Reason.tv: Filling Up Prisons Without Fighting Crime

Something to consider if you want to look at an answer for the crime problem. We want to discourage criminals from committing their crimes, however, how can we reduce crime without increasing the prison population?

UCLA Professor of Public Affairs Mark Kleiman is "angry about having too much crime and an intolerable number of people behind bars." The United States is home to five percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prisoners, yet, says Kleiman, our high incarceration rate isn't making us safer.

In his book, "When Brute Force Fails," Kleiman explains that, when it comes to punishment, there is a trade-off between severity and swiftness. For too long the U.S. has erred heavily on the side of severity, but if we concentrate enforcement and provide immediate consequences for law-breakers, Kleiman says we can both reduce the crime rate and put fewer people in prison.

The duration of this video is roughly 7 minutes!

Hat-tip Instapundit!