Last summer, when Washington, DC was suffering through a spate of murders, the Christian Defense Coalition and its director, Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, responded by sponsoring “six days of around the clock prayer vigils under a large tent on the National Mall, from July 21 to July 26, asking God to reduce the crime rate in the nation’s capital.”  

The Christian Defense Coalition later reported that there were 27% less murders in the final five months of 2006 compared with final five months of 2005. CDC initially said it was seeking to reduce the “crime rate in the nation’s capital over the next six months,” but they retroactively decided to cut it to five months –  maybe because there was a spike in the  DC murder rate in January of 10% over the previous year, despite their prayers.

The Rev. Mahoney failed to note that the murder rate in DC has dropped every year since 2002 and has fallen 65% since its high in 1991.  The real reason for the falling murder rate has been the fact that at long last the Council and the police have  become serious about the matter.  $8 million was allotted for  for extra overtime, a 10 p.m. curfew was imposed for youths 16 and younger, and surveillance cameras and an acoustic shot-detection system installed in high-crime areas .  The current activity of the police in DC is impressive, and the perception of them by the inhabitants is improving in leaps and bounds.  Pray by all means, but don’t try to take false and misleading credit for something you have had no hand in.

(Source: Right Wing Watch)