What the Liberals, and the OP (but I repeat myself), fail to understand is it's not possible to control human behavior. Sure, you can try to manipulate and reward behavior (positive and negative consequences), but the choice is up to the individual.
Sometimes you can offer an alternative to incarceration that, if taken as an opportunity, can mean breaking the cycle of criminal behavior, such as military service, continued education, job placement, etc. Sometimes crime is a result of financial circumstance, and providing a path to allow them to change their circumstances is enough.
Unfortunately, career criminals exist, and their morals are not aligned with societal demands. Theft, assault and even murder can't be deterred if the person lacks the moral compass to know what's right or wrong.
Best thing the justice system can do is step up incarcerations, make prisons less comfortable, and offer alternatives to prison for those who demonstrate a real desire to earn money legitimately.
Any solution needs to involve something other than catch-and-release like we see today in many crime-riddled cities.
I've never been convicted of anything, charged .yes but never convicted.
I take an opposite view of yours
"make prisons less comfortable,"
I was in New Orleans Parish prison for a while. That is equivalent to a county jail.
The conditions there were shall I say, I wanted to kill all the cops, guys were getting raped
(Cops watched and laughed)., thefts , you name it.
I had to sleep in the middle of a group of Marines( in for strong arm robbery) to be safe
and stay up all night with my back against a corner wall.
playing solitaire. I learned how to play Spades CORRECTLY in jail from some gang members.
My point is this;
The point of jail is to isolate bad people from "good" people.
so isolate them from people.
All people.
Re-hab is a good goal, but most everyone I ever dealt with was a loser,
Justice system sucks, but our prison system is even worse.
I think the Japanese have the best system.
I got a week of bad time tacked on to my enlistment.
That was all.
IYAC it was a fight on Bourbon street.
