Re:Comparison of British, American and French Systems of Jus...
by riffraff on Wednesday May 25, 2016 @04:05AM
(#11768333)
the point is that the "european" view is that you prevent crime by trying to help people who committed a crime rather than by punishing them.
Too harsh a punishment often only succeeds in putting someone in a position where they are even more likely to break the law.
E.g. you catch someone for smoking pot, and they get civil service and have to visit social support/psychologist/whatever.
This might not do any good but it might do some.
If you send them to jail for 5 years, they it's basically guaranteed that they will get out being in a much worse position than they were before, and more likely do commit crimes.
Too harsh a punishment often only succeeds in putting someone in a position where they are even more likely to break the law.
E.g. you catch someone for smoking pot, and they get civil service and have to visit social support/psychologist/whatever. This might not do any good but it might do some.
If you send them to jail for 5 years, they it's basically guaranteed that they will get out being in a much worse position than they were before, and more likely do commit crimes.