by Mr. Smith

Created on: June 19, 2007

Let's all think about what non-violent means first. Non-violent crimes means that the crimes committed were not physically harming, or in any way, violent. However, this does not mean the crimes would not INDIRECTLY cause physical harm to a person.
For example, a CEO of a major corporation commits money fraud, and steals millions of dollars from hard working employees. They don't get paid because the company goes bankrupt. These people don't get money, their retirement funds disappear, and their lives are in disarray. Families without money can't afford food, and suddenly they can't pay for medical bills. So now this man that caused this to happen to hundreds or thousands of families gets off with no jail time, just a hefty fine? Absolutely not. Anyone in the position of the bankrupt family would demand and want the CEO to be sentenced to jail.

Simple crimes such as burglary or vandalism should be enforced with jail time so it prevents re-occurrence. Some people say it would not affect crime rates. Let's think from the criminal's point of view. Commit vandalism and possibly get a one-hundred dollar fine, or commit vandalism and possibly get jail time? Obviously crime rates would decrease substantially if jail time was put into effect. The United States' crime rate is increasing, so why not fight against it?
Our system of law has loop holes around every corner, and these criminals know that when they break the law, they can get off easily. Things like theft are not treated as seriously as they should be. You steal something, and get a fine. That is it. Our economy would function much better without all of these minor issues interfering.
Enforcing non-violent crimes with jail time is critical to preventing repetitive occurrence of those crimes. Society would function much better without having to worry about those types of things. Not to mention the police wouldn't have to be working so hard against those types of crimes, and would be focused more on the violent ones. These non-violent crimes cause countless problems in the United States today, and including jail time with these types of crimes would effectively reduce the amount of times they appear.

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