For instance this is robbery sentence guidelines in UK [1] and CA [2]. As you can see, penalties are very comparable. Robbery in CA is  2, 3, or 5 years or 3-9 years, depending on the degree, while in UK it&#x27;s 2-7 years or 7 - 12 years, also depending on the degree. The first level of robbery in UK is more attune to Petty or Grand Theft in CA. In CA there is also a GBH enhancement, that will bump you up to the 12 years, just like in the UK.<p>Obviously, I have not done the comparison for all the crimes, but I think if done, we would find that EU and US both have very similar penalties for all the person crimes, like theft, robbery, rape, murder, etc. Where there is a big difference is probably in the crimes that have to do with national obsessions. For US it&#x27;s drugs, guns, terrorism. For EU it&#x27;s WW2 and holocaust, and also terrorism nowadays. But checking drug penalties in UK I also found them to be very similar to Federal statutes in US. [3] Though, if I had to guess, I would think the UK is far less likely to apply it&#x27;s possession only laws. So, that&#x27;s a valid criticism.<p>US does have an insane incarceration rate, but it&#x27;s again due to our obsession with drugs. Take that out of the equation, and we are about even. Not that that makes it all ok, but I think we are on a path to changing that.<p>[1]<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cps.gov.uk&#x2F;legal&#x2F;s_to_u&#x2F;sentencing_manual&#x2F;robbery&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cps.gov.uk&#x2F;legal&#x2F;s_to_u&#x2F;sentencing_manual&#x2F;robbery...</a>
[2]<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.shouselaw.com&#x2F;robbery.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.shouselaw.com&#x2F;robbery.html</a>
[3]<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gov.uk&#x2F;penalties-drug-possession-dealing" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gov.uk&#x2F;penalties-drug-possession-dealing</a>