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[deleted] t1_isty156 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in D.C. Council Prepares To Vote On Overhaul Of Criminal Code by LocalBearEnthusiast

[deleted]

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cptjeff t1_isu87s0 wrote

It has an effect, just not as large an effect as certainty of punishment. Modest sentences in a rehabilitative setting but a 100% closure and conviction rate is the ideal.

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DcDonkey t1_isva3e6 wrote

I will chime in with agreement on the certainty of punishment being a key part of deterrence Maybe, or possibly punishing somebody with a long sentence 3 years after the alleged crime I feel confident in saying will not do much to prevent crime.

Does this mean that the no cash bail movement that activists have been pushing leads to an increase in crime? It's an interesting question and I guess we will know the answer after the studies are finished 10 years from today.

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cptjeff t1_iswbbft wrote

No cash bail is irrelevant to this, but a good thing done right. Suspects should be held or not held based on assessment of flight or risk to the community, not based on access to wealth. There are certainly activists pushing it who don't want anyone held pre-trial, and those people are morons.

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sd2301 t1_istznwc wrote

But when you have some of the same people committing crimes, wouldn't putting them away longer necessarily bring down the level of crime in that particular area where that person operated? So, putting aside the deterrent effect, simply putting a criminal away should bring down crime, since that person no longer has the freedom to commit crime.

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LeoMarius t1_isu8ese wrote

> People don't commit crimes thinking "what's the punishment for this if I get caught".

That's exactly why fare jumping became normalized after the DC Council decriminalized it.

/s

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