Dan Stevenson is neither a Buddhist, nor a follower of any organized religion.
Mr. Stevenson, a resident of Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood, purchased a 2-foot Buddha and installed it on a median strip in his neighborhood, near 11th Avenue and 19th Street. Stevenson hoped his small gesture would bring tranquillity to a neighborhood marred by crime–dumping, graffiti, drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, aggravated assault and burglaries.
After he installed the statue, local residents began leaving gifts and flowers, and chanting prayers. When police checked crime statistics for the block radius around the statue, here’s what they found: Since 2012, when worshipers began showing up for daily prayers, overall year-to-date crime has dropped by 82 percent. Robbery reports went from 14 to three, aggravated assaults from five to zero, burglaries from eight to four, narcotics from three to none, and prostitution from three to none.