NON-VIOLENT CRIMINALS KEEP RIGHTS

[Smith]

1 minute ago, Erik88 said:

It's disappointing that some of you think harsher penalties would actually work. There are countries that chop off a hand for stealing and yet they still have a lot of crime. If people are desperate enough it doesn't matter what the punishment is. 

On the opposite side, there are countries with extremely liberal penalties that have some of the lowest rates of crime on earth. 

That has more to do with culture, population density, and geographical aspects than criminology and or penalties.

That being said, the rehabilitation experiment has faired far worse than the punitive model. Even with those above mentioned dynamics. So, with crime being a constant, punitive works better than rehabilitation on the whole.

[deerslayer]

9 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

It's disappointing that some of you think harsher penalties would actually work. There are countries that chop off a hand for stealing and yet they still have a lot of crime. If people are desperate enough it doesn't matter what the punishment is. 

On the opposite side, there are countries with extremely liberal penalties that have some of the lowest rates of crime on earth. 

Addressing the root cause of crime would be a lot more effective at preventing it than fighting over the penalties. 

Both would help.  As for liberal penalties being effective, come live in Shelby County for a while and let us know your findings.  

[Erik88]

26 minutes ago, Smith said:

That has more to do with culture, population density, and geographical aspects than criminology and or penalties.

Yes exactly. But if someone is willing to lose a hand for a loaf of bread, I'm not sure more punishment will be effective. 

We aren't doing anything to address the root cause of why people commit crime. 

We put people in prison, they get released, and many commit crimes again. We did nothing to actually fix that individual. 

If the argument is that they are there to be punished, not fixed, then that's fine. Just know that it doesn't somehow reduce crime. 

 

[crc4]

29 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

Yes exactly. But if someone is willing to lose a hand for a loaf of bread, I'm not sure more punishment will be effective. 

We aren't doing anything to address the root cause of why people commit crime. 

We put people in prison, they get released, and many commit crimes again. We did nothing to actually fix that individual. 

If the argument is that they are there to be punished, not fixed, then that's fine. Just know that it doesn't somehow reduce crime. 

 

Fix that individual? Keep them in prison. I'm more concerned about those who are victims than perpetrators. History has shown that welfare, benefits, entitlements, and provided housing and food does nothing to stop crime in urban areas where perpetrators are viewed as 'social victims' to be pampered, not face consequences, and not be responsible. 

Build more prisons, take away welfare, work to eat, and if you commit violent crimes you can rot in jail or die.