Netherlands to Close Prisons: Not Enough Criminals

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For years prohibitionists, including our own Drug Enforcement Administration, have claimed — falsely — that the tolerant marijuana policies of the Netherlands have made that nation a nest of crime and drug abuse. They may have trouble wrapping their little brains around this:

The Dutch government is getting ready to close eight prisons because they don’t have enough criminals to fill them. Officials attribute the shortage of prisoners to a declining crime rate.

Just for fun, let’s compare the Netherlands to California. With a population of 16.6 million, the Dutch prison population is about 12,000. With its population of 36.7 million, California should have a bit more than double the Dutch prison population. California’s actual prison population is 171,000.

So, whose drug policies are keeping the streets safer?

http://blog.mpp.org/prohibition/netherl ... /05262009/

some of us are involved in transporting dogs/cats that are unwanted to the n.e. from the s.e. usa because THERE IS A SHORTAGE of adoptable companion animals in new england. it's a dream come true for us wacko animal people.

i do not see a reason why we cannot do the same thing with prisoners in the usa. LETS KEEP THE DUTCH EMPLOYED. send our criminals to the netherlands. lets send them the killers and rapists and violent thugs. show them what america is truly made of! this can work people!

It's already a fact that prohibition causes more harm than good.

That's what my country (Belgium) is already doing, because our prisons are overpopulated.

The Netherlands has a smaller minority population than California so that would keep its crime rate down too.

What will the Dutch do with criminals like the Muslim crazy who killed Theo van Gogh for religious reasons?

ruveyn

Is anyone else disturbed by the seemingly racist sentiment in this comment?

Also, technically 100% of the people in California belong to a racial minority.



Put them in the remaining jails?

Yeah....the racists have been feeling more emboldened since Glenn Beck has rattled their cages and told them they might not be a majority of the population in the near future. Not just on the board but, it seems, IRL.

what must america do, so that it can stop being the leading jail builder-and-filler in the world?

End the war on drugs, remove the corporations from power in the government, and work to maximize secular influence in government and law.

Work on our culture. We have a horrible culture, and that's really the main reason why people turn to crime.

This.

Of course something is going to be a criminal and illegal and unsafe act if it is illegal.

We can easily regulate and make things safer, but we don't for some reason. When something is legal it is easier to regulate. IMO. <---very tired shouldn't have responded to this thread

Identify why the populace feels compelled to jail their neighbors.

Some want to do so because they disapprove of their neighbors' choice of non-violent recreation. Letting drug users go is going to offend all these people. And a lot of people think it's their right not to be offended. Just look at the mobs objecting to the Ground Zero mosque.

Some of us want to lock up those who have or would physically harm us. I think this is a legitimate reason to imprison someone.

Then there are those who refuse to comply with government attempts to enslave them. For example, people who evade taxes. I would prefer to see them set free, but those who depend on plundering these people consider them to be "cheaters" escaping their just enslavement for the greater good.

It's not racist, it's a fact. The jails have a very disproportionate minority population and the gang problem is mostly minorities too.

Oh, and BTW, I've never listened to Glenn Beck before.

It is not racist. Many folks who belong to the various ethnic and racial minorities have a difficult time integrating themselves into the existing culture. At the very least this makes it tough for some of them to earn an honest living, so some turn to crime. It has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with cultural dissonance.

ruveyn

This is a fairly large issue but humans are all humans no matter what the skin color*. If you were alive in the 1930s, you'd be making the same misguided statements about Italians and, before that, the Irish since none of them were considered white before more recent times.


* I realize this is a vague statement but I meant in the way of all people are effected the same by varying behavioral conditioning factors.

and also:

"...when the chips are down, these, eh, "civilized" people will eat each other."

Joker is more right than Batman on this from a purely behavioral science standpoint. The movie, of course, appeals to a more honorable ideal...but the reality isn't about honor. If you want a glance at it, read up on the Stanford Prison Experiment that took place in the 70s.

Also a good read on the subject:

http://www.amazon.com/Are-Italians-Whit ... 0415934516

Let's see. African Americans who have moved to this country recently from Africa, have lower crime rates vs. African Americans that have been in this country for generations upon generations. Italians, Irish, Portuguese, etc... have been accepted and mostly integrated into American society. Meanwhile those from Spanish speaking areas in Latin America have not.

Why are some groups of people who have immigrated here done far better than other minority groups who have been here longer? Your theory doesn't answer that.