But, whereas Europeans, with crime rates well below American rates for the past half-century, could long afford to be relatively “soft” on most crimes, they have seen their crime rates increase sharply during the past twenty years. By contrast, American rates have fallen, in part because of greater use of punishment.
过去半个世纪中，欧洲国家的犯罪率大大低于美国。然而，在过去二十年中，其犯罪率大幅上升，因此再也无法对大多数犯罪姑息迁就。与此相比，美国的犯罪率下降，部分是由于加大使用了处罚。