It is the city of spooks. It is the city of crooks. It is the city of Coolsville. It is the city of Gotham City.
In Coolsville, you can expect to be scared by a man in a ghost mask. In Gotham City, you can expect your entire family to be murdered by a psychotic villian.
In Coolsville, a band of meddling kids foils the plans of these masked criminals long before there are any casualties. In Metropolis, Batman foils the plans of these villians after they have already destroyed a number of lives.
In Coolsville, these criminals are sentenced to harsh sentences of around twenty years for their crimes. In Gotham City, these villians are sent to minimum security mental asylums from which they always escape.
In Coolsville, there are no negotiations with the criminals. In Gotham City, criminals easily work their way through the system and back onto the streets.
In Coolsville, there are no repeat offenders. In Gotham City, there are no non-repeat offenders.
In Coolsville, the worst the citizens have to fear is of crimes that cause nobody any physical harm. In Gotham City, the worst the citizens have to fear is the total destruction of the city by the villian that escaped from Gotham Asylum for the twentieth time.

Where would you rather live: in the city of harsh punishments for criminals or the city of harsh punishments for innocent civilians?