The
way to deter or prevent crime is to address the conditions or environmental
factors that provide the fertile ground from which these behaviors sprout. The favorite
talking points of politicians of “get tough on crime” or policy makers in the
legislative, as well as administrative branches of state and local government
do not fully understand, or choose to ignore the problem in favor of other
considerations. For instance, instead of hiring a police officer and paying an
annual salary of $50,000 why not take that same money and put it to better use
in the community for job training, technical education, mental health services,
and other needed programs? The new ‘paradigm’ should not be more police or
boots on the ground, but rather, more books and other educational materials to
help someone pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Let’s help create a
society that moves away from the approach derived from the Old Europe of
medieval times to one of positivity and self-actualization. As it pertains to the old ways, when the
guillotine was introduced in Europe crime rates actually went up, not down; as
one might would have expected.
Enforcement
is not prevention nor is it a viable strategy and it is counterproductive as it
is presently implemented, Crime will only be deterred and reduced, though not
totally eliminated, when the conditions and socio-cultural factors that inhibit
lawful behavior are significantly minimized and alternatives and incentives are
provided that reward self-empowerment toward achieving positive outcomes which
benefit the person and society as a whole. More importantly, it is time to take the
profit motive from prosecuting criminal behavior that benefits the courts and
the prison industrial complex; of which the latter earns billions of dollars
annually in operational revenues and serves the financial interests of vendors
and suppliers who provides services to them.
Robert
Randle
776
Commerce St Apt #701Tacoma, WA 98402
July 15, 2016
robertrandle51@yahoo.com