Many would argue that it is liberalism that has made The West soft on crime. The ivory towered academics particularly. They confuse their rose tinted views with those of a meaner and nastier disposition. It is an awkward problem that most politicians duck because no one has really come up with adequate answers. Prisoners are locked away and temporarily out of sight. Not many show any remorse for their actions. Maybe a points system could be instituted, Say every level of crime is awarded points. First degree murder could be 100 points and automatic termination. The points of burglary, perhaps 10 points. Assault 20 points etc would be totaled up. Those genuinely wanting to rejoin the human race could be helped back with education etc.
Just had a thought if the prison population in the US was halved there would be a jump in unemployment claims from out of work ex prison staff and recently released prisoners. Ah well. Bound to be a downside I suppose. Oh and all those legal fees from appeals from Death Row for 20 years.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 2,220,300 adults were incarcerated in US federal and state prisons, and county jails in 2013 – about 0.91% of adults (1 in 110) in the U.S. resident population. Additionally, 4,751,400 adults in 2013 (1 in 51) were on probation or on parole. What's it like now and the COST must be shedloads.
Britain is no better. Half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia. Country Prison population Population per 100,000 ENGLAND/WALES 80,002 148 JAPAN 79,052 62 KENYA 47,036 130 TURKEY 65,458 91