The Cycle Of Crime And The Failed Justice System

Predicting patterns, especially in an area like criminal justice, is incredibly important. There are two cycles that are ignored when searching for answers to help both offenders and victims lead normal lives.

The first is the sociological aspect. When someone grows up in poverty and crime or around drugs, they are far more likely to see it as normal and repeat the same behavior. The second is the institutionalization aspect. If a first-time or young offender has a felony on their record for something like possession of small amounts of drugs, even if they don't go to jail, finding gainful employment will be impossible, although an addiction would also have made it difficult. Placing someone in a treatment program to treat the source of their addiction rather than just keeping them away from it would be far more intuitive. Drugs often lead to violent crime and theft, and taking a more proactive approach would help reduce crime drastically.

As for the former, community engagement programs are absolutely the answer. People of less-than-reputable communities have proven time and time again that they can succeed when somebody takes the time to believe in them. This is what "defunding the police" is referring to, ensuring that crime is prevented rather than just punished, and such an approach would also lead to increased economic and emotional prosperity.