I live in the United States and can tell you that having tons of laws that lead to prison time don't make me feel safer, they make me fear and hate the police. That holds true for lots of others too. I don't fear criminals on a regular basis; I fear my government and police.
Due to the huge number of offenses that can lead to jail and prison time, every single person in the U.S. can be arrested for something. What happens when the number of offenders exceeds the number of police and prison space? Police become selective... how do they select who to arrest and imprison? That's where the real trouble starts.
Who will be locked up most? In the U.S., the rich people don't generally see much, if any prison time. Even the ones who commit heinous crimes that lead to the widespread ruining of lives. Rich people are more likely to sue and have influential friends, so police generally concentrate on easy targets -- the rest of the public.
What happens when police effectiveness and promotions are based on the number of arrests made each month? Police become predators instead of beneficial parts of society. They harass citizens and pick on easy targets who are less likely to effectively defend themselves.
When vast numbers of people are being locked up, people should ask themselves why that is. Are all the people really deserving such treatment? In the U.S., you can be arrested for just about anything it seems. Arresting people is big business in the U.S.
Living in a metro area, I and my family members have been slow-rolled by police on the highways despite fitting in with the accepted "norm" of the area. Cops run around looking for people to bust and receive promotions from. Where do they conduct their predatory operations? Not the rich areas -- the rich people have great lawyers and influential friends.
Carefully consider such things before giving politicians and law enforcement more power to lock people up that they don't like. Take a look at the U.S. and ask yourself if you would feel safer and more free as a citizen of the U.S. than Canada with all the harsh laws and prisons.
Be sure to vote once you come up with an answer. You know the people pushing for more imprisonments and harsher penalties for petty offenses will.
Submitted by Anonymous () on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 06:07.
I live in the United States
I live in the United States and can tell you that having tons of laws that lead to prison time don't make me feel safer, they make me fear and hate the police. That holds true for lots of others too. I don't fear criminals on a regular basis; I fear my government and police.
Due to the huge number of offenses that can lead to jail and prison time, every single person in the U.S. can be arrested for something. What happens when the number of offenders exceeds the number of police and prison space? Police become selective... how do they select who to arrest and imprison? That's where the real trouble starts.
Who will be locked up most? In the U.S., the rich people don't generally see much, if any prison time. Even the ones who commit heinous crimes that lead to the widespread ruining of lives. Rich people are more likely to sue and have influential friends, so police generally concentrate on easy targets -- the rest of the public.
What happens when police effectiveness and promotions are based on the number of arrests made each month? Police become predators instead of beneficial parts of society. They harass citizens and pick on easy targets who are less likely to effectively defend themselves.
When vast numbers of people are being locked up, people should ask themselves why that is. Are all the people really deserving such treatment? In the U.S., you can be arrested for just about anything it seems. Arresting people is big business in the U.S.
Living in a metro area, I and my family members have been slow-rolled by police on the highways despite fitting in with the accepted "norm" of the area. Cops run around looking for people to bust and receive promotions from. Where do they conduct their predatory operations? Not the rich areas -- the rich people have great lawyers and influential friends.
Carefully consider such things before giving politicians and law enforcement more power to lock people up that they don't like. Take a look at the U.S. and ask yourself if you would feel safer and more free as a citizen of the U.S. than Canada with all the harsh laws and prisons.
Be sure to vote once you come up with an answer. You know the people pushing for more imprisonments and harsher penalties for petty offenses will.