Robert Harris Quotes

Crime and the fear of crime have permeated the fabric of American life.

Squeeze human nature into the straitjacket of criminal justice and crime will appear.

For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. Why? Because the instincts that are warring in man are not, as the law claims, constant forces in a state of equilibrium.

The Patriot Act is essential to our continued success in the war on terror here at home.

I think we present extreme aspects of human behavior and hopefully get at times, messages across or bring issues to the table or as we so often say, shed light into the dark crevices of human nature.

Fighting a war on terrorism is like fighting against crime. We can never hope to eradicate crime, so we shouldn't bother fighting it.

The point of departure of the process to which we wish to contribute is the fact that war is the natural reaction of human nature in the savage state, while peace is the result of acquired characteristics.

Already this war on gangs in California is taking money from universities to build prisons, and the universities have some clout.

I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did - or did not do - to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do.

We must renew our efforts to keep our communities safe, from the dangers of terrorists from foreign lands and from common criminals here at home. Let no criminal believe that tough fiscal times will yield an open cell door and a ticket to freedom.

Abroad, our most important policy is to support our troops and continue forward-thinking foreign policy in the war on terror - keeping our enemies on the run and hitting them before they hit us.

There is nothing inevitable about crime and there is nothing inevitable about anti-social behaviour.

People should think of the war on terror as being like the war on crime--- a struggle in which success is measured not by final victory but by declines in incidence and seriousness of attacks.

The politics of crime is not about a party's record or a candidate's proposals, but about perceived character and values.

How vainly shall we endeavor to repress crime by our barbarous punishment of the poorer class of criminals.

Fighting crime is not cheap, because it requires boots on the ground.

The time for the State to protect himself against the criminal is before the criminal is made. Most criminals are not born, they are made.... What a State really punishes in a criminal is its own neglect, it's own failure to do its duty to the citizens.

We are much safer in the United States, but not yet safe.

The United States imprisons many non-violent offenders who could instead be required to pay fines, perform community service, and make restitution to their victims… Maintaining our vast network of prisons consumes resources that could be better spent on education and other crime prevention efforts... Rather than reforming offenders, prison too often degrades and dehumanizes prisoners, making the task of rehabilitation and reentry into society even more difficult.

Justice is inextricably linked to revenge, which is both morally right and a deeply internalized instinct as innate to man as breathing, having sex, falling in love, and making war.

Every intelligent American now knows, that the United States has the most money, the most power, the most laws, and the most criminals of any nation in the world.

Crimes happen, but some are preventable.

Simply put, violent criminals break the law - any law - every day with impunity.

For me, crime fiction was an opportunity to sneak up on readers with social issues, something they won't go out of their way to seek.

By incarcerating someone who is homeless or addicted or who suffers from mental health challenges, we only further destabilize that person and create situations where they are more likely to commit crimes in the future.