--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every society gets the kind of criminal…" description: "\"Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.\" — Robert Kennedy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/robert-kennedy-2083_crime_every-society-gets-the-kind-of-criminal_1344939.jpg" --- # Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. ![“Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.” quote by Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/robert-kennedy-2083_crime_every-society-gets-the-kind-of-criminal_1344939.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/robert-kennedy-2083_crime_every-society-gets-the-kind-of-criminal_1344939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/robert-kennedy-2083_crime_every-society-gets-the-kind-of-criminal_1344939.jpg) > “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.” [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies reflect the values they uphold; neglect leads to the rise of certain criminals. **In simple terms:** Society creates its criminals. Key Takeaway Improve social conditions. Themes justice society responsibility crime Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - urban policy - education reform - community policing Key Concepts ethics political science criminology Questions to Reflect On - What values does your community prioritize? - How can we prevent criminal behavior? A Different Perspective Complex issues may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime and criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-and-criminals/) [Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal/) [Criminal law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-law/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Law enforcement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-enforcement/) ## Related quotes > [Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/every-society-gets-the-kind-of-criminal-it-deserves-what-is-equally/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [A crime persevered in a thousand centuries ceases to be a crime, and becomes a virtue. This is the law of custom, and custom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-crime-persevered-in-a-thousand-centuries-ceases-to-be-a-crime-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A community is infinitely more brutalised by the habitual employment of punishment than it is by the occasional occurence of crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-community-is-infinitely-more-brutalised-by-the-habitual-employment/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [As one reads history ... one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-one-reads-history-one-is-absolutely-sickened-not-by-the-crimes/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Every rascal is not a thief, but every thief is a rascal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-rascal-is-not-a-thief-but-every-thief-is-a-rascal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Crime seems to change character when it crosses a bridge or a tunnel. 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"The kind that got caught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/i-m-the-worst-kind-of-criminal-and-what-kind-is-that-the-kind-that/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [A society gets the criminals it deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-society-gets-the-criminals-it-deserves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The psychology of education is all about how the society gets benefited from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/the-psychology-of-education-is-all-about-how-the-society-gets/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [I've always hated criminals and crime. Life is hard enough without someone walking into your life on purpose and making it worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauley-perrette/i-ve-always-hated-criminals-and-crime-life-is-hard-enough-without/) [Pauley Perrette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauley-perrette/) > [A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-society-that-gets-rid-of-all-its-troublemakers-goes-downhill/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Every society gets encumbered with what is trivial, with dead wood from the past, and with what is positively perverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/every-society-gets-encumbered-with-what-is-trivial-with-dead-wood/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“What do you suspect from a society that gets all its news from late-night comedy shows?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-michael-bendis/what-do-you-suspect-from-a-society-that-gets-all-its-news-from-late/) [Brian Michael Bendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-michael-bendis/) ## More by Robert Kennedy > [Wars of any magnitude release powerful social and economic forces which can change the whole face of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/wars-of-any-magnitude-release-powerful-social-and-economic-forces/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/if-freedom-makes-social-progress-possible-so-social-progress/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Goethe tells us in his greatest poem that Faust lost the liberty of his soul when he said to the passing moment, 'Stay, thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/goethe-tells-us-in-his-greatest-poem-that-faust-lost-the-liberty-of/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The intolerant man will not rely on persuasion, or on the worth of the idea. He would deny to others the very freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-intolerant-man-will-not-rely-on-persuasion-or-on-the-worth-of-the/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/let-us-dedicate-ourselves-to-what-the-greeks-wrote-so-many-years-ago/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [President Kennedy's election was such an enlargement. It expanded religious freedom to include the highest office in the land. President Kennedy's administration was such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/president-kennedy-s-election-was-such-an-enlargement-it-expanded/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Men and women with freed minds may often be mistaken, but they are seldom fooled. 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History offers cold comfort to those who think grievance and despair can be subdued by force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/punishment-is-not-prevention-history-offers-cold-comfort-to-those-who/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The travail of freedom and justice is not easy, but nothing serious and important in life is easy. The history of humanity has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-travail-of-freedom-and-justice-is-not-easy-but-nothing-serious/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-gross-national-product-measures-neither-our-wit-nor-our-courage/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/our-future-may-lie-beyond-our-vision-but-it-is-not-completely-beyond/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Explore all 186 Robert Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. 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I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. 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