crime does not pay

1. Lawbreakers do not benefit from their actions. For example, Steve didn't think it mattered that he stole a candy bar, but he's learned the hard way that crime does not pay. This maxim, originating as a slogan of the F.B.I. and given wide currency by the cartoon character Dick Tracy, was first recorded in 1927. There have been numerous jocular plays on it, as in Woody Allen's screenplay for Take the Money and Run (1969): “I think crime pays. The hours are good, you travel a lot.”

Example Sentences

“Thou shall not steal, and crime does not pay.”

Read more on Washington Times

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot learned the hard way crime does not pay after voters gave her the boot, sending a clear message they are sick and tired of elected leaders who fail to keep them safe or improve the standard of living in their neighborhoods.

Read more on Washington Times

“We have to make sure that crime does not pay.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The core objective is to ensure that crime does not pay by depriving criminals of their ill-gotten gains and limiting their capacity to commit further crimes,” the European Commission said.

Read more on Seattle Times

“He just can’t seem to get the picture that crime does not pay,” the sheriff said.

Read more on Seattle Times