[dylan604]

The cause of the behavior (as phrased when asked) is not wanting to go to jail. Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

[closeparen]

Stealing cars (often at gunpoint) and driving them recklessly is an entertainment activity for young men with poor impulse control and little regard for human life. This kind of person makes decisions of comparable quality elsewhere in life that are probably incompatible with being middle class.

[bigfatkitten]

> Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

The latter is often a result of the former. People self-medicating to escape misery.

[Aurornis]

Can happen, but being miserable is a not a prerequisite to wanting to get high.

I think it fits a narrative to explain addictions away as something that happens to someone as a victim of their circumstances, but personal choices are a real input.

[lukan]

"Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction."

Can't we just blame GTA?

[samdoesnothing]

Are you suggesting criminals in other cities and countries do want to go to jail? Like, the reason there aren't high speed chases in Amsterdam is because Amsterdesian criminals actually enjoy life in the clink?

[wredcoll]

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases?

(assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

[c420]

I'm going to guess... because we can? Police here are willing to chase for almost anything in most jurisdictions. I bet there are restrictions on what constitutes a chasable offense in the rest of the world.

[zimpenfish]

> I bet there are restrictions on what constitutes a chasable offense in the rest of the world.

UK has stuff like [0] which contains a whole bunch of "is it worth it?" considerations. Also if a chase causes a death, the officer(s) can be prosecuted[1] - I suspect the nonsense of "qualified immunity" means there's no risk to a US officer for initiating a chase that ends in death.

[0] https://www.college.police.uk/app/roads-policing/police-purs...

[1] e.g https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58889155

[dmurray]

In Ireland, the police (and the public) look on the UK regime with envy.

After this case [0] the standing orders are that it's basically never worth it, you risk a prosecution no matter what the circumstances.

[0] https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/garda-charged-aft...

[seemaze]

Lots of high capacity vehicular infra in LA.. I imagine most places just have ‘chases’.

[georgeecollins]

Or.. https://youtu.be/RvV3nn_de2k?si=7bXkaIri1_o95Ofs

[zimpenfish]

> so why do americans have more high speed chases?

Off the top of my head: 1) US cops are more likely to harass, maim, kill you than most other places (whether you've crimed or not); 2) US legal system seems a little hinky when it comes to certain people; 3) "three strikes" (not sure if that's countrywide or state-level? pretty sure it's still around tho'?) can mean life for three trivial crimes; 4) car-centric country - lots of them and everywhere is designed for cars[0].

[0] Imagine a car chase around London[1] or some other wackily streeted city.

[1] No, the godawful nonsense Hollywood comes up with does not count.

[Rebelgecko]

California's 3 strikes law only applies to "serious" felonies. The list is pretty reasonable IMO. No one is getting life in prison for littering or insurance fraud

It's basically a list of violent crimes, the only one that seems out of pocket is selling PCP, meth, or cocaine to childre, which is bad but could arguably be less bad than the others on the list

[aerostable_slug]

Raping an unconscious person is not on the list of violent felonies. Neither is domestic violence with traumatic injury, assault with a deadly weapon, or felony battery with serious bodily injury.

It takes a lot to earn strikes in California.

[zimpenfish]

> California's 3 strikes law only applies to "serious" felonies.

But not all states are California.

> No one is getting life in prison for littering or insurance fraud

William James Rummel begs to differ[0] - fraudulent use of a credit card ($80), forged check ($28.36), failure to return payment for non-performed work ($120.75) and voila, life sentence (albeit later reduced to time served on procedural grounds.)

[0] also references "Graham v. West Virginia, a 1912 case which involved an individual convicted of three separate counts of horse thievery total[l]ing $235" which ended up in a life sentence.

In summary, some states may have sensible 3 strike laws, some may not.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle

[Rebelgecko]

LAPD helicopters rarely if ever leave California. IMO we shouldn't base our law enforcement on what Texas was doing 50 years ago (or West Virginia before helicopters were even invented)

[zimpenfish]

> LAPD helicopters rarely if ever leave California.

The person I responded to said "so why do americans have more high speed chases?" Last I checked, "americans" covered more than just California.

> IMO we shouldn't base our law enforcement on what Texas was doing 50 years ago

Indeed not! California's Three Strikes law isn't all that great though[0].

"Project clients have been given life sentences for offenses including stealing one dollar in loose change from a parked car, possessing less than a gram of narcotics, and attempting to break into a soup kitchen."

I'd say two of those were even sillier than the Texas example.

But to its credit, California did vote to reform it in 2021 and people have been released since.

[0] https://law.stanford.edu/three-strikes-project/three-strikes...

[SauntSolaire]

I would love to see more comprehensive stats to answer this question, rather than relying on cases studies you have to go back over one hundred years to find.

[zimpenfish]

> over one hundred years

Look, I know I'm old and it feels like it but 1980 is absolutely not one hundred years ago.

> I would love to see more comprehensive stats to answer this question

Have some more recent California examples (between 1994 when they created the law and 2012 when it was loosened): "[...] given life sentences for offenses including stealing one dollar in loose change from a parked car, possessing less than a gram of narcotics, and attempting to break into a soup kitchen."[0]

[0] https://law.stanford.edu/three-strikes-project/three-strikes...