The headline to this column reads as a very hard-line stance.

It is, but let’s be clear. This is about criminals, the ones who are guilty, not suspects or defendants.

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

The courts are an extremely high-stakes game of justice.

Sometimes, police and prosecutors make mistakes.

But that’s not what I am addressing this time.

I am referring to the person who steals, assaults somebody or commits a crime.

I have no sympathy or compassion for you. When you are punished for what you have done, the only person you can blame is yourself. It is you, who creates all of the pain, shame and humiliation for your family and friends. You alone.

Recently, someone broke into the car of a co-worker. She was very upset. It was the first time someone committed a crime against her, and it was done at the new home she and her boyfriend just moved into.

For the criminal, it appeared an easy couple of bucks. Break a window, rummage around in a car, steal what appears valuable and run off into the night. Maybe the criminal is dumb enough to think this is a victimless crime.

“Hey, they got insurance. They get paid for it.”

This shows how little you know. She was upset. Her sense of security about her car and new home are gone. She feels violated.

When I had a truck stolen, I went through a period where I felt unsafe. I was prepared to defend myself at every sound at night. I thought for a while the car thief would find my registration and try to burglarize my home. Lucky for the loser car thief they never did stop by. I would have had to take my chances in defending myself in court.

I spent more than 10 years as a reporter covering police and courts. I have seen the damage done by thieves, vandals, spouse abusers, child rapists and murders. It’s easy to have an idea of what a murder victim’s family goes through. Rape victims, women beaten by husbands and boyfriends; these are popular topics in television fiction. We get an idea of their pain and suffering.

Rarely do they touch upon the horrible sensation of having a home burglarized or a car stolen. They aren’t exciting enough. But when you have strangers enter your home, destroy your belongings and steal things, it does more than monetary damage. It turns a home into a house. The sense of security, the emotional attachment and beloved memories are tainted by the violation.

A car is nearly as bad as a house.  The … jerks, who stole my truck, destroyed a vehicle I rebuilt in high school. They destroyed my photography portfolio, complete with the negatives. The eroded my trust in my neighbors and strangers.

When I watched burglars confess to robbing people and destroying their homes, I have no sympathy or compassion when they are sentenced. The didn’t bother to think about how their short lived joy of crime would affect the victim. When they cry and complain about paying restitution, I wonder why the state hasn’t made a law compelling them to liquidate all of their possessions to pay the victims back. Probably because they never can truly make amends to their victims.

You did the crime, now do the time and be thankful you didn’t rob me.

Bill Stevenson is the Columbia Basin Herald managing editor. He often wonders how criminals can be so cruel.