What does DTK need?

[dtkvictim]

I wouldn't blame the courts, they are applying the sentences prescribed by the law, and there are lots of reasons for recidivism, and "too short/lenient sentences" isn't a reason. More likely the lack of focus on rehabilitation in our justice system is a cause, but very generally, people who engage in criminality are not given the tools (in the justice system, or without). For example, counselling is expensive and often unavailable, so people with a record of domestic violence who would absolutely benefit from such help cannot get it reliably.

And this is a broader problem, whether related to serious criminality or not (and it is most often not) our society's social safety net is increasingly threadbare.

I'm not as knowledgeable as I need to be in order to argue the percentage of responsibility between the government and the criminal justice system, but I am under the impression that it's not solely on the government. Law is a messy, imperfect system dealing with the complexities of humans. Combine that with sentencing and bail laws (rightly or wrongly) including considerations (an important word here) of circumstances, race, public safety, past convictions, etc., and the fact that new interpretations or considerations regarding old laws can occur at any time, and it seems easy for the large criminal justice system to get the balance incorrect. Perhaps their role in these issues are insignificant; I just don't know and am happy to be informed.

and there are lots of reasons for recidivism, and "too short/lenient sentences" isn't a reason.

In the absence of proper rehabilitation, which we are nowhere close to, I think it's far more productive to consider sentencing, where applicable, as a tool for public safety that rehabilitation should have served rather than punishment for the individual convicted. In that perspective it's worth thinking about the fact that sentence length is an immediate tool against recidivism in that the convicted can't create new victims while incarcerated. Though I understand the concerns with that line of thinking, remember that rehabilitation is itself a tool against reducing crime and not the goal of the CJS itself.

And I'm just kind of spitballing thoughts there... Broadly speaking I agree with what you've said. There are far more tools at the disposal of government and society that have been left untouched. And an additional problem I didn't mention before, it seems our current funding or ability to staff the courts is so out of line with demand that we are throwing out cases because the backlog is so big.