Essay 4 by Pia Bhagchandani

Prison is the common way most countries try to solve the problem of crime. However, a more effective solution is to provide the public a better education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

A majority of the countries in the world resort to imprisonment as a customary approach to eliminate crime rates in their region. Some argue that providing quality education to their citizens is a better alternative in preventing crimes. While I agree that incarceration is effective in keeping hard-core criminals away from the society, educating people is a long term measure that can combat the problem of crimes. So, a combination of both is essential.

Undoubtedly, if a person has been convicted for a heinous crime like murder or rape, they need to be put behind the bars and punished. These criminals pose a danger to the society and jailing them is the only way to ensure the safety in the society. Punitive measures like life sentences or even capital punishments act as a deterrent to crimes. Due to this, prisons have become globally accepted institutions.

However, not all crimes deserve harsh punishments. Minor offences like shop-lifting or pick-pocketing can be dealt with by educating such offenders. For example, many times teenagers are involved in minor crimes and in most cases they are too young to understand the consequences of their actions. Therefore, the government can set up rehabilitation/counselling centres where they can get proper guidance to not to repeat the same mistakes again.

Furthermore, educating school and college students about crime prevention and control during their formative years does have long term benefits in the society. For instance, if children are taught in their school regarding the detrimental effects of criminal activities in the society, they can become law-abiding citizens in future.

In conclusion, prison will continue to be an effective way to create a fear among public to refrain from committing crimes; however, education can act as a long-term measure to reduce this problem. Hence, the government should focus on both to mitigate crime rates.