NCJ Number
204721
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2004 Pages: 151-157
Date Published
March 2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A mail questionnaire was sent to a nationwide sample of 175 churches to determine whether pastors/ministers believed violence was increasing in churches, whether clergy were fearful, and whether churches have become more security conscious.
Abstract
Since violence is more an urban problem in the United States, the churches selected for the survey were Baptist and United Methodist churches in the urban South. The seven cities selected represented a geographic balance across the United States for both denominations. The return rate for the questionnaire was 29 percent. The survey asked pastors/ministers about assaults, drinking, drug use, youth gangs, juvenile problems, graffiti, vandalism, and types of security measures in their churches. The findings indicate that churches in the denominations surveyed have not experienced a high level of violence. No church among the respondents reported any violence problem, and property harm was restricted to graffiti. None of the respondents were overly concerned about violence during youth events, and none reported any harm or physical threat from gangs. Clergy reported drug and alcohol problems in their parishes, but no drugs or weapons had been detected on church grounds. All of the respondents wanted to work more closely with police; most did not have an emergency violence-prevention plan; and many did not know which individuals had a key to the church. Forty-nine percent of the respondents believed violence in the church was increasing, but slowly. The responses suggest that churches could use police assistance in formulating a response plan should a violent event occur on church property. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents favored such cooperation. Future research might focus on why schools have experienced an increase in violence while churches have not. 5 tables and 7 references