(11-25-2021 12:43 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I have always felt the key to reducing crime was enforcement, not punishment.

If a criminal thinks they will get away with it, no amount of punishment will deter them. The recent group raids in San Fran are examples of people who think they can get away with it, same as the looting in the riots.

OTOH, if a criminal thinks he is highly likely to be caught, even a 1 year sentence is enough deterrent.

Bottom line, more cops, with more leeway to do what is needed - exactly the opposite of the liberal plans to defund and defang.

JMHO.

The only problem I see with your San Francisco example is there is generally no intent to prosecute and the California $950 threshold for grand larcency(?). A misdemeanor is no biggee right? Only when the 'California problem' is being discussed on a nationwide stage are politicians now posturing toward enforcement and prosecution. It seems they need to be embarrassed into action?

How many career criminals move in and out of prison? And that's only when they're caught, prosecuted, and convicted. Prison (or jail) just doesn't seem to be a universal deterrent.

There is also the need to beef up the judiciary so the 'right to a speedy trial' doesn't create the problems with bail and bail reform that we're seeing now. (Who knows how long they have existed?)

Treat crime like a cancer, not like an annoying neighbor.