The notion of soft-on-crime being desirable or that "tough on crime" is accordingly some kind of pejorative is insane. People do not seem to understand that criminals, by definition, will take ten miles if you give them an inch.
Advocates' argument is always "even with strict penalties people still commit crime!!" yeah no shit sherlock, but do they commit more or less? This is not, as they say, rocket science.
If a crime carries a penalty of 10 years in prison instead of a 100 dollar fine, people will obviously be much less likely to risk committing it, because most potential criminals still have basic rational self interest and are not completely insane schizophrenics.
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