The government doesn ' t want to . It ' s us , the voters , who have been demanding this , in various ways , for some time now . At its root , the ' tough on crime ' political position behind this is mainly done by elected representatives at the behest of many of their wealthier , more influential supporters the kinds of people who live in big , fancy homes behind locked gates , often in fear of the rest of us , and earnestly beg politicians to Lock ' em up and throw away the key ! These same constituents are the reason you get three cops to show up and search your car when you ' ve got a taillight out in a small , leafy town late at night and are noticeably poorer than the locals . A great deal of our political activity is driven by this segment of the population . You ' re absolutely right , it doesn ' t make any good sense , especially economic . And yes , it ' s costing us a fortune . But it ' s costing rich assholes more than it ' s costing you or me , because they pay more in taxes , and it ' s mostly done because they want it .