And don't harangue me about victims' rights. That's another issue for another day. There are ways of getting tough that work. David Gunn, when he was head of the New York transit system stopped the graffiti partly by repainting those cars relentlessly so the vandals got no satisfaction. Crime is down for two fundamental reasons.
More people have jobs, and the population is aging.
In the name of Law and Order we build super-jails which create a large, often unruly and unmanageable prison population where an underworld culture develops and where drug use and sexual depredation is rampant. Many prison guards can testify that making life tough on criminals makes them harder to handle and makes the faint hope of rehabilitation even fainter. But that doesn't sell politically. But its shining presence is a beacon to millions who will be attracted to it like hapless moths to an invincible fire. It makes political good sense.