If robbers only earn $7500 a year why on earth do they do it? Why would anyone risk arrest, jail time, criminal record, maybe even being shot by armed security or police, for such a paltry amount of money?
Oh, because of the primary driver of most kinds of crime:
Poverty.
If you want to lower crime, you lower poverty, you put social safety nets in place.
Does this solve crime 100%?
No, but its something like one hundred to ten thousand times more cost effective than not doing that and increasing policing instead.
… America is a country where homeless people routinely commit bank robberies with unloaded guns and then surrender to police … because at least then they get some level of permanent shelter, food, and health care.
You’ll notice that organized crime (ya know, as a metric of success) doesn’t usually rely on robberies as their source of income. Robberies are risky and stupid.
Life in prison is hell. The food is positively horrific (I’ve heard of fecal matter and even insects being in some of their food) and you still need to work every day like a (literal in this case) slave.
If robbers only earn $7500 a year why on earth do they do it? Why would anyone risk arrest, jail time, criminal record, maybe even being shot by armed security or police, for such a paltry amount of money?
Oh, because of the primary driver of most kinds of crime:
Poverty.
If you want to lower crime, you lower poverty, you put social safety nets in place.
Does this solve crime 100%?
No, but its something like one hundred to ten thousand times more cost effective than not doing that and increasing policing instead.
… America is a country where homeless people routinely commit bank robberies with unloaded guns and then surrender to police … because at least then they get some level of permanent shelter, food, and health care.
Desperation
Because that number was totally pulled out of their butt.
You’ll notice that organized crime (ya know, as a metric of success) doesn’t usually rely on robberies as their source of income. Robberies are risky and stupid.
Also armed bank robbery is VERY heavily punished. In some places armed robbery with a gun (even a fake gun) can be punished by LIFE in prison.
You and I hear life in prison, a homeless person hears shelter for life
Life in prison is hell. The food is positively horrific (I’ve heard of fecal matter and even insects being in some of their food) and you still need to work every day like a (literal in this case) slave.
I don’t doubt that, but a lot of homeless people see living on the street as worse than living in prison
Because drugs.