Due to prison costs, maybe we should reconsider punishments
The question of who goes to prison, and who does not, is an interesting one in Canada. There are presently 40,000 people in Canadian prisons at a cost to taxpayers of around $67,000 per jailbird, or $2.7 billion annually.
I know it seems like a lot, and it is, but some 27 million people in Canada file tax returns and so it works out to be about $100 for each and every one of us to keep Canadian prisons functioning. That seems pretty cheap to keep your Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo or Russell Williams types away from harming the public.
I think we can all agree that psychotic murderers belong right there behind bars, but who else deserves to join them? Is it just violent offenders? Do thieves, fraudsters, tax evaders, and other white collar criminals belong in prison?
Personally, I think we could save a lot of money if sentencing for non-violent criminals was more focused on redemption and rehabilitation. I would suggest that we keep prisons for violent offenders only.
Thieves without weapons, . . . contd.