
Parents Behind Bars - unitedacademics
http://www.ua-magazine.com/us-incarceration/
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aisofteng
Generally you get put in jail for committing crimes. How about we try to fix
the reasons leading to people committing those crimes instead? Why is it so
outlandish to suggest that people shouldn't commit crime in the first place?

You break the law, you go to jail. You keep doing it, you go back. If you have
kids, stop doing things that can out you in jail, like a reasonable human
being. And if certain communities have a culture where crime is accepted,
well, doesn't seem to be much choice if they don't want to change.

Why is that becoming politically incorrect to say?

~~~
arielweisberg
"You break the law, you go to jail."

I think the argument is that there is nothing productive about sending people
to prison. At least not as prison, prison time, and transitioning back to
society is currently structured.

It's not better for society, it's not better for the victim (and what if there
is no victim), and it's not better for the person going to jail.

So why do it? Why not take a more results based approach to preventing people
from reoffending? Why not make it easier for them to reintegrate into society
once they are out?

If all you want to do is punish people out of some need for retribution sure
keep it up. But then you have to accept the costs that come with that need for
retribution.

~~~
aisofteng
The productive part is preventing them from damaging public safety and the
lives of others who choose not to do things that we have decided as a society
to codify as illegal. If someone is robbing people in a neighborhood, say, how
could not removing them possibly be the better choice?

~~~
CaptSpify
How about removing the reasons they rob, or giving them the psychiatric help
they need to prevent them from robbing someone?

I'd much rather have someone become a productive member of society then let
them rot away in jail.

~~~
wruza
Psychiatry doesn't work that way, man. You can't take a pill and become
greatest neighbor on the block. Or solve everyone's problems and then live
happily.

Your otherwise cool idea has no real implementations (communism doesn't
count).

~~~
CaptSpify
Uhh, yeah, I never said it was easy or simple. It's gonna take a lot of hard
work to get people adjusted, and I don't believe we even can adjust everyone.
But that approach is more realistic and successful than "don't commit crimes"

> Your otherwise cool idea has no real implementations (communism doesn't
> count).

Other than the fact that it has completely real and provable implementations:

[http://www.alltreatment.com/drug-rehab-
infographic](http://www.alltreatment.com/drug-rehab-infographic)

[http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/18/prison-
could...](http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/18/prison-could-be-
productive/punishment-fails-rehabilitation-works)

~~~
wruza
First link seems to be irrelevant since it only covers drug addiction that can
be treated as mental disease, but other potential crimes can not. Second
article shows reduction of violence _in or after the jail_ , not reduction of
violence per se. You cannot forcibly cure not-yet-guilty with that, and they
aren't guilty until commit a crime. But it is great method on its own.

~~~
CaptSpify
Those are just the first two links I found after 5 seconds of searching
though. My points have been proven over and over and over by other studies.

~~~
wruza
No amount of studies can change the following: we still can't force non-guilty
guys to psychiatrist (because they are free to just not go there), and guilty
guys already are in jail. Where do you think this logic should be broken?

To not send them there and to cure instead? Organized crimes will grow on this
scheme like mushrooms after rain.

To test and monitor everyone before they do something? That's what everyone is
fighting with (Snowden et al).

Again, their idea is great, but it will never be elected in social context.

~~~
CaptSpify
Oh yeah, totally. Using known proven methods for reducing crime is going to be
a total waste of everyone's time. We should totally just put them in a box
instead and not try to fix the root of the problem. Lets keep using the same
methods that have been proven not to work because some people might be able to
abuse another process.

/sarcasm

~~~
wruza
Okay, how would you implement that, exactly?

~~~
CaptSpify
To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm not an expert in crime, prison, or socially
integrating people back into society. I would start with listening to experts
who have methods with reproducible results, however, which is something the US
typically doesn't do when it comes to these issues.

------
FussyZeus
This is a direct result of the "tough on crime" laws from the 90's, combined
with the fact that we treat our convicted felons like human trash. Ridiculous
sentences for low level, non-violent offenses turn people who did one dumb
thing one weekend into hard criminals, and then we throw them on the street
with a twenty dollar bill and nothing else, prevent them from getting work at
every opportunity, and wonder why the end up committing more crime.

And on top of all of that, there's NO evidence that higher sentences and
harsher punishments have any effect on the overall crime rates.

