The Peace Alliance - idealistic and practical perspectives

This is an interview with Neci Marr - the Fifth District (CT) team leader for the Peace Alliance. She discusses both the idealistic and practical reasons why a Cabinet level Department of Peace is a good idea.

A Department of Peace within the Executive Branch would monitor international peace matters. However, the majority of its efforts would be within America's borders, focusing on the following national issues :

1. Domestic Violence. Violence within American households is currently monitored by local police departments. Police officers receive training on dealing with domestic violence, but their specialty remains apprehending criminals who rob or assault strangers - less complex crimes with a less complicated set of motives. Many Americans - most often women and children - die as a result of understaffed and undertrained local police intervening in family disturbances. Allowing violence to fester within a household could be better handled by interveners trained in the complexities of family dynamics.

2. Prison Rehabilitation. Studies in prisoners and prison guards skill-building in conflict avoidance show the value of this important skill learning within even the most maximum secuity facilities. These learning opportunities have been proven to lead to a large reduction in violence in prisons - and a reduction in violence after parole and recidivism. Conflict avoidance training becomes a means of reducing prison populations long-term. America has more people in prisons and jails per capita than any other nation in the world. The cost of incarceration in America exceeds 700 Billion dollars per year. Each person who leaves prison with conflict avoidance skills has a much better chance of not returning to prison, and every reduction in America's prison population saves tens of thousands of tax dollars per year - dollars much better used in areas other than incarceration.

Here is the program :

http://hatcityblog.blogspot.com/2009_07_26_archive.html