. This got
people talking together, as opposed to having
one group charge another group. It was like
cavalry warfare."
The first 200 inmates completed the program
in April 2003. During the previous year, there
were five riots, 103 violent incidents, four
staff assaults, 1,226 inmate disciplinary
reports, and five lockdowns.
In the year since, violent incidents dropped
by a third, to 67, and disciplinary reports
declined to 1,067. Four employees were
assaulted, but there was just one riot and
lockdown.
The religious program "has definitely played
a role," said prison spokesman Lt. Kenny
Calhoun, though he also credits the prison's
veteran staff and their care in separating gang
members.
The inmates formed a non-denominational
church, Sierra Christian Center, and give
sermons in English and Spanish. They set up a
table in the exercise yard on what they've
designated "holy ground," where Christians and
non-Christians alike gather to worship. That,
too, is unusual if not unprecedented, Calhoun
said.
"It took off like wildfire," Calhoun said.
"These fellows are really dedicated," with some
inmates going cell to cell to recruit
participants.
Two of California's most notorious prisons _
San Quentin and Pelican Bay _ are now using or
planning similar programs, and church and prison
officials are fielding inquiries from around the
nation. The church shipped 200 books to a prison
fellowship for use in five Florida prisons,
along with books to individual inmates in 20
states.
The book has 40 chapters; participants read
one each day, reflecting on and discussing the
relevance to their lives.
Four months ago, the prison spun off a
Bible-based 12-step program, Celebrate Recovery,
also sponsored by the church, to help inmates
deal with alcohol and substance abuse, anger,
emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and other
problems.
A hundred inmates are participating, and
prison officials are proposing to designate a
200-bed cellblock as a "therapeutic community"
to expand the program on an experimental basis.
New Mexico prison officials have reported
success with a similar program there.
Warren visited the prison program in August,
and his church donated the books, Bibles, study
materials and videos.
"We called and said we don't have the money,"
Lozano said. "They said, 'Your money's no good
here anyway,'" and donated what he estimates at
$5,000 to $10,000 worth of materials.
On Wednesday, Saddleback Church honored the
prison program as one of two churches in
California that best represent spiritual health
and balance the five life purposes outlined in
Warren's book. The award carries a $5,000 prize
for use in the ministry.
Sierra Conservation Center's main role is
preparing minimum-security inmates for 20
firefighting camps. But it also houses the
medium-security unit, which was routinely torn
by race-based gang violence.
The religious studies "had a definite calming
effect," said Lozano, who introduced the program
after going through it at his own church.
The gangs even agreed among themselves to
stand down after the one major melee since the
program began, a March 15 incident sparked by a
single gang member, Lozano said.
"The Bible tells us we're supposed to
minister in prisons," Lozano said. "From a
strictly prison-management perspective, it's a
win-win situation. The inmate feels better, we
feel better, and nobody gets hurt."
___
On the Net:
California Department of Corrections: http://www.cdc.state.ca.us/
Read about the book: http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/index.asp
Read about Saddleback Church's Purpose Driven
Church Conference 2004: http://purposedriven.com/eventdetails.aspx?eventid83282
.end (paragraph)<<AP Alert - California --
05/12/04>>
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