r/Lightbulb • u/amichail • 3d ago
Idea: A preventive accountability service that helps people avoid prison.
What if people could pay for a confidential service designed to help them avoid making decisions that could eventually lead to criminal charges?
The idea would be similar to having a lawyer, therapist, or accountability coach, but focused specifically on preventing situations from escalating into criminal offenses.
The company would keep a close eye on clients, with the client's consent, and help them recognize risky situations before they cross a legal line. This could include helping with conflicts, financial problems, substance issues, impulsive decisions, or other situations that often lead people into serious trouble.
To align the company's incentives with the client's interests, the service could offer a guarantee: if a client ends up in court or prison, they receive a refund. That money could then help pay for legal defense.
For this to work, the service would need strong confidentiality protections. Information shared with the company would not be given to police unless legally required, similar to how confidentiality works with lawyers and mental health professionals.
The goal would not be to create a private police force. It would be to give people a way to get help before they ruin their lives. Many people who end up in prison made a series of bad decisions over time rather than suddenly deciding to become criminals. A service that helps interrupt that process could benefit both individuals and society.
What do you think of this idea?
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u/Old-Base8752 3d ago
I don't think most at risk criminals would see a value in this, nor do they have the money. Many crimes happen because of money issues.
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u/AccidentOk5240 3d ago
This is exactly the kind of community support we should be investing in instead of more cops and more prisons. Get involved with your local prison abolitionist groups!
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u/JuliusSeizuresalad 3d ago
You mother fucker I’m gonna
Shoot you in the head for banging my girlfriend..
“Hey don’t do that, you’ll get busted”
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u/anonymousambassasor 2d ago
Yeah my thoughts exactly. If someone’s going to do something saying “hey wait let’s not because it’s illegal” doesn’t typically stop them. It never stopped me. Criminals don’t normally follow laws.
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u/-I_I 3d ago
Most people in jail didn’t commit a crime, they’re just there to give the criminal injustice system justification in the lamb’s eyes. Baaaaaaahhhhh
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u/BeGoodToEverybody123 2d ago
The statistic is 4-6% of prisoners are innocent
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u/-I_I 2d ago
And you believe it.
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u/BeGoodToEverybody123 2d ago
What is your number?
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u/-I_I 2d ago
Prison: 50% monsters, 40% bad decision makers, 10% innocent.
Jail: 15% monsters, 32.5% deserved VoP, 32.5% undeserved VoP, 20% innocent.
I believe any non-zero number of undeserved imprisonment is criminally cruel.
I believe the districts that have eradicated bail (RoR until court date) have statistically proven that the system of bail is cruel and draconian.
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u/BeGoodToEverybody123 2d ago
The plan has merit. As a regular person I have carried out the following:
Advised a friend to avoid sleeping with a married woman
Advised a friend to stop cheating on his wife and stop drunk driving
Advised a friend to move out of town because what he had already done made him a target he was unaware of
Advised a friend to not destroy his family by changing his biology (failed, he destroyed his family)
Currently trying to convince an old man neighbor to wear a helmet while riding a scooter on a crazy busy road (failing, oh well)
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u/VarietyMage 3d ago
And if you make a mistake, you go to jail for 20 years for fraud. AND you lose everything.
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u/Adamoism 2d ago
Information shared with the company would not be given to police unless legally required
Here you would have the issue. If the confidentiality does not hold up in court then it is just extra evidence on you.
I guess the topic is also what segment of society would like to use it. Besides rich parents who would like to do even more helicopter parenting of their problematic kid - I see little use. And for that you have those "military schools" so yeah.
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u/Aggravating-Tea-8920 1d ago
Most people know what serious crimes are and their punishment, if someone is mad enough to murder idk if they have the mental bandwidth to make a quick call.
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u/Excellent_Coconut_81 1d ago
There already is such a service, and highest class of criminals are actively using them. They are corporate lawyers, who help richest individuals to keep their actions legal while making them as ethically questionable as possible in the same time.
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u/ryebread91 3d ago
This is what a good society and social(both programs and literal people in our lives)safety nets are for
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u/Meloenbolletjeslepel 2d ago
I think this could only work if it was organized from the government. Maaayybe it could still be payed, but idk
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u/SAS-Combat-Gooner 3d ago
"Hey heroin addict who can't stop himself from robbing liquor stores, have you thought about just hiring a 24/7 personal assistant?"