Crime - A Game You Can’t Win The American public is alarmed about crime, and with good reason. Our crime rate is unacceptably high, and many Americans feel like prisoners in their own homes, afraid to venture out for fear of becoming another statistic. For more than 20 years, state and federal crime control policies have been based on the belief that harsh sentencing laws will deter people from committing crimes. In 1997, armed criminals in Florida committed more than 34,000 crimes, victimizing in excess of 93 people a day. These victims receive a life sentence of pain, fear, and often death. The perpetrators who impose these sentences must be punished and removed