In my small rural county, criminals are sentenced to jail sentences unless it is a first-time offense. After one arrest, if the perp doesn’t learn his/her lesson when issued a fine and given probation, then their next arrest results in SOME type of jail time, even if it is just one weekend in jail.
We have had two (maybe three) armed robberies of stores here in my lifetime. In the first instance, the guy was sentenced to life in prison because he killed the store clerk. In the second, both perps were shot dead by the store owner. I believe I recall a third instance in which the thug was so drunk/drugged he could barely stand and I believe he was sentenced to ten years (the last one may have been at the 7-11 store in the county next door instead of the one on this side of the county line).
Criminals know that it is best to go to the liberal county twenty miles away if they want to commit a crime. Even with a long record of theft, assault, etc, they usually only get more probation and any fines are usually waived.
The chance of a long prison sentence is usually quite the deterrent.