It is unfair that punishments for small violations of the law are so disproportionate to the punishments for serious crime. The priorities of law enforcement in many areas of are not coordinated with the needs of the community. Too much emphasis is put on the discipline of fundamentally law-abiding citizens and not on the "career" criminals who live their lives unlawfully.

Why should so many police officers be paid to give out 5 m.p.h. speeding tickets when they could be investigating drug dealings, domestic violence, or even teaching a D.A.R.E class. It is obvious that all of our country's laws need to be enforced in order to be effective, and this includes speeding, parking ticket and other laws, but I think that either more officers need to be given the job of cracking down on real criminals, or the punishments for criminals need to be harsher. For the same purpose, more time needs to be invested in bringing up the youth, and less time in prosecuting criminals to the "fullest extent of the law."

This brings up the issue of criminal sentences, where a speeding ticket may command a fine of over $300 dollars, but a criminal convicted of murdering another living person can be out on parole in 20 years. It is almost as if the government believes that since they have failed to make real criminals pay fully for the crimes, they have decided to punish the law-abiding citizens who make a small mistake and know that they have to (and will) pay for it.

If our law enforcement officials would assign their officers to arrest true criminals and contribute to the education of our youth, instead of pursuing petty offenses and minor technicalities, I think crime would be significantly reduced. These actions would intimidate potential criminals, restore the confidence of the people in their government and make them want to obey the lesser laws, and would make our country not only a safer place to live, but a more pleasant one, too. ?