The “broken windows” theory of policing in the 1990s and 2000s showed how the failure to punish even minor infractions soon leads to escalation to more violent crimes.
Victor Davis Hanson; American Greatness "Recently there were some remarkable online videos of a Portland, Oregon good Samaritan confronting shoplifters and forcing them to dump loads of their pilfered goods.
"More stunning, however, was the sheer outrage—of the thieves!
"They pouted. They screamed. They resisted. How dare anyone stop them from stealing anything they wished.
"The criminals entertained no fear of any consequences for walking out with bags of things that were not theirs. They had no care that mainstreaming their habits would undermine the entire fabric of society.
"What is common to the pandemic of smash-and-grab, carjacking, fighting on airliners while in flight, and deadly Saturday night shoot-outs is this same apparent assurance there will be no consequences.
"That expectation of exemption is why the Antifa thugs in Atlanta were so bold in their latest violent attacks on the police. ". . .
Could the FBI and the CIA recover their tarnished reputations if their directors knew in advance they would go to jail for lying under federal oath? Sometimes the problem is not just the absence of sure punishment for criminal behavior, but the asymmetry of penalties.
Why are some violent criminals released from custody the very day they punch, club, or shoot innocents, while others committing lesser offenses are not?
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