Reply To: How about being machmir on ben adam l'chaveiro?

On the contrary, Joseph. If someone is a habitual criminal he is a danger to the community. Today victimology has progressed to the point where we know the traumatic effects even of crimes which in the past were considered non-violent such as burglary. A British victim support group found that “One in four burglary victims say they experienced mental health issues after a break-in, such as increased anxiety or symptoms of depression, according to new research from Victim Support and home security specialist ADT.

The study of 1,000 burglary victims, conducted to find out the real impact of the crime as part of the Take No More campaign, also revealed that one in four adults felt their ability to keep their family safe was affected by a break-in.”

IMHO, if Rav Moshe had known about this he would have ruled that a burglar, as well as other types of thieves and certainly robbers, has the din of a rodef of the community and that it is davka a mitzva to report him.

As for incarceration as a punishment, this is within the rights of the secular authorities t impose exta-halchic punishments in order to maintain public order (see Rambam Hilchot Melachim ch. 3 and Ran Derasha 11). One can agreee or disagree but it is their right.

Regarding modern Western countries, there are poskim, such as the Aruch HaShulchan, Rav Wosner, the Tzitz Eliezer, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Rav Eliashiv (see the on-line article “Informing on Others for Violating American Law: A Jewish Law View for the citations) who do differentiate.