tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post9053035609406987399..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Sunday morning tidbitsGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-386313882803818722007-10-08T19:19:00.000-05:002007-10-08T19:19:00.000-05:00What I fear is that smoking in a public place will...What I fear is that smoking in a public place will become a crime. BTW I stopped smoking in 1962.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-54120183790467345782007-10-08T16:35:00.000-05:002007-10-08T16:35:00.000-05:00In the same way that the major cause of death is -...In the same way that the major cause of death is ------ life, the major cause of crime is human activities that are made illegal by legislators.<BR/><BR/>The more activities that are classified as "criminal", the more crime. It is as simple at that!<BR/><BR/>There is a point at which some percentage of individuals will engage in criminal activity as defined. That point involves about 20% of the population measured over time.<BR/><BR/>The duty of the Courts is to protect the individual or minority against unfair laws enacted by the majority. If the courts were doing their job correctly by protecting the minority according to the Constitution and Bill of Rights; that percentage whould represent less than 5% of society. Anything more than 5% is unjust and indicates a failure of the Courts to do their job!<BR/><BR/>Crime reduction is far more dependent upon the legislature than it is upon police and DA activities to "protect the public safety".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26472825147176665902007-10-08T12:41:00.000-05:002007-10-08T12:41:00.000-05:00There is no unified theory of crime causation and ...There is no unified theory of crime causation and the economic theories do not make verifiable predictions (a theory that does not make verifiable predictions is toast in other fields of research).<BR/><BR/>There are a lot of sociological variables (high poverty rates, overcrowding, high school drop out rates etc.) that are associated with high crime rate neighborhood but correlation and association are not causation. <BR/><BR/>In order to work with data you are forced to deal with variables based on average properties of a group of individuals. Crimes are committed by individuals so there is a major disconnect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-17211930455216629012007-10-08T08:58:00.000-05:002007-10-08T08:58:00.000-05:00Another component to the offender's estimate of th...Another component to the offender's estimate of the price of committing a crime is that individual's perceived odds of getting caught, odds of getting convicted, and odds of getting a particular sentence. That's a pretty complicated line of thinking to suppose someone would go through before robbing a store or committing any other crime. Maybe all else being equal, these calculations can predict behavior between two different individuals, but my guess is that economic theory of crime is woefully lacking.Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10588085847973133375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66856566585823136242007-10-08T00:36:00.000-05:002007-10-08T00:36:00.000-05:00It sends a message alright, but not to the people ...It sends a message alright, but not to the people implied by the statement. Those engaged in criminal activities never expect to get caught or get the full sentence IF they even consider it in the first place. Those (what we would call here) middle class law abiding citizens are the people who the message sticks with, and it's a politial message more than a justice-based one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-38444960040540468682007-10-07T18:37:00.000-05:002007-10-07T18:37:00.000-05:00Well, and the reason you didn't mention those type...Well, and the reason you didn't mention those types of crimes is that the economic theory of crime you're suggesting doesn't really apply to those offenses, right?<BR/><BR/>You may not think deterrence is a reason for high penalties, but that's how they're discussed among lawmakers: "This will send a message," they'll say, as though the crook will receive a phone call or a letter in the mail. If prison is only for protection, not "deterrence," there'd be a lot fewer people incarcerated.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-68328488041538981252007-10-07T16:22:00.000-05:002007-10-07T16:22:00.000-05:00Most Texans seems to think so. You notice i didn't...Most Texans seems to think so. You notice i didn't mention those types of crimes in my post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-7588814289098660932007-10-07T13:23:00.000-05:002007-10-07T13:23:00.000-05:00So if your theory of punishment as protection is r...So if your theory of punishment as protection is right, 11:49, how does that apply to drug crimes? Or prostitution? Even possession of less than a gram of crack or meth is a felony - is that because we need to be protected longer from drug addicts than people who beat up their wives and get charged with a misdemeanor?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-25129703416254883562007-10-07T11:49:00.000-05:002007-10-07T11:49:00.000-05:00The economy described in the article is artificial...The economy described in the article is artificial. It only requires decision making in the context of positive gain or no gain. No one loses anything except money they never had to begin with. Sounds more like there are people who are willing to risk rejecting a small gain on the chance they will be able to get more. <BR/><BR/>It doesn't matter what someone's genetic proclivities are. If they are willing to rob, cheat, and hurt other people then the public needs to be protected from them. <BR/><BR/>The Texas correctional economy only says the worse the crime, the more the time, the longer people are protected. If the theory is true, correctional agencies would need to alter the rehabilitative theory to identify effective strategies for identifying and altering self-defeating thought processes. This happens all the time, at least in other states...<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>If you apply this model to plea bargains we would have far more trials than we do now?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com