The Urgent Need for a New Solution to Crime
By this time the alarming rise of violent crime in U.S. cities had also
made it very clear that a new solution to the crisis was urgently needed.
Despite the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars on crime-fighting
programs, violent crime continued to soar. Experts admitted that conventional
approaches had failed. In fact, there was no evidence to suggest that building
more prisons, hiring more police, or handing out stiffer sentences to offenders
were making even the slightest dent in reducing crime.
Two-Month Crime
Reduction Demonstration Project in Washington, D.C.
There was, however, considerable evidence to show that group practice
of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program did reduce violent
crime. To demonstrate this fact publicly, a $5 million sociological experiment
was held in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 1993.
From June 7 through July 30, 4,000 experts in the Transcendental Meditation
and TM-Sidhi program from 50 countries assembled, at their own expense,
in Washington, D.C. Twice a day they participated in large group meditations
to reduce social stress and violent crime.
Researchers lodged predictions for the experiment in advance with a
27-member, independent "project review board" comprising leading
research scientists from universities throughout the U.S., including the
University of Maryland, the University of the District of Columbia, and
the University of Denver School of Law; policy analysts; and local government
and community leaders. Based on previous findings, researchers predicted
that violent crime in Washington, D.C., would decrease significantly by
the end of the project. In addition, because of reduced levels of stress
in the nation's capital, researchers also predicted an increase in the
level of cooperation and effectiveness of the government and, on that basis,
an improvement in President Clinton's standing in the opinion polls.
Violent Crime in Washington Decreases Significantly
during Demonstration
The results exceeded predictions. After months of rapid increase, HRA
violent crime (homicide, rape, and assault) suddenly declined in Washington,
D.C., during the demonstration, according to time series analysis. (Violent
crime usually increases in June and July.) For the final 2 weeks of the
demonstration, HRA crime dropped 18%. In addition, other quality-of-life
indicators moved in the positive direction, and an analysis of opinion
polls on President Clinton showed a highly statistically significant change
from a declining trend to a trend of increasing public support during the
demonstration. Once the Transcendental Meditation assembly dispersed and
social stress began to rise again, HRA crime rose as well. (The results
of this study will be expanded and finalized after the District of Columbia
Metropolitan Police Department releases its complete crime report for 1993
to the FBI in October 1994 -- following the publication of this book. For
a copy of the final results of the Washington study, contact the Institute
of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi International University,
Fairfield, Iowa 52557.)
"This demonstration has confirmed the theory
that large assemblies of people practicing the Transcendental Meditation
and TM-Sidhi program reduce social stress and tension, as measured by decreased
violent crime, increased governmental cooperation and efficiency, and improvements
in other sociological indicators," says Dr. John Hagelin, Director
of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi
International University. "It shows definitively that any government
can reduce crime and other social problems, and prevent new problems from
arising, by establishing 'A Group for a Government' -- a large group of
experts practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program.
Governments now have a practical means to prevent costly problems and dramatically
improve the quality of life for the whole population."
"I think the claim can be plausibly made that
the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other on-going
social or psychological research program," says David Edwards, Ph.D.,
Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, referring
to the many studies conducted on effects of the Transcendental Meditation
and TM-Sidhi program on society. "The research has survived a broader
array of statistical tests than has most research in the field of conflict
resolution. I think this work, and the theory that informs it, deserve
the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike."
Dr. Edwards does not practice Transcendental Meditation.
"There is growing recognition that we have been
thinking too narrowly about the causes, dynamics, and means of resolving
conflicts," says John Davies, Ph.D., Research Coordinator for the
Center of International Development and Conflict Management at the University
of Maryland. "This thinking hasn't given us sufficiently effective
options to be able to manage and minimize conflict in the world."
Dr. Davies is an expert on the prevention, analysis, and resolution
of conflict. He is currently developing the most advanced and sophisticated
global event data system for tracking daily international and intra-national
events worldwide. International peace-keeping organizations will use the
data system for developing early warning systems and evaluating the success
of attempts to prevent or resolve conflicts.
Dr. Davies, who practices Transcendental Meditation, has conducted his
own study to test the effect of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation
and TM-Sidhi program on conflict resolution. His findings replicated several
earlier studies showing a positive correlation between the number of people
collectively practicing this technology in a society and the reduction
of conflict throughout the entire population. His research also indicated
a significant increase in the level of cooperation between opposing parties
who were involved in conflict during the experimental period.
"The advantage of this approach to conflict resolution is that
it doesn't require any intrusive intervention to resolve the conflict,"
Dr. Davies says. "It appears to make use of a fundamental level of
interconnectedness among all members of the community to reduce stress
and create coherence in the conflict area. The evidence is there that this
approach warrants inclusion in any government's multilevel repertoire of
concurrent approaches to promote the development and quality of life at
every level -- city, national, and international. It expands the range
of tools for federal government. Leaders should be aware of it. They should
be trying it."
The following charts represent
a few of the more than 40 studies on the effects of the Transcendental
Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on society.
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Chapter 8 ]
7 (cont)