One of Murphy's Laws is that if something doesn't work, kick it. Although this sounds ludicrous, this is precisely the approach of legal systems to criminals. A more sensible approach to fixing machines is to discover what went wrong and fix it. Applied to people who commit crimes, the system should analyse what went wrong and see to it that the offender does not act the same way. This requires that supervisors be put in control of the offender's life in one way or another, including whatever technological devices be required to do the job. This is much more democratic than imposing fines or prison sentences in that it falls equally on the rich and the poor and is a way of inducing correct behavior in a real life situation. And probably the remedy might consist in helping the offender to become a well behaved citizen instead of inflicting mindless punishment. Undoubtedly some would have to be incarcerated to control them but it might lessen the very high economic burden that mass incarceration now imposes on society and it might result in producing less violent resentment in criminals which merely induces them to remain anti-social.
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I couldn't agree more... but I'll try anyway. We need a lot more creativity in the way punishment is handed out. A perfect example: You try to dine and dash at a restaurant, and you get caught. Instead of calling the cops, the owner of the restaurant makes you wash dishes for a while. The punishment should always fit the crime, in both severity AND relevance. Save the prisons for people who are actually dangerous to others.
At the heart of this is the reason people commit crimes; often, it's the excitement they seek, more than the monetary or material gain. No amount of possible future punishment is going to discourage a criminal seeking an immediate adrenaline rush.
Reward for good behavior is the key tool used in every successful behavior modification program. In the case of the criminal, it's often the thrill of being pursued that is the reward- the inevitability of being caught and/or being punished, no matter how severely, never enters the picture. With built-in self-rewards, changing criminal behavior isn't going to be so easy.
There are ID chips implanted into household pets that could be adapted to use in convicted criminals. A criminal with such a chip implanted in his body could trigger an alarm whenever he visits a security-conscious business or facility, alerting the staff to be especially watchful.
Leave the chip in place permanently.
Although something like a RFID implant would be useful in putting people on alert and would be helpful in keeping track of a potential criminal, it probably would engender other problems. If it could be inserted easily it could just as easily be illegally removed and if it is permanant it would create a permanant underclass of criminals who had no hope of rejoining society as normal citizens. Close supervision is undoubtedly expensive and would require a massive revision of criminal procedures but probably it would be no more expensive than the sadistic system now extant and has the potential to rehabilitate people and restore them to normal society where they can contribute economically and culturally to the population.
I beleve that every child that is left alone when they are growing up has a better change of going bad. I think that every child needs his or her parents to play with whem,stop and listen to what they have to say,and to be with their child about 5 to 6 hours a day. We have never put a TV or Computer in any bedroom because that puts your child in another world. If you want to have a person that is going to grow up to be a good person it has to start at 1 day old. My Children are 27 and 30 years old now but if one of them comes into my home to talk the first thing I do is turn the TV off. Joe in Florida
I agree with Joe. If you want to reduce crime, start with the family. Children that grow up to be criminals come from homes that (often) were dysfunctional. Our families are dysfunctional because society is constantly sending the message that family doesnt matter. Womens groups bash men as pigs that arent needed in the family. The welfare system rewards women for having children without a father. Parents send their kids to daycare to be raised by strangers 8-12 hours a day. Divorce is rampant in our society. And we are surprised that crime is a problem??
I heard a proverb (I think it was a chinese proverb) the other day that I really liked.-If you are planting for a year...Plant Wheat-If you are planting for a decade...Plant a Tree-If you are planting for a century...Plant a Child
Dine and Dash is not a good idea, you are almost guaranteed to get caught as you will invariably eat too much as you are getting the food for free and you will probably order a few beers as well, your body will then divert blood to your stomach to digest the food, oxygenated blood which will be badly needed to supply your leg muscles during the dash.You are therefore in no fit state physically to get away and should dial a taxi or have a getaway vehicle standing by outside if you plan to do this.
The way they stop people in the UK from doing dine and dash in pubs when they order food is to make them pay up front. No cash, no food.
A smart criminal could shield an RFID by wearing clothing which was made of lightweight copper mesh to act as a faraday cage, it could be covered in normal cloth to conceal it. The interrogating radio signal would be absorbed and reflected by this mesh and would not get through to the RFID below.
I understand that RFID chips are now small enough to be injectable. Easy to install, tough to remove.Actually, if the presence of a convicted criminal puts a business's staff on alert, isn't that as good as, or better than, having a full-time psychologist keeping tabs on his behavior?
Regarding Beaugrand's comment that criminals seek the high of playing "tag" with the law. How about offering parolees an amusement park where they can play snatch and run, shoplift, grand theft auto, bop-a-cop, etc.? Insanely, this might judo-istically "get it out of their system." And the very light-heartedness of the arrangement might get them out of their noir mind set and behave more cheerily. It's worth an experiment. If it doesn't work, the park could be opened to the general public for mere amusement.