Generally calling something security theatre has an implication that it shouldnt be done because of its inefficacy and the availability of robust alternatives (e.g., port knocking is theatre when we can have robust security on known ports with minimal configuration and cryptography).
While I do agree that security theater does have a connotation for things that have no reason to be done, I only meant that it's not enough. It's theater in the sense that it would only provide a sense of safety, not solve the actual underlying issue or vulnerability class.
In general, very little is ever enough to completely prevent some sort of determined targeted attack, especially if the attacker doesn't care whether they're caught or not.
> The weak association between higher incarceration rates and lower crime rates applies almost entirely to property crime.16 Research consistently shows that higher incarceration rates are not associated with lower violent crime rates.
It does make sense. If a person is committing a crime in the hopes of material gain, reducing that material gain by imposing a negative gain if they get caught should deter them.
It doesn't seem like a person committing a crime of passion would be using that sort calculus. And it turns out in this case intuition is right: the figures say they don't. Ergo the threat of jail has no effect on the number of murders committed.
What deterrents is one of the hardest problems society has ever grappled with. How do we stop antisocial behaviours? Prisons (a modern punishment) do not seem to work, for a multitude of complicated reasons. This is coming from someone who has been through the system.
Sure. And the threat of jail/imprisonment doesn't deter determined murderer's. It doesn't mean we shouldn't put deterrents.