J T wrote:Hazerd wrote:prfsnl_gmr wrote:That is actually great advice. I second it.
With this "Police State" thing being a big issue right now, i think more people need to know their rights with police around.
America is number one in incarceration.
Full news story :
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/busin ... .html?_r=0
This is true. We have, however, seen a precipitous drop in our crime rates during the past two decades; so, to a certain extent our incarceration policies are working.
I am not saying that the criminal justice system is perfect, and I certainly think that we punish a lot of non-violent offenders much too harshly. I am only pointing out that a lot of the 1980s and 1990s "get tough on crime" and "three strikes" policies have been incredibly effective at reducing criminality. A few years ago, I was shocked to learn that, in Charlotte, NC (a city with nearly a million residents), nearly 80% of the crimeas are committed by the same 400 or so repeat offenders. If a society can keep these sort of "career" criminals off the streets (i.e., in jail, in a mental health treatment facility, etc.), it will see a tremendous drop in its crime rates. I think that our current policies accomplish this imperfectly, but I think we should recognize their benefits.