4 ms·
I think putting the criminals in prisons for a long time, and the threat of the criminals being caught, is already a good way to prevent thefts.
by yes_really 5y ago
I think putting the criminals in prisons for a long time, and the threat of the criminals being caught, is already a good way to prevent thefts.
- sjtindell 5y agoA horrible way to prevent theft. Statistically a great way to create career criminals, break up families, and all the side effects that comes with (like more criminals).
- mytailorisrich 5y agoPeople who break into containers as shown here have no excuses and are already career criminals. Do they deserve a (potentially harsh) punishment? Yes. But is it in society's interest not to make them worse than they already are? Also, yes. So a problem in most countries is that prison is only focused on the punishment part not on the "what happens when people are released?" part.
- Ekaros 5y agoI think correct way is to punish relatively harshly(few months to years depending on amount), but also remove secondary effects. Like ban employers from asking about felonies unless they are dealing with minors or for example with fraud with financial positions. Do that and the person reports automatic payment of few months of wages. Now some of the offenders might have chance to integrate back to society...
- bluescrn 5y agoBut this attitude leads to the current situation, where the criminals face minimal risk, the deterrent factor of harsh punishments isn't there.
- scollet 5y agoAre they stealing because they're criminals or are they criminals because they're stealing?
- CamperBob2 5y agoOnly the criminal can answer that, I suppose. Has it occurred to anyone to ask?
- scollet 5y agoI think the answer is in the action. It's easier for techy types to gaff at the risk of highway robbery for a good reason. Tech seeks to alleviate human labor via automation or semi-automation. I think people are trying to take the same shortcuts to reduce the friction of human labor. Thievery is a foundational American ideal, romanticized in some sense. The question most US citizens have been asking is "when do I get mine?". I think they're finding their own answers.
- bluescrn 5y agoOr are they just opportunists, even if somewhat organised, stealing simply because they know they're likely to get away with it? Not doing it not out of any real need, but just for the thrill of it, or as a 'fuck you' to authority, whether that's the police, the politicians, or big business. When people can shoplift bagloads of merchandise without even trying to be stealthy, then casually walk out past a security guard who isn't allowed to do anything, or when they can smash a window and clean out a store under the cover of protests/unrest, it's not surprising that it escalates to more organised theft - whether it's 'flash rob' looting* of stores, or now looting train cargo. (*As for the now-seemingly-controversial term 'looting' vs stealing/theft/robbery - to me, looting is brazenly grabbing anything/everything, out in the open, often in broad daylight and on camera, while most 'normal' forms of theft are carried out more covertly and perhaps with particular targets in mind). No amount of policing will prevent all theft, but open looting is an sign of lawlessness.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- rjmunro 5y agoI think putting people away for a longer time doesn't help much. You need to focus on probability of being caught (by which I mean at least arrested, not chased away).