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The government understand what patterns lead to criminal behavior. They know which groups of people are currently at risk of crime because of those behaviors. A

by mabbo 5y ago

The government understand what patterns lead to criminal behavior. They know which groups of people are currently at risk of crime because of those behaviors. And they have a limited budget. What to do? Option 1: invest in programs to help prevent those behaviors. After school programs for at risk kids; better social support for single parents; job programs for the unemployed; and so on. Option 2: invest in a sophisticated tracking system so that when those at risk do commit crimes, they can be caught and punished more easily. Harass them before any crimes have been committed. Bother them at home. Send letters saying that we know you're going to be a criminal. Make them hate the police. To an outsider, it's not clear why option 2 is the choice made.

maerF0x0 5y ago
> Option 1: I will say I've seen these programs implemented (albeit in canada) and people get really salty about the bill. In Calgary they have a program to house people who are repeat callers on the healthcare system. Apparently the actuarials figured out it's cheaper to house them and let them destroy places than to have them calling 9-11 every day. But then the news gets a whiff that it's costing $100k a year to deal with one of these people and "good tax paying citzens" get salty because their bills and taxes keep going up and they struggle to get by.
zo1 5y ago
Option 2 sounds really good except for the harassment. Tracking them = good. Sending letters = good. These people will hate the police no matter what, though.