Wouldn't police arresting those before they have committed violent acts be considered thought crime? Shouldn't we arrest those that do things not those who talk about things?
Yes, but in most cases we are arresting people for planning a crime, not just nonchalantly discussing it. Handing out recruitment flyers for an organisation that bombs others? Planning to murder your wife? Planning on defrauding x out of their life savings? You know, actual plans that meet the burden of proof for a criminal investigation. Yes. Please prevent this stuff that folks are planning.
Only more often it is the police who pretend to plan a crime and recruit suspects to participate in that fiction. If the suspects show willingness to participate they get arrested.
It's interesting to see replies justifying the status quo. Yes, you're absolutely right.
I want to say "arresting people for their words is a useful political tool," but it doesn't seem that clear-cut anymore. You see this when kids get arrested or expelled for some harmless thing they said on Twitter.
There is a point at which discussing some theoretical action and it's implications/legal limitations/ethical concerns becomes conspiring to actually commit it..
Thinking it would be 'cool' if someone $verbed evil $noun or whatever is different than actively actually finding people to actually do it...
If you are making concrete plans to commit a crime, it is often punished with the same sentence as if you had committed the crime. In Canada and the UK, for example, conspiracy to murder can be punished with life imprisonment.