REDUCING CRIME THROUGH PRAYER
Wednesday 24 February, 2010
UK
By Dee Pfeiffer
Inspector Roger Bartlett, a senior Devon and Cornwall Police officer with 23 years’ experience, has said he is convinced that people’s prayers have had a positive impact on policing in the area.
A committed Christian and part of the Christian Policing Association’s leadership team, he said he had seen “many direct answers to prayer in the workplace” from its positive impact on potentially violent incidents to reducing road deaths.
For the past six years, Bartlett has reported to quarterly meetings of Christians from different churches in Barnstaple who want to pray for local policing issues and he has seen unprecedented results.
In 2007 he asked the group to pray for the local detection rate, particularly in the Barnstaple sector, which was at about 26 per cent of total crime and one of the poorest in the force area which meant that justice, in too many cases, was not being done.
Inspector Roger Bartlett
He says: “Every quarter since that time there has been an increase in that figure despite reductions in the overall crime rate to the point that Barnstaple currently has a detection rate of just over 40 per cent of total crime, which is one of the highest in the country.
“Of course, that is down to some fantastic local policing, but the prayers I hear from Christians are for officers to be good at their job and implement practices that will lead to offenders being brought to account and victims seeing justice done. Clearly many who do not have the faith I have would say that this is just coincidence.”
But the most significant answer to prayer he has experienced relates to the fall in the number of serious road accidents in North Devon. After the group prayed for the number of casualties killed or seriously injured on the roads to come down, incidents fell from 97 in 2007/08 to 32 in 2008/09. This was a massive 67 per cent reduction on the previous year, and a far greater fall than any other area of the force.
Bartlett is naturally elated. Having joined the police because he wanted to make a positive contribution to the community and because he believed God was leading him into the profession, he has found much enthusiasm in results like these and remains convinced that God is not only interested in his work, but wants to do things through him at work each day that will have an eternal impact. He adds: “While the environment in which we work is pretty dark, and at times my faith is very weak and feeble, I take encouragement from the fact that, in the darkest places, even the smallest glimmer of light makes a big difference.
“I know in my work that, while those who have done wrong need to be accountable for their actions and punished, I will never set eyes on a single person that God does not love absolutely, completely and intimately.
“I am absolutely convinced that the evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is overwhelming. And if that is true, the implications are mind-blowing: Death is not the end. Jesus is who he said he was – the Son of God – and the hope of forgiveness and an everlasting relationship with the living God is a reality for everyone. Furthermore, if God has power over death, he certainly has power to break the influence of drugs, alcohol, anger and rejection in people’s lives. I have seen this miraculous power in the lives of changed addicts and can testify that, as it says in the Bible, ‘The arm of the Lord is not too short to save’…anyone!”
While many police officers find their hands tied with red tape and meaningless tasks, it seems that Inspector Bartlett sees his role as a divine calling.
In conjunction with the prayer group, there are ‘Street Pastors’ – teams of volunteers from local churches who patrol town centres on weekend nights supported by the police and councils. They help the lonely, the vulnerable, the intoxicated, the intimidated, the frightened and the troubled and in doing so may well prevent people becoming victims of crime. So, along with prayer, there is action too.
The work of Insp Bartlett and the Street Pastors suggests our society may need a different approach to policing and crime, with less time spent on unnecessary paperwork and politically correct targets, and more spent in prayer and community action.
This heartening reduction in crime is, of course, not the only time prayer has been shown to be a powerful and effective remedy to all manner of modern afflictions. In 1999 a huge study on patients admitted to hospital with heart trouble found that they fared better if someone was praying for them – in spite of not knowing that prayer was being offered. The 500 patients prayed for had 11 per cent less complications during their stay in hospital than their counterparts.
The research team, based at a university hospital in Kansas City, admitted that no rational explanation could be found to explain away the difference. So isn’t it time we stopped clinging to the ‘rational’ and started to explore God’s will for our lives?
God cares about every detail in our lives and the Bible instructs us to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests’ and promises that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
Photo: www.churchinwales.org.uk
Rene' Taylor wrote:
It’s so refreshing and encouraging to read stories like this one! People like Inspector Bartlett and the Street Pastors are what’s needed in every city in the world!! What a great concept! Kudos to both! And I pray that God’s Protection, Mighty Power and Love will continue to work through them to be a “light on a hill” that shows those that are hurting, confused and in pain, The True Light of Jesus! Bless you Inspector Bartlett and The Street Pastors for your courage and obedience to His Call!
Thanks to Dee Pfeiffer for always bringing us articles that challenge and call us all to His Call!!
Noelyne wrote:
Another Incredible article, Dee Pfeiffer. Wow, I pray that there are many more Roger Barletts out on the streets. What a different that would make to any city!
Gill wrote:
Thank you Dee for such an unexpectedly interesting article on a topic which surprised me as I didn’t realise a man of faith could actually in that kind of job utilise his prayers in a positive and impactful way on the community. Its impressive and wish there were more like him. Another brilliant article.
John O'Neill wrote:
Hello Denise,
I have seen a number of your articles recently in Lifebite. They were all very good.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards,
John O,Neill
M Suit wrote:
Street pastors is such a simple but powerful concept! I am part of the team in Bromley for about 5 years and it is a great blessing to meet more people, especially young people, and see God using us to help keep the streets safe.
Andy Shefford wrote:
It is extremely encouraging to see a Police Inspector being so open about his faith. We need more courageous people to stand up and be proud of their faith. In an increasingly religiously restrictive environment it is refreshing to read this story.
In my opinion, prayer is always a good thing, though my experience is that it can be intensely frustrating. God is not a slot machine where prayers in equals answers out. God seems to have a waiting room and randomly selects who he serves next. God also reserves NO as an answer that we regularly fail to accept.
Kevin Yates wrote:
Wow! What an inspirational and awe-inspiring article. This material shows that the power of prayer - and thought - are indeed extremely powerful and have manifesting properties. The most intriguing aspect of this is that accidents decreased by a very high amount and can only be attributed to the prayer sessions (although to be of an scientific merit this would have to be tested in an objective manner).
As an after-thought the power of prayer and thought has also been recognised by some researchers in the ‘New Age’ field, such as Lynn McTaggert in her works ‘The Field’ and ‘The Intention Experiment’.
The former is the seminal work of the New Age, and one which provides a scientific explanation for psychic phenomena such as ESP, spiritual healing and remote viewing.
It explains that everything is connected by the Zero Point Field (ZPF), a sea of energy that reconciles mind with matter, classic science with quantum physics, and science with religion.
The ZPF is “a cobweb of energy exchange”, as Lynne describes it, and she calls on numerous quantum physicists to provide an impressive canon of research data and discoveries to support the theory.
Her work shows that both prayer and thought can actually manifest on a physical level and can lead to powerful changes, hence giving scientific grounds to a power which has long been recognised by Christians and others.
Lesley Cutts wrote:
What an inspiration to pray in our everyday situations! Thanks Dee and Roger for this inspiring piece. I often tend to separate my work and my faith, this has been an encouragement to redress that balance and remember that Jesus is in the everyday detail, caring for the everyday issues. I go on my way challenged and inspired. Thanks again.
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