High Cost of Crime

[The_Dude 1,142]

In Alaska you pay for court cost, booze counseling..or whatever they make you go to, probation fee's, etc.. you even pay for every day you do in jail.

Here, you just pay for the counseling and court costs. Probation and incarceration costs are paid by the state. I would think that a first time offender (depending on the offense), might have just had a bad day and made a poor decision. They should at least be given the opportunity to change their lives.

[_Simpson_ 250]

In Alaska you pay for court cost, booze counseling..or whatever they make you go to, probation fee's, etc.. you even pay for every day you do in jail.

I would imagine that they don't see a lot of this money.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Here, you just pay for the counseling and court costs. Probation and incarceration costs are paid by the state. I would think that a first time offender (depending on the offense), might have just had a bad day and made a poor decision. They should at least be given the opportunity to change their lives.

Washington State...first offense for a DWI is 2 years of booze classes along with 2 AA meetings a week. In Washington state and Alaska you don't have to be driving to get a DWI. You just have to be in the vehicle with the keys accessable. That doesn't mean in the ignition...it means in the vehicle where you can reach them, or on your person.

My first and only DWI was in Washington when I was sleeping in my truck after the bar closed. I lived less than a 5 min drive away from home, but I didn't want to chance it so I slept in my truck. I got a DWI for that. Truck wasn't running, but the keys were in the truck and it went down as a DWI. Two years of don't drink classes along with 2 AA meetings a week. This added up to 5 meetings a week with both 2 or AA, and 3 for the state booze bs classes on top of working full time and driving 90 min. each way.

I would imagine that they don't see a lot of this money.

I agree. Most average Joes are broke when they get out of jail due to the loss of work, and you put all those bs probation fees, classes,fines, court cost, etc... and your looking at a small fortune. Alaska takes your Permanent Fund check and your income tax check if you get behind on your payments.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Washington State...first offense for a DWI is 2 years of booze classes along with 2 AA meetings a week. In Washington state and Alaska you don't have to be driving to get a DWI. You just have to be in the vehicle with the keys accessable. That doesn't mean in the ignition...it means in the vehicle where you can reach them, or on your person.

My first and only DWI was in Washington when I was sleeping in my truck after the bar closed. I lived less than a 5 min drive away from home, but I didn't want to chance it so I slept in my truck. I got a DWI for that. Truck wasn't running, but the keys were in the truck and it went down as a DWI. Two years of don't drink classes along with 2 AA meetings a week. This added up to 5 meetings a week with both 2 or AA, and 3 for the state booze bs classes on top of working full time and driving 90 min. each way.

I agree. Most average Joes are broke when they get out of jail due to the loss of work, and you put all those bs probation fees, classes,fines, court cost, etc... and your looking at a small fortune. Alaska takes your Permanent Fund check and your income tax check if you get behind on your payments.

One more reason to love the great state of Alaska.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

One more reason to love the great state of Alaska.

I can't speak for other states, but in Alaska and Washington the sytem is a major industry. In Alaska it's ranked like in 2nd place right behind oil, and in Washington it's 2nd or 3rd...bigger than MS and Boeing. They say in Washington state one out of three people are either in the system, just got away from the system, or are related to someone in the system. More jails and prisons along with court ordered bs make for more jobs. The system is built so that most peeps getting out of jail or the joint fail...a high fail rate keeps these state and county workers in a job. They have even admit it. It's like a never ending circle that just keeps going round and round and round....

[_Simpson_ 250]

I can't speak for other states, but in Alaska and Washington the sytem is a major industry. In Alaska it's ranked like in 2nd place right behind oil, and in Washington it's 2nd or 3rd...bigger than MS and Boeing. They say in Washington state one out of three people are either in the system, just got away from the system, or are related to someone in the system. More jails and prisons along with court ordered bs make for more jobs. The system is built so that most peeps getting out of jail or the joint fail...a high fail rate keeps these state and county workers in a job. They have even admit it. It's like a never ending circle that just keeps going round and round and round....

I agree, a vicious cycle. If only we had more social programs to make this go away.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I agree, a vicious cycle. If only we had more social programs to make this go away.

Maybe, but I'm not sure if that's the ticket. When I did my time in the joint I was taking to the Sarge one day and he said it they had a new way to make money. It was the DV route. You had a prison that was close to a third full on guys with DV's. Now I'm not talking about DV's were the guy beats his woman, I'm talking about copping a DV as to where the guy went to see his kids and broke a No Contact Order...they hand them out in Washington like there's no tomorrow...OJ did that one. So here you have a prison full of a lot of white collar workers...MS,etc... who have never gotten anything more than a traffic ticket before, but because they decided to see their kids, get clothes from their house, etc.. when the state put a mandatory No Contact Order on them...well two of those and your on your way to the big house. They broke the law, but Washington state fixed it so these guys go big time, and then Washington rakes in the Fed dollars for housing and and state dollars for counsiling.

