Pubdate: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 Source: Collegiate Times (VA Tech, Edu) Copyright: 2008 Collegiate Times Contact: http://www.collegiatetimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/699 Author: Logan Milford PRIORITY OF LAWS NEEDS TO BE QUESTIONED Laws are a necessary part of any functioning society. They represent a moral and practical standard by which all people are judged and held accountable. Laws are the basis for all industry and provide a benchmark by which any dispute can be settled. The problem with laws is that sometimes the government goes overboard and begins exacting them which, make little to no sense or laws that are put in place by corrupt powers to help special interests. In a democratic system, the government is representative of the people it serves and the law is supposed to be exercised by the people. Therefore, in my opinion, the law should be something that the majority of people agree on and follow. Breaking the law should not be something that a majority of people do on a daily basis; however, in this country everyone at one time or another has broken the law even if they didn't realize it. That is why I am perplexed at how the democratic nation of the world, the country that sets the benchmark for a functional democracy, has the largest populations of imprisoned individuals around the world. Since we do have freedom of information from the government, the statistics for our legal system are readily available from the justice department. Here are some of the highlights from the most recent statistics available: the United States currently has over 4 million people on probation, close to 2 million in prison, close to 1 million in jail and another million on parole. Overall, 7 million people are under some form of correctional supervision. That makes up just over 3 percent of the total population, or one person incarcerated for every 31 in this country. While I don't doubt that some of these people are serious criminals, this is still a large amount of the population to be imprisoned. Furthermore, high prison counts places a heavy burden on taxpayers to support these criminals- about $60 billion dollars per year. A large portion the inmates in prison are committed because of drug offenses. I find this to be the first major problem with our prison system. To put desperate drug addicts into jail with violent criminals turns drug addicts -- sick people in need of serious help - -- into life-long criminals. Not only do prisons expose criminals to a network of new connections with other criminals, but they also can expose people with new drugs which contribute to their downward spiral. If the goal of the police and justice system is to protect and serve, why do they take people who get into a bad situation and turn them into lifelong criminals with no way out? I feel strongly about the drug issue in particular because it is quickly becoming an epidemic in adults. It is the only major offense (felony) that is not seeing a downward trend in recent years. In fact, adult drug arrests since 1970 have increased at a nearly exponential trend with juvenile drug arrests staying relatively constant. In 1970, there were approximately 300,000 drug arrests while in 2005 there where over 1.5 million. That is an absurdly high number of drug arrests especially considering my doubts that there is a greater percentage of the population using illicit drugs today than there was in the 1970s. I am certainly not condoning the use of illicit drugs, but when it seems like so many people are using and arresting people is not making an impact, maybe finding more a! ppropriate and effective ways to help people would be productive. Following my guidelines for the justification of a law in a democratic government, several laws should be repealed or at least reevaluated. Traffic laws and speed limits are nearly impossible to follow and in many cases impractical. Any police officer will tell you that if he or she wants to pull you over and is willing to follow you a couple blocks, they can find legal justification to pull you over. Alcohol laws are ridiculous and have led to intensified desire for underage drinking as well as producing a binge drinking mania. Drug laws imprison sick people with an addiction disease and in the end exact more damage than good. Public order laws are also too strict and further take away from people's freedom. For example, noise levels are a matter of respect and common courtesy between neighbors and not an issue for police involvement. In the end, laws like these detract from the police's ability to catch true criminals with malicious intent and in general ! create a fear by the general public toward the justice system. The justice department doesn't seem to understand that negative reinforcement is a minimally effective teaching tool, especially since they have to expose every person to the negative outcomes before behavior begins to change. For some reason unknown to me, the government has made it its priority to define the moral standards for its people through laws. Isn't that religion's purpose and doesn't that defy the principles of freedom? Perhaps the answer to criminal problems is not more jails, but fewer laws. Also, instead of passing a law and stealing people's money until they become obedient, why doesn't the entire tone of the justice department change. A suggestion that may make a difference: change "speed limit 65" signs to "please drive 65". When laws are set up for our own well-being and safety, asking the people to help themselves will get a larger response than demanding and punishment. And after all, the people pulling you over are the people who are supposed to live by your side, protecting and serving a democratic nation. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom