I hear this opinion (or something like it, basically that property crime is only an issue in the west because city governments are not harsh/violent/punitive en

I hear this opinion (or something like it, basically that property crime is only an issue in the west because city governments are not harsh/violent/punitive enough) repeated often. My anecdata: I live in a city where cops can and do whatever they want to people without serious oversight. Petty theft is met with both maximum violence and prosecution. it does not seem to have much effect on crime rates.