Caped crusaders won’t be helping an Alabama city fight crime. Instead, it’ll be police-trained Christian pastors.
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“What we want to do is combine the religious community and the Montgomery Police Department, and we want to unite those as one,” said Corp. David Hicks during an interview on
Irvin's Christian radio program, according to The Atlantic.
And the program’s officials “believe a stronger sense of Christianity will reduce crime,” wrote Ray Downs in the article. He also wrote how
pastors would see the appeal of the program.
“After all, their job is to preach, and they're being given a chance to reach individuals in extreme distress,” he wrote.
But is it legal? Downs wrote he isn’t sure if the program is constitutional. Although the pastors work on a volunteer basis, police officers are paid their regular wages for training. And the program also has built administrative costs so pastors can have access to crime scenes, according to The Atlantic.
Another issue Downs highlighted in his article is there is no evidence that
Operation Good Shepherd could have an effect on crime.
“Corp. Hicks, who created the program, said he did not consult any professionals for it,” wrote Downs. “Rather, he based it on similar programs that were put into place in Dayton, Ohio, and Arlington, Texas. However, those cities have not recorded data on the effect of those programs, so there's no indication they are a good idea to recreate.”
But whether the program has an effect on Montgomery or not, the city is still in a difficult situation, Downs wrote. Montgomery has the third-highest gun violence rate, the sixth-highest murder rate and the third-highest incarceration rate in the United States.
