4 ms·

This assumes that a person is either a criminal who will do crimes, or is not and won't. What studies show about this over and over is that being in certain si

This assumes that a person is either a criminal who will do crimes, or is not and won't. What studies show about this over and over is that being in certain situations increases the likelihood of a given person committing a certain crime. If you remove them from the situation, but now someone else is in that situation, the likelihood of the crime is being committed is unchanged. Now people there is variance in how resistant people are to the influences of those situations, and it varies both by individual and by the specific crime. It's possible that eventually you will have imprisoned everyone who would ever commit a crime under any circumstances, or at least under the current ones. I don't find the costs of that acceptable, both financially and in terms of human suffering. But if you do you should argue for that, rather than lean on the implicit point that some people are inherently criminal by their natures and so should be isolated for it.

cmeacham98 4y ago
> there is variance in how resistant people are to the influences of those situations, and it varies both by individual and by the specific crime How is this not just another way of saying "some people are inherently criminal by their nature"?
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  Not OP, but it's about the situation, not something fundamental to the person. I'd also add there is nuance here. Not everyone in a situation will behave the same way. What's changing is the tendency towards behavior due to environment.
  - cmeacham98 4y ago
    So you believe that in the same situation all people are equally likely of committing a crime? So everybody in the US just has a random small chance of becoming a school shooter or serial killer? I assume you support complete elimination of the criminal justice system and courts then, because in your worldview it seems criminals have no agency and the chance of them committing a crime is 100% a function of their environment.

cmeacham98 4y ago

> there is variance in how resistant people are to the influences of those situations, and it varies both by individual and by the specific crime How is this not just another way of saying "some people are inherently criminal by their nature"?

kayodelycaon 4y ago
Not OP, but it's about the situation, not something fundamental to the person. I'd also add there is nuance here. Not everyone in a situation will behave the same way. What's changing is the tendency towards behavior due to environment.
- cmeacham98 4y ago
  So you believe that in the same situation all people are equally likely of committing a crime? So everybody in the US just has a random small chance of becoming a school shooter or serial killer? I assume you support complete elimination of the criminal justice system and courts then, because in your worldview it seems criminals have no agency and the chance of them committing a crime is 100% a function of their environment.