>I think John's idea is a good one on some misdemeanors. However, your point about many misdemeanors is valid as well. I'm thinking more along the lines of many of the violent crimes that are bargained down to a misdemeanor and then the perp commits the same violent act later. In that case, those previous 'bargained down crimes' should either automatically go back up to a felony or be included in the consideration for current charges and repercussions. There are so many violent crimes that are settled as a lessor crime to avoid the cost and time of a trial (and to guarantee some type of sentence). In those cases where the guilty party repeats another criminal act, those are the cases that need 'special' attention.
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In Memphis, we have over 15,000 people who have been arrested between 11 and 20 times. That group alone represents most of our crime. I think progressive discipline is what is needed. We need to pick a place to start, whether that is 5 convictions, 10 or whatever, it needs to be implemented. A person who is convicted of 5 misdemeanors (and I would be amenable to certain misdemeanors) should have their charge elevated to a felony status, drunks notwithstanding. I think drunks should be shipped off to a rehab farm, where they are closely supervised and where they work for the state. Otherwise, like in Memphis, they hang around the downtown area waiting on something to steal, someone to assault and someone to beg money from.

Whatever is going on, it isn't working. Currently, I am working on a project I call CyberWatch that sends emails to neighborhood watch groups. The groups forward the emails to their members and this enables them to know more about what is happening around them. I'm also going to be emailing to about 2000 cops in shelby county on a daily basis soon. The emails contain all crimes that have been committed over the previous 30 days, within a defined radius (usually 1/2 mile to one mile. It also has any sex offenders, all warrants (with mugshots and a link to the sheriff's webtips line) and all arrests that have been made in the same radius over the past six months. The cops get an added bit of data - probationers and parolees. I think it's going to be a model for the country. So far, the watch groups love it, as do the cops who are receiving the emails.