23 Does punishment deter crime? Despite our extensive use
of punishment, our society has a high rate of criminal
recidivism, later offenses by people previously convicted of
crimes. About three-fourths of prisoners in state penitentiaries
have been jailed before, and about two-thirds of people
released from prison are arrested again within three years
(DeFina & Arvanites, 2002; U. S. Department of Justice, 2008).
So does punishment really deter crime? According to
researchers, just 49 percent of all violent crimes and 37
percent of all property crimes are known to police, and of what
is known, only about one in five crimes results in an arrest.
Most crimes, therefore, go unpunished, so the old saying that
"crime doesn't pay" rings hollow. What is the topic of this paragraph? what is the topic of this passage