You can make declarations, gun grabs, big, stiff laws, and you will still face the same outcome. Criminals are rarely motivated by punishment or laws. Primarily because they don't believe they will get caught, but also in some cases, they don't care,
There was a big, strapping guy in High School who apparently had a beef with some other guy. The other guy wasn't very big or intimidating. I recall having a conversation with the big dude about the other guy and why he avoided any fight with him after it escalated. He told me words I have always kept close, "I can take him in a fight, the problem is that this guy doesn't have anything to live for. I don't know what he might do down the line when I'm not looking".
A light clicked in my head. Just as Sun Tzu stated "do not attack a desperate army on their way home to their families", the same mantra is true of those who have little to live for. They don't care about laws, rules or even life itself. If they don't care about their own lives, they sure as hell won't care about others.