I understand socio-economic and cultural factors play into a populations criminality, but don't you hate excuses?

I understand various factors that are correlated to thuggery, so simply saying "it's a choice and ppl need to stop making bad choices so there's less crime" isn't a complete picture, But I really hate how sympathetic we've made thugs. We need to go back to the day's where when there are cops and robbers, the robbers are the villian. I understand the prison industrial complex, the culture that nurtures the minds of the young to think the shit's cool, etc. But shit brah, pointing guns at people you don't know, stealing from people, enacting violence on people when it's not in self defence, makes you a BAD PERSON. Someone who needs to be dealt with