The Constitution and the Bible in Criminal Justice

Introduction
Public policy can always be Biblically framed, in order to provide sound guidance and structure to the decision-making process. The Bible offers instructional and legal support that can help steer criminal justice policy in a more favorable direction, to bring about desired results like public safety and the rehabilitation of former offenders. Criminal justice leaders are constrained by public policy, which impacts department policies, procedures, and protocols. The may-can-should approach to policy analysis and implementation shows how a Biblical perspective is aligned with a Constitutional perspective to inspire change. What we may do is grounded in Biblical and Constitutional law, which then offers suggestions for policy makers about what can and should be done.
Problem Statement
Criminal justice organizations contend with a range of problems and concerns, from police brutality to prison overcrowding. Addressing these issues is hard enough at the level of a local precinct. Attempting to resolve critical concerns in criminal justice at the state or national level requires the processes of policy analysis. As Ismaili (2006) points out, “understanding the policy-making environment in all of its complexity becomes more central to criminology,” (p. 255). Policy analysis is a process that begins with evaluating existing policies, programs, and procedures. A thorough analysis yields information about what is working and what is not, based on measurable outcomes such as quantitative reports, or qualitative analyses like surveys and case studies.
After the initial review of existing policies, the analyst then presents a set of the most pressing issues that can or should be addressed. This procedure involves the “accumulation of knowledge,” from multiple sources (Ismaili, 2006, p. 255). Narrowing down those issues to the ones of greatest or most immediate concern for public safety, or issues that are politically expedient, the analyst proceeds to investigate the guiding principles for change. Those principles start with an assessment of scripture: what does the Bible suggest in cases like these, and what kind of future criminal justice policy would be grounded in Biblical principles? Next, policy analysts refer to the Constitution for guidance. A divinely inspired document, the Constitution reflects Biblical principles, which is why the may-can-should approach to policy analysis and implementation works especially well. When criminal justice policy does not go through the systematic may-can-should process, policies run the risk of being ineffective, causing major problems. Therefore, the may-can-should analysis should actually be offered in a more global fashion to assess the role that policy analysis plays in criminal justice organizations.
To make the discussion more salient, a particular criminal justice policy issue will also be addressed. One of the most pressing issues in criminal justice is how to reduce recidivism, which in turn depends on improving offender re-entry programs. Biblical and Constitutional principles help to inform an offender re-entry program that reduces recidivism and promotes the principles of salvation and redemption.
Biblical Guidelines and Principles
The Bible provides extensive guidance for criminal justice policy, and shows how policy analysis plays a role in criminal justice organizations. The authority of the law is a Biblical principle, outlined extensively in the Old Testament but borne out even more in the New Testament. The Bible is clear that the only valid criminal justice organization is one that is guided by spiritual principles: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God,” (Romans 13:1). When the individual breaks the law, the consequences are meted out by an authority that is presided over by Biblical law. In other words, the law is not arbitrary, because the Bible prevents injustice.
The Bible is also abundantly clear on how to address the specific criminal justice policy of offender rehabilitation and prisoner re-entry. One of the fundamental principles of Christ’s ministry is that of salvation. The redemptive power of Christ is becomes possible through prayer, but requires also that the released prisoner repent and seek forgiveness earnestly: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16). Through Christ’s forgiveness, one can be redeemed and made whole again, re-entering the community as if a new person. The Old Testament also offers unique wisdom that shows how the community needs to take responsibility for praying for the incarcerated souls and helping them to rehabilitate themselves through the power of faith. “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering,” (Hebrews 13:3).
Therefore, the Bible shows how public policy analysis plays the role of ensuring that all government institutions like the criminal justice system are divinely ordained. The Bible also shows how Biblically grounded policy analysis can be applied to reforming specific policies related to important topics like prisoner rehabilitation and offender re-entry. Perhaps no Biblical passage can be more instructive for prisoner re-entry policy analysis than Luke 4:18: “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Public policy analysis may be based on the Biblical passages related to the authority of the law, as well as the prevailing principle of redemption.
Constitutional Guidelines
The Constitution addresses the broad powers of the federal government, and the limitations to the federal government. Although the Constitution does not mention criminal justice specifically, it provides an overarching framework for criminal justice in that it shows how policy plays a role in supporting the structures and institutions of the society. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional Amendments do explicitly detail the rights of citizens when they do come into contact with criminal justice authorities. Many of the Constitution’s parameters parallel those in the Bible, such as the different rights conferred to the individual versus the state (Fischer, 1996, p. 6).
For example, the Fifth Amendment guarantees right to a fair trial, prevents double jeopardy, and ensures due process. The Fourth Amendment prevents law enforcement from infringing on the rights of citizens, prohibiting unlawful searches and seizures. The Sixth Amendment states the rights of citizens to be aware of all charges and to have access to legal council. All of these and other Constitutional amendments help guide criminal justice policy. Yet Rotman (1986) shows how criminal justice policy analysis has failed to properly inform prisoner re-entry and reform programs. If greater attention were paid at the level of policy analysis by reviewing the Constitution, the role of policy analysis in shaping future offender re-entry programs would become more apparent.
Conclusions
The benefits of interjecting policy analysis into criminal justice are both theoretical and pragmatic. On the purely practical level, policy analysis helps criminal justice officials “to remain attuned to their broader constituencies in the public policy arena—namely, those who craft criminal justice public policy, those who would fund it, and those who would sanction its legality,” (Bumgarner, n.d., p. 273). Taking into account the Biblical and Constitutional guidelines allows policymakers to be more effective and also “contextually sensitive,” to the redemptive needs of Americans (Ismaili, 2006, p. 255).




References

Bible: NIV
Bumgarner, J.B. (n.d.). Criminal profiling and public policy. In R.N. Kocsis (Ed.) Criminal Profiling, Totowa, NJ: Humana. http://eknygos.lsmuni.lt/springer/605/273-287.pdf
COPS (2004). National policy summit. http://www.theiacp.org/Portals/0/pdfs/Publications/ACFAB5D.pdf
Fischer, K.J. (1996). Biblical principles of history and government. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=fac_dis
Ismaili, K. (2006). Contextualizing the criminal justice policy-making process. Criminal Justice Policy Review 17(3): 255-269.
Rotman, E. (1986). Do criminal offenders have a constitutional right to rehabilitation? The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 77(4).