AND YOU WONDER WHY OUR CRIME RATE IS SO HIGH?

 It is undeniably true that the best deterrent for murder is the fear of getting caught. Put another way, most people would think twice before killing somebody, whether casually or not, if they thought that there was a good chance of getting caught. But if the chances of you getting caught are large then you would think twice before putting yourself in that kind of trouble. Perhaps that is why our crime rate is so high not only for murder, but everything else as well. I haven't seen the latest statistics but the last time I looked  something in the vicinity of LESS than 5% was applicable for solving crimes and arrests. And you wonder why the crime rate is so high?

Then after the police have done their job and actually caught somebody, there is the whole question of inefficiency in the legal system where cases can take years before coming to trial. By the time that they are heard before a judge and jury, many witnesses are dead, or gone abroad, or simply can't be found, or can't remember accurately what happened. In other countries cases take less than a year to be dealt with by both the police as well as the courts. And you wonder why the crime rate is so high?

I have been on the receiving end of two matters : the first is the murder of my cousin who I loved like a brother. His case has never been officially "solved" and nobody has ever been charged with the crime , although everybody knows who did it. The second matter is rather small as compared to the first, but it involves a client of mine being defrauded of the (admittedly small) amount of $600. The problem here is that the police officer who had promised to follow up is never available and no report on the matter has ever been made. Telephone calls to his superior officer have also produced nothing. It is clear that this is considered to be too small to deal with. But then, isn't fraud of any kind a crime? And you wonder why the crime rate is so high?

I could go on with other stories, but you've got the point: those in authority tasked with doing their jobs and keeping the rest of us safe are simply not performing - whether through incompetence, corruption or a mixture of both is irrelevant; they are simply not performing. And you wonder why the crime rate is so high?