The need for practical peacebuilding programs and materials
is great.
Meeting that need gives us an opportunity to
contribute to the lives of others
while providing a focus
for out life's work.
"An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot."
— Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809)
English Revolutionary
The Need
The need to shift from the position that "war is profitable" to "peace is profitable" is driven by the realization that violence in all of it forms is obsolete. Yet violence continues to devastate the lives of millions of people world-wide while eating up financial resources that could be used to improve health, education, environment, infrastructure and so much more. The examples below illustrate the acuteness of the need.
The Opportunities for Practical Peacebuilding
Nations Engaged In Conflict - Early 2008
Practical peacebuilding is an undertaking that is needed in most countries of the world. War, genocide, crime, family violence, child abuse, "honor" killings of women, boy soldiers, gangs, and suicide constitute public health challenges of extraordinary dimensions. Like public health challenges in the past, there is an opportunity to create effective and practical peacebuilding solutions.
The three examples below illustrate the scope and depth of the need to create and invest in peacebuilding.
The Cost of Violence
to the United States
The people of the United States pay a stunning price to deal with domestic and international violence. The table below summarize the estimated expenditures for 2008:1
Department of Defense
$623.1 billion
Department of Veterans Affairs
83.3 billion
Department of Homeland Security
23.1 billion
Department of Health and Human Services
8.0 billion
Sub-total, international violence
737.5 billion
Violent crime, interpersonal violence
507.0 billion
TOTAL ESTIMATE, 2008
$1,244.5 billion
Estimated annual cost per person
4,148.33
Estimated annual cost, US family of four
16,593.32
The total bill of $1.2 trillion is what the American people pay each year. This is the financial price reflecting the cost in lives, injury, and lowered quality of life.
There are significant opportunities to apply peacebuilding programs and products which reduce war, crime, violence and their costs. Products such as the new "Violence Integrative Prevention and Restoration (PAR) Model" — demonstrated on the India-Pakistan border and at a Level 5 (maximum security) prison in the United States — are the foundation of enterprises which can succeed by providing peacebuilding solutions.
The Prison Crisis in the United Kingdom
Britain faces increased incarceration, overcrowding, and eroding public confidence in its prison system. The International Centre for Prison Studies at King’s College, London, reports that Britain (England and Wales) has an incarceration rate of 148 per 100,000 population, the highest rate in Western Europe. That rate is 31.1% higher than Turkey’s, 74.1% higher than France’s, and 120.9% higher than Denmark’s. The prison population in Britain at the end of March 2007 increased approximately 2.9% compared to March 2006, adding an additional 2,000 prisoners – the equivalent of two additional prisons.2 Between 1994 and 2007, the prison population grew by 82.2%.3
Britain has approximately 300,000 people incarcerated or on probation each year.4 According to the Home Office, the prison population is expected to grow between 37.3% and 62.1% by 2013,5 aggravating an already serious overcrowding problem. According to HM Prison Service, the overcrowding ratio in the prison system between April 2006 and March 2007 was 24.1%.6 There were 850 serious assaults on fellow prisoners and 194 on staff during this period. There were 1,173 serious assaults overall for fiscal 2006 – 2007.7 Each year, between 80 and 90 prisoners commit suicide in Britain’s prisons.8 The list of deaths and near-deaths in custody due to suicide and neglect is a significant cause for concern.9 Overcrowding has been blamed for the 37% rise in suicides among inmates.10 The first annual report from the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody reveals that one-third of those who died in psychiatric detention, prisons, and police stations expired for reasons other than natural causes.11
England’s top judge argued that overcrowding has approached the point to where there are risks to public safety.12 It has started to drain local law enforcement resources. The number of prisoners held in police cells to relieve overcrowding pressure has increased 13-fold between 2006 and 2007. In 2006, there were 4,617 occasions in which prisoners were transferred to be held overnight. That number jumped to 60,953 in 2007, at a cost of £385 (US$753) to hold a prisoner overnight. The total cost for 2006 was £23.5 million (US$46.0 million).13
The prison system in England and Wales needs practical, innovative, and cost-effective programs and products to help reduce crime, recidivism, and suicides. There are opportunities to provide trainings for staff and incarcerated individuals, professional development training for allied practitioners, public information campaigns, family programs, resource information services, and a variety of other products and programs need to be created immediately to help end the prison crisis in Britain.
Africa has suffered greatly from violence. Conflicts have brought death and destruction, dramatically inhibited development, and devastated lives. The amounts lost as a result of violence are stunning. These funds — now lost — could have been applied to the heartbreaking HIV and AIDS crisis in Africa, as well as to provide education, clean water, and prevention and treatment for malaria and other diseases. Instead of the loss, the amounts spent on violence could have been used to build thousands of schools, hospitals, and roads which are so badly needed by Africa's millions. In addition to the financial devastation, violence also crushes the efforts of so many of Africa's people to escape poverty.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, an economist and
President of Liberia, commented: "In my own country, conflict has led to the squandering of rich mineral, agricultural, and human resources that should have benefited Liberia and its people. Although economic recovery has begun, it will take many years to recover from the destruction of infrastructure, the damage to businesses, and the loss of life and livelihood."
There are significant opportunities to apply peacebuilding programs and products which reduce war, crime, violence and their costs. This includes programs not only for the people of Africa and their institutions, but for 1st world governments, aid groups, and organizations working and doing business in Africa. Products such as the new "Violence Integrative Prevention and Restoration (PAR) Model" — demonstrated on the India-Pakistan border — can be a foundation for enterprises which can succeed by providing peacebuilding solutions.
Notes:
1. Estimates are from the World Health Organization and the US Office of Management and Budget (February 2007).
2. HM Prison Service (2007), Annual Report and Accounts: April 2006 – March 2007. London: HM Prison Service, pg, 14.
3. International Centre for Prison Studies (2008), Prison Brief for United Kingdom: England and Wales. London: Kings College <www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/highest_to_lowest_rates.php>.
4, Travis, Alan (2008a), “Minister scraps ‘one offender, one record’,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/09/prisonsandprobation>.
5. de Silva, Nisha, Paul Cowell, Terence Chow, Paul Worthington (2006), “Prison Population Projections 2006 – 2013, England and Wales,” Home Office Statistical Bulletin. London: Home Office.
6. HM Prison Service (2007), Annual Report and Accounts: April 2006 – March 2007. London: HM Prison Service, pg, 91.
7. Ibid: pg. 98.
8. Doward, Jamie (2007), “Warning on high-risk transfers to open jails,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2233265,00.html>.
9. Allison, Eric (2007b), “No news on custody deaths is bad news,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/19/prisonsandprobation.comment>.
10. Woodward, Will (2008), “Overcrowding blamed for 37% rise in suicides among inmates in ‘failing’ prison system,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2234017,00.html>.
11. Travis, Alan (2007), “Overcrowding blamed for rise in prison deaths,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2174492,00.html>.
13. Smith, Laura (2008), “Soaring use of police cells to ease overcrowding,” Guardian Unlimited. Manchester, UK: Guardian News and Media, Ltd. <www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2237328,00.html>.
14. Hiller, Debbie. "Africa's missing billions: International arms flows and the cost of conflict." Briefing Paper. Oxford, United Kingdom: International Action Network on Small Arms, Oxfam International, Saferworld, October 2007.
War and violence have become obsolete. They do not produce the results once expected of them.
There are significant opportunities to apply peacebuilding programs and products which reduce war, crime, violence and their costs.
There are significant opportunities to apply peacebuilding programs and products which reduce war, crime, violence and their costs. Products such as the new "