For thousands of years, people have discussed the different ways of dealing with
criminals, and even in the modern era there is a great degree of disagreement on this
subject. Some believe that prison is an effective measure, but others argue that
education and training would be better. This essay will look at both sides of the
argument and then argue in favour of a balanced approach.
For centuries, prisons have been used as a way of both punishing criminals and
keeping them away from law-abiding citizens. Although it works as a deterrent and
also as a practical means of keeping society safe, it is not without its controversy. For
one thing, prisons are notorious hubs of gang activity, and impressionable young
lawbreakers can easily be moulded into hardened criminals during a short stint behind
bars. Moreover, prisons are violent places where young offenders can be raped,
beaten, or even killed during their sentence, and when they are released they carry
with them the stigma of their incarceration. This means that they will struggle to
return to normal society and, for this reason, recidivism rates can be quite high in
some places. Thus, although prisons are an effective means of punishing people and
keeping society safe, they are not without substantial problems.
On the other hand, educating and training criminals is controversial because people
tend to think of it as overly lenient. Many law-abiding citizens believe that those who
break the law should be punished harshly or else there is little reason to adhere to the
rules. However, this approach should not be seen as rewarding criminals but rather
rehabilitating people who were pushed to extreme actions by their unfortunate
circumstances. Statistically, most prison inmates come from backgrounds of poverty
and abuse, so giving them a helping hand can be more beneficial than punishing them
and then hoping that they do not return to a life of crime.
In conclusion, this is an extremely complex issue that requires serious scrutiny, but it
appears as though prison should be reserved only for violent and habitual offenders
while the majority of petty criminals should be dealt with through education and training.