A Yardstick for the Fuzz

Several years ago, we read a revealing interview with Wilbert Rideau, former editor of the newspaper at Angola State Prison. He was asked whether harsher sentences, including the death penalty, would deter criminals. Rideau bluntly answered “no”—criminals never think they’re going to get caught. That’s in part because (as noted in the chart above) the majority of cases are never solved. The only way to deter crime, argued Rideau, was to increase police clearance rates, and thereby convince poten