Rudy Giuliani Quotes

Punishment can do a lot for criminals, and send a message to the rest of society.

No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes.

Nothing will deter crime but the certainty of punishment.

As an American I wanted to explore... why are we the only first world country that still has capital punishment? Is it because we're too afraid to really examine the system, or is it because we really truly believe that this is the best way to deter future crime?

I'm not in favor of the death penalty. But I'm in favor of locking these people away in maximum security units where they can never get out. They can never escape. They can never be paroled. Lock the bad ones away. But you gotta rethink everybody else.

More prisons, more enforcement, effective death penalty.

Crimes are more effectually prevented by the certainty than the severity of punishment.

I'd rather lock somebody up and throw away the key and put them in hard labor, the ultimate penalty that the law will allow, but I'm opposed to the death penalty

Arresting people is not going to lower the crime rate

The key for members of the public is that they want criminals to be punished. They want them taken off the streets. They also want criminals who come out of prison to go straight.

Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.

Given the devastation that crime can visit on families and communities, I will err on being a little too tough on crime than being too soft on crime.

The truth is you cannot decrease the severity and certainty of sentences without increasing crime. It's simply impossible.

There is one stark fact facing us: three quarters of all crime that results in a caution or sentence happens because of reoffending. We must be fearless in dealing with this.

I think we will be safer when we can concentrate law enforcement and criminal justice resources and energies on those individuals who truly need, for the safety of society... to be incarcerated.

America's criminal justice system isn't known for rehabilitation. I'm not sure that, as a society, we are even interested in that concept anymore.

The death penalty is discriminatory and does not do anything about crime.

All emphasis in American prisons is on punishment, retribution, and disparagement, and almost none is on rehabilitation.

There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.

Obviously, people who commit crimes should be punished. Even people who steal socks and 'Snow White' videos should probably do time if they have priors, especially serious priors. But the punishment has to fit the crime, and the standard has to be the same for everyone.

Of course it can be said of jails, too, that they try - by punishing the troublesome - to deter others. No doubt, in certain instances this deterrence actually works. But generally speaking it fails conspicuously.

To make crime unprofitable, let the government run it.

I don't believe in killing people. I believe in locking you up for the rest of your life.

You know what an effective deterrent to crime is? Jail! And do you know what kind of criminal penalty actually makes people think twice about committing crimes the next time? The kind that actually comes out of some individual's pocket, not fines that come out of the corporate kitty.

A far greater factor than abolishing poverty is the deterrent effect of swift and certain consequences: swift arrest, prompt trial, certain penalty and - at some point - finality of judgment.