My friend Anthony Bradley wrote this:
"Folks this is real simple. If you want people to desist from criminal activity the two most powerful ways to accomplish this are marriage and employment. Married folks with jobs are busy doing other things. Crime becomes less of a viable option when either one of these things are in play. Now this may be a "duh" post for many of you but this is NOT the response we hear in the current mass incarceration discussion. In fact, for example, if men were married and gainfully employed they would not likely chose deviant behavior in the first place. Seems like there's some ancient wisdom about this somewhere. Hmmm. . .
You behave differently when your life is identified as "employee" or "spouse." It really is *that* simple.
Sampson and Laub's data is incredible. How are we missing this? So much of our violence problem in this country is related to the decline of these two things in lower-income neighborhoods. Yes, it's not education, it's not "the church," it's not "poverty" (however we define that), it's people being in committed relationships and going to work. It really is *that* simple.
#Amazon"
Here's the book he links to: Link
In other words, it would help more than it would hurt. Yet, "the heart of man is desperately wicked who can know it?" still... We still live in a fallen world and though the institution of marriage/family is crucial, it doesn't cure all that ails us and keeps us from peace.