[peddling-brink]

And these thieves were already well cared for in a healthy society with all sorts of opportunities available to them regardless of social status, skin color, and mental heath?

Crime goes down when the gap between the rich and the poor goes down.

[zdragnar]

Look at sibling comments on copper theft in Scandinavian countries.

The idea that humans only commit crime out of necessity and wouldn't do it if they could just get a 9-5 job is extremely naive.

[xp84]

Some people can't stomach the idea that some individuals can be blamed for their own bad behavior, so this lie that all crime must be society's fault is the only way they can avoid rethinking their worldview.

I believe that most people are good, but others do not have good character. They are the ones who ruin things for everyone else. They even ruin things for the people who are "good but victims of bad luck." By refusing to deal harshly with the bad actors (e.g. by locking them up), we create a world where you can't really trust anyone, including those who are just down on their luck but have integrity.

[stickfigure]

Some people just want drugs.