Same with the DWI laws. A guy can't sleep in his truck to avoid a DWI now? If I knew they had that law, I would have stuck my keys in the middle of the parking lot. Then you get the court ordered counsiling with is total bs in the first place, but it's a money maker for the state and counties.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Maybe, but I'm not sure if that's the ticket. When I did my time in the joint I was taking to the Sarge one day and he said it they had a new way to make money. It was the DV route. You had a prison that was close to a third full on guys with DV's. Now I'm not talking about DV's were the guy beats his woman, I'm talking about copping a DV as to where the guy went to see his kids and broke a No Contact Order...they hand them out in Washington like there's no tomorrow...OJ did that one. So here you have a prison full of a lot of white collar workers...MS,etc... who have never gotten anything more than a traffic ticket before, but because they decided to see their kids, get clothes from their house, etc.. when the state put a mandatory No Contact Order on them...well two of those and your on your way to the big house. They broke the law, but Washington state fixed it so these guys go big time, and then Washington rakes in the Fed dollars for housing and and state dollars for counsiling.

Same with the DWI laws. A guy can't sleep in his truck to avoid a DWI now? If I knew they had that law, I would have stuck my keys in the middle of the parking lot. Then you get the court ordered counsiling with is total bs in the first place, but it's a money maker for the state and counties.

I was kidding about the social programs, for some its the fix all solution or so they think. I didn't know you could get a DV for that, is that why you ended up in jail?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I was kidding about the social programs, for some its the fix all solution or so they think. I didn't know you could get a DV for that, is that why you ended up in jail?

The social programs or the ones I know of seem to be total bs for the most part.

Iv'e been to jail more times than I can count. My brothers, cousins, and I were on a first name basis with Fred the bail bondsman when we lived in Anchorage. We did a lot of stupid sh*t when we were younger. At one point in time the Feds were tapping our phones after a former roommate whacked a guy in Fairbanks over some stupid bs, and a few weeks later my younger brother knee capped a Hells Angel with a .22 for screwing him over on a "ivory for cash" deal that went bad.

The one and only time I went to the joint was when I came home early after a gas line broke at the job site to find my live in fiancee screwing some dude from the bar. She had a major drinking problem on top of type 1 diabetes...the two don't mix so well. I lost my cool after getting a gun pulled on me in my own house and nailed them both.

The nice judge who gave the two crack dealers who were ahead of me on the court docket time served, went against the DA's wishes and maxed me on the sentence saying I had a bad attitude in regards to the law. Funny thing was is that the two crack dealers he gave a wave to had rap sheets a mile long and never worked a day in their life...other than selling drugs. Anyways I ended up doing 14 months.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Well damn...good thing you caught her before the papers were signed.

Edited August 4, 2011 by _Simpson_

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Well damn...good thing you caught her before the papers were signed.

LOL... I wish.

I got incarcerated which means I lost my job, no income, no house payments seeing how she got fired from her job...booze related I'm guessing. The house was in both our names, so I signed her power of attorney so that she could collect my vacation pay from the pipe fitters and my income tax to make the house payments until it sold. She blew the money, lost the house and sold all my sh*t...thousands of dollars worth of tools...all gone. When I got out all I had to my name was a half dozen boxes of clothes, some gear bags and my truck. I left back to Alaska a month later after I got my probation transferred. Alaska took one look at my charge and cut me loose right away, and that was the end of that.

Yay for the system eh.

[_Simpson_ 250]

LOL... I wish.

I got incarcerated which means I lost my job, no income, no house payments seeing how she got fired from her job...booze related I'm guessing. The house was in both our names, so I signed her power of attorney so that she could collect my vacation pay from the pipe fitters and my income tax to make the house payments until it sold. She blew the money, lost the house and sold all my sh*t...thousands of dollars worth of tools...all gone. When I got out all I had to my name was a half dozen boxes of clothes, some gear bags and my truck. I left back to Alaska a month later after I got my probation transferred. Alaska took one look at my charge and cut me loose right away, and that was the end of that.

Yay for the system eh.

Damn that sucks. All my ex did was cheat on me. I got off easy,lol.

Edited August 4, 2011 by _Simpson_

[slim 1,533]

what I support is 100% restitution by the criminals. If they refuse to pay, then we need to find some sort of penal colony that we can ship them to. This isn't a liberal or conservative issue, it is about fiscal responsibility.

You must be joking.

Criminals aren't exactly "go getters" so when you say "pay restitution" are you implying they'd go get real jobs, work extra hard, and pay back the government that locked them up in the first place? Are you out of your mind?

"If they refuse to pay, ship them off to a penal colony." HA! You're screwing with us now, aren't you? You have to be. You can't be this silly!

But, considering you don't support the death penalty I can't see how you'd support sending someone to a penal colony. You've exemplified the entire problem in the OP by your post. You want the system fixed but you're the one that broke it. You'd rather pay someone to make the hard decisions for you and "make the bad guys listen" instead of doing it yourself. The reason crime is such a big cost is because we don't hold criminals accountable for their actions. We send them away for a while and then spend just as long trying to "help" them get their stuff back together when most of them didn't have their stuff together in the first place.

Let me guess, your penal colony would be run by the government as well?

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I lost my cool after getting a gun pulled on me in my own house and nailed them both.

You're bisexual? I thought you found gay sex disgusting.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

FBI recorded about 10,000 homicides. Who is right?

If we allow everyone to carry concealed weapons without permits our homicide rate would be less than 1 per 100,000. Why aren't we doing it?