Their prices aren't what they used to be...

The US has an incarceration rate 3x that of Singapore. We're already more draconian than your example.

Harsher sentences do not reduce crime. This has been shown in multiple studies, and is easily searchable. Here is just one of many studies showing this.

Stricter policing does not reduce crime, and often makes it worse.

That was the stated purpose of "broken windows policing," which played a big role in increasing our prison population to what it is today. Stricter enforcement does not lead to a reduction in crimes being committed, and can often have the opposite effect. This is because it reinforces structures of inequality and exacerbates symptoms of poverty.

What has reduced crime is building a stronger social safety net so those who find themselves in desperate situations can get support from the state instead of other illegal alternatives.

The T is somewhat safer, though, so there's that.

I bet that if you went door-knocking, you'd actually get pretty wide support for municipal broadband, too.