http://www.wtop.com/?nid=722&sid=1565592

After all, there is a huge underground economy dependent on the drug trade keeping peoples head above water and off the homeless rolls. With all the jobs going overseas how are the unskilled drug dealers and addicts and assorted rift raft going to make ends meet if we take away their livelihood?
Imagine the increase in demand for public funded services if that was wiped out?

Not to mention the potential loss of millions from confiscated property directly or indirectly supportive of the drug industry which is reintroduced into the communities.

I suspect the powers that be are content to just keep a lid on it until they line up all those jobs rebuilding our infrastructure that the government keeps talking about.

Because as it has been pointed out even items that are legal and can be purchased by just about anyone are still smuggled and still used by gangs, the mafia etc to make money.

I see the same issue with illegal immigration. The Feds confess to wanting to stop it, yet they engage in half hearted attempts(raids on businesses) and completely ignore the issue in other ways.

The point I was getting at was this: Don’t expect every government sponsored solution to work. In many cases it just spawns a new industry dependent on the continued existence of that problem of which was to be solved by Big Brother. Making Big Brother a de facto business partner financed with our tax dollars.

We also need to find ways to better reintegrate prisoners back into society. Way back when, you served your time, paid your dues and that was that. Can we go back to that attitude with non violent offenders?

In your first post, you said we should not lock up every felon. That is just insane. I said if a person commits a crime and is eligible for jail time, they should do it.

I’m not big on compassion because there are too many examples where that was provided and the people who received it went on to commit further crimes many much worse than the ones they previously committed.

With food banks, Churches, etc, there is never a need for people to steal for food.

The fact is we punish, incarcerate, rehabilitate or whatever you want to call it, for the crimes which have been committed and not what crimes they may commit.

Lock ‘em up. String ‘em up. Club ‘em like a baby seal. Of the three the last two would be more of a deterrent than the first, but we are currently held to using the first choice in most cases.

People ask why are so many criminals still on the streets. The articles I have read and people who I have talked to convey the same thing….they have run out of room for the “bad guys”.

Since the war on drugs ( failure that it is ) has been the fuel for the emergence of the “Prison Industrial Complex”, it is behind schedule in the construction of more profit centers/prisons. Our Senator Webb has some good points on this issue.

http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=284989

Black people dont bother me, I have some in my family. However I do have issues with the portrayal of “gangsta’s” and other hip-hop type crap. That’s what is getting kids into trouble these days, all they gotta do is turn on MTV and now you have instant role models the children look up to and emulate. When 90 Percent of rappers are former gang members (or current) and you have kids listening too them like the gospel, you have a problem there.

as for the former officer, I’m a former Law enforcement officer as well. During a break from the military I served 4 years on the LAPD running the rampart beat. I dont think I need to be told I’m not a realist. I have seen crap that I still have nightmares about today and will continue to have for the rest of my life. The bottom line is that punishment needs to fit the crime and a standard needs to be maintained. Swift justice is always a deterrent. The law is not perfect, but it’s what we got. It’s one of those things that is always being tweaked.

Again, you’re living in a fantasy land. I’d love to see all criminals locked up but in real life everyday people commit crimes once in a while and not all deserved to be locked up. Based on your logic then it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are-everyone gets locked up if they commit a crime. You don’t believe compassion has a part when justice is meted out? By all means, locks up murderers and child rapists. But do you lock up and throw away the key for someone stealing food from Giant to feed their family? No easy answer to all of this by any means.

The answer is simple, lock up people who after breaking the law are eligible for it, and keep them in jail until their sentence is finished. Stop spending so much money on social programs redirect that money to the Justice system. Which felons would you want to set free or not to have to serve time? Cop killers? Those that kill children?

The real world, is locking people up and getting them out of society for their crimes. We all live in the real world and are sick of criminals getting a slap on the wrist and let go only to commit more crimes.