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As of 2012, 48% of the crimes that resulted in incarceration were violent crimes compared to 21% being drug related.
Compared to other first world countries, the US is a substantially more violent country.
The second amendment probably has something to do with violence.
The US has a larger population and therefore more whack jobs and people who do not have the emotional maturity and impulse control necessary to function well within a society.
Many Asian countries impose substantially harsher penalties than is common in the US. Perhaps the population better grasps the disconnect between a potential reward and the consequence.
I've been in those Asian countries with harsher penalties. The observation, and the reality are vastly different. Bring in some pot, they execute you. Assault someone and you pay a fine. Specific things have harsh penalties, but from my discussions with locals, the average penalty is far less.We are a much more violent country, but is that as a result of things we do? Its certainly not our population density. Other countries with vastly higher densities have less crime.
I think some of it may be that we treat prison as just a punishment, and we put them in in a way that encourages the behavior. Jails a bad place, no doubt, but on the outside we aren't giving these people any alternatives for a better life.
Some initial takeaways are:
Whoa. We actually have similar crime rates. We sentence people to prison FAR FAR more then other countries who tend to fine people more. AND when we sentence people we tend to sentence them for much longer periods. An example-Assault gets you 60 months on average in the US. Australia being the next highest at 20.
Our average custodial length? 63 months. Canada? 4 months. Australia is the next highest at 36 months. I think I see our problem.
They should have thought of that before committing a crime.
If you want, we can house criminals in your home, so you can coddle them to your own delight.
I'm not talking about violent criminals, at all. I'm talking about the low level offenders. Why should the tax payers have to cover a $35,000 annual cost for each inmate when all the person did was write bad checks. What does prison accomplish?
And yes I get that the state suing people is how tax payers aren't paying, but the reality of a convict coming up with that money is slim to none.
I'd much rather a non-violent offender be sent to a community service program. At least put them to some use in the community.
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