There are plenty of people that believe in this basic simplicity, that crime is pretty much done by bad people and for bad reasons – thus we need then a strong policing force to stop those bad actors. This seems to be the implicit belief in the United States, which is why the United States, locks up a higher percentage of its citizens, by a significant margin, over any other industrialized western nation. Yet, for all the crime and punishment doled out by America’s justice system, the crime keeps on coming, in which, apparently despite all the criminals locked up, there are still plenty of other criminals plying their trade upon the public and its institutions.
The fact of the matter is that crime does not operate in a vacuum, so that there are always proximate reasons why crime exists, which should be considered to be a fair reflection of the actual social conditions of that nation, as experienced in real life. That is to say, what breeds crime, has an awful lot to do with injustice, unfairness, inequality, discrimination, hopelessness, lack of opportunity, dysfunctional home life, bad environments, inappropriate role models, impulsive and bad decisions, and inadequate educational systems. Further to the point, it can be stated with absolute certainty, that the crime rate of a given nation reflects fairly the social conditions, in whole, of that nation. That is to say, those nations with low crime rates, are the very same nations that are noted for being more fair-minded and just, in the first place.
In truth, an abundance of inequality and injustice breeds discontent. The solution then to rectify that discontent comes from the removal or amelioration of that inequality and injustice, as opposed to having in place, a police force, that will, for certain areas of particular communities, act not to serve and to protect the people, but pretty much as an alien occupying force, which exerts its form of justice, upon the streets. The crime that we have in this nation, is related to the fact, that those that cannot have what they believe that they deserve or want, are going to thus find the means to get that which they believe they deserve or want, frequently through criminal or other illicit activity.
America represents an amalgamation of peoples with quite diverse backgrounds, of which, to the credit of this nation, it has attempted to meld itself into something of true substance, and to represent then that “out of many, we are one.” Regrettably, the United States falls far short in accomplishing this achievement, and to the dismay of those that wish to see America live up to is founding ideals, it has visibly turned its back upon the poor, the disenfranchised, and the vulnerable. The crime and the dissatisfaction that we see all around us, is a reflection of the current social conditions of this nation, and the solution is not now, nor will ever be, more law and order; but rather the appropriate solution needs to be based upon the foundation that each citizen in America, is fairly entitled to a fair opportunity to live a good life, with the incumbent structure so needed for this occur, solidly in place and functional for each of its citizens to avail themselves of.