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So thieves broke into your storage unit again

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Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#131
post #104

The indifference of this by everyone involved is infuriating. This criminal activity is treated as natural as rain, just something us 98% of people have to endure. It's important to remember that accepting crime, especially low level crime like this is a policy choice. It's the same people doing the same crimes over and over. They have run ins with the law and they just get let go to continue terrorizing the rest of…

The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations. And yet this level of incarceration does not seem to have had the effect you want. It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur. While there are arguments for this sort of thing, it is also based on a wilfull…

>The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations

because it has vastly more crime than comparable nations. you have to look at what happens to crime in the US over time, when you are more or less stringent about jailing criminals; predictably as you fill the jails, crime goes down, and when you empty them, crimes goes up.

>It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur.

people try to smuggle this false premise into discussions about law and order all the time. the primary purpose of jail is not rehabilitation, it is to protect the public from criminals. you put them in jail so that they can't commit crimes. if they commit crimes when they leave, put them in jail again. jails mostly don't rehabilitate criminals, but that's a failure of the idea of mass rehabilitation, not a failure of mass incarceration. crime is a choice.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#132
post #104

The indifference of this by everyone involved is infuriating. This criminal activity is treated as natural as rain, just something us 98% of people have to endure. It's important to remember that accepting crime, especially low level crime like this is a policy choice. It's the same people doing the same crimes over and over. They have run ins with the law and they just get let go to continue terrorizing the rest of…

The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations. And yet this level of incarceration does not seem to have had the effect you want. It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur. While there are arguments for this sort of thing, it is also based on a wilfull…

american style incarceration breeds criminals. it isnt a form of punishment for the vast majority of people who end up in prison or jail. its details like these that bleeding heart people gloss over.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#133

he gives a list of things to do or consider. supporting laws and politicians that catch and punish criminals effectively is somehow not on that list…

Politicians who claim to be tough on crime are usually just tough on black people and drug users, which helps nobody.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What laws do you believe would be more effective a catching and punishing criminals? AFAIK, there is reasonably clear evidence that deterrence has a very low impact on this sort of crime, so laws based on deterring through fear-of-sentence would not seem to be likely to have much effect. What is it that you're proposing/desiring?

Theft is an organized crime. That tweaker/junkie who steals your bike, breaks into your storage unit, whatever? He's not an organization man. The dude with a standing offer to pay twenty bucks for the bike, or ten if it's shitty? He's with an organization. What I propose is that we start enforcing the law and treat theft as a crime, not a nuisance or fact of life. Roll up the organizations, toss them in prison, and r…

[flagged]

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but it's just another one of those illogical things people do.

You could apply the same logic to the stuff inside your house, which is just a glorified storage unit. Why are you paying premium to store that stuff, when you could downgrade to a studio apartment or a tent? The bottom line is, if you want to own stuff, then you must store it. You know what is more expensive than storage? Buying stuff you need or want and reselling it, again and again. Or leasing it in general. Some…

It would be illegal to live in a tent.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could apply the same logic to the stuff inside your house, which is just a glorified storage unit. Why are you paying premium to store that stuff, when you could downgrade to a studio apartment or a tent? The bottom line is, if you want to own stuff, then you must store it. You know what is more expensive than storage? Buying stuff you need or want and reselling it, again and again. Or leasing it in general. Some…

It would be illegal to live in a tent.

Even if it was legal, most people wouldn't like that.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#137
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain to me why someone that's been arrested 15 times should be let go to terrorize others. That person that has been arrest 15 times before cannot continue to commit crime if he's behind bars. You don't need to "read" the data to come to this conclusion. People commit crime in large part because they can get away with it. It's not complicated.

That's not really the issue though (and for the record, I agree that a person found guilty of what they were arrested for 15 times should be incarcerated). The problem is: why is this person doing this, because there are at least two outcomes: 1. we lock them up, and a part of the problem is gone 2. we lock them up, and someone else steps in to do the same thing From my perspective, there's ample evidence to suggest…

>and for the record, I agree that a person found guilty of what they were arrested for 15 times should be incarcerated

but you know damned well that most of the time it doesn't even go to trial. they're arrested, released, arrested, released, charges pressed, charges dropped; an endless merry-go-round. eventually people stop even reporting crime, why should they bother when the criminals don't get put away?

>From my perspective, there's ample evidence to suggest that #2 is more likely

why? this is like the "lump of labour" fallacy but for crime.

and yes, getting rid of just a few career criminals does disproportionately reduce crime. here's a funny natural experiment from ireland:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/number-of-burgla...

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#138
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations. And yet this level of incarceration does not seem to have had the effect you want. It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur. While there are arguments for this sort of thing, it is also based on a wilfull…

Explain to me why someone that's been arrested 15 times should be let go to terrorize others. That person that has been arrest 15 times before cannot continue to commit crime if he's behind bars. You don't need to "read" the data to come to this conclusion. People commit crime in large part because they can get away with it. It's not complicated.

You don't have to commit a crime to be arrested. You just have to do something the police don't like - like holding up certain signs in a public space.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#139
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Explain to me why someone that's been arrested 15 times should be let go to terrorize others. That person that has been arrest 15 times before cannot continue to commit crime if he's behind bars. You don't need to "read" the data to come to this conclusion. People commit crime in large part because they can get away with it. It's not complicated.

That's not really the issue though (and for the record, I agree that a person found guilty of what they were arrested for 15 times should be incarcerated). The problem is: why is this person doing this, because there are at least two outcomes: 1. we lock them up, and a part of the problem is gone 2. we lock them up, and someone else steps in to do the same thing From my perspective, there's ample evidence to suggest…

There's only so many people that are criminally predisposed. The org doing bike thefts will stop if the penalty is high enough. Singapore has low crime because they prosecute aggressively. No one seemed to fill in for arrested gang members in El Salvador (extreme example)

Then there are the crazy person punching an Asian lady on the subway crimes and these fall squarely in 1

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#140
post #21
post #19

I used to work security and making rounds in a place like this would give me chills. Running into thieves at 3 in the morning is one of the most terrifying things you will ever experience.

How did you deal with such terrifying situations?

Thankfully they always ran away.
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