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I completely agree, especially having seen what the lack of policing of minor property crime has done to Seattle in the past few years. (In Seattle today, at le
by munificent 7y ago
I completely agree, especially having seen what the lack of policing of minor property crime has done to Seattle in the past few years. (In Seattle today, at least in my neighborhood, theft and vandalism are essentially legal. The police will not show up, will not investigate, and will not prosecute. Criminals knows this and act accordingly.)
A social system can rely on the goodwill of its participants for quite some time. But as that system grows and becomes more well known, it inevitably becomes a honeypot for bad actors to exploit. Once those bad actors take advantage of it and experience the lack of consequences, that behavior is reinforced and shared with other bad actors.
The system will either need to change to flush them out, or it will cease to function even for good actors.
- boomboomsubban 7y agoArresting each thief costs taxpayers hundreds of dollars at least, and is unlikely to dissuade people from stealing as they don't have a lot of better options.
- larnmar 7y agoRight, which is why punishment for thieves needs to go far beyond just “arresting” them.
- jandrese 7y agoWhat do you suggest? Cutting off hands? The tone of your post doesn't suggest "job training, drug counseling, and attempting to find them a place in society."
- larnmar 7y agoSociety already gives everyone twelve or thirteen years of that stuff. For some people it doesn’t stick. I’m not sure why anyone thinks that “slightly more of the same” is going to help.
- monocasa 7y agoThat's not Seattle, that's everywhere. I lived in seven states and can't think of a town where the cops would do anything other than write down a report for your insurance. They for sure aren't going to investigate anything, even if you say "it's this guy, at this address, with these car plates. My camera has it all recorded"