Note 263 — Chapter XXVII · POOR-RELIEF, CORRECTION, AND OTHER WELFARE PROBLEMS
Reading edition
Many explanations are offered for this. We are a relatively new country, with a population made up of many races. Court procedure is slow and cumbrous; it takes a long time to punish offenders, and they have a fair chance of escaping punishment altogether. Police have been under the control of politicians and have been lax in enforcing the laws. We have emphasized the idea of liberty so strongly that it has benefited even the criminal. We have not made punishment certain enough or severe enough to deter people from evil-doing. All these excuses have some force, no doubt, but do they fully account for our poor showing in comparison with other countries?