Prison is the best punishment for criminals. How far do you agree or disagree with this statement?

We live in a world where dangerous activity grows by the day.

This

has now become problematic for the law abiding citizens. While there are many ways to reduce

such

incidents, some believe the best method of action at curbing

this

would be the imprisonment of the offenders. In my opinion prison should be the

last

resort, as there are many other ways to reduce criminal activity. Imprisonment for some offences can be detrimental.

In other words

, being sent off to a prison will have a negative effect on someones social status for life

thus

, enabling the others,

such

as friends, family members or the even the local community to re-brand the offender and to categorize them as a criminal, even if the offence is minor.

For example

, in many countries, driving under the influence is considered to be a crime and will be penalised under the criminal law.

This

will have a negative impact on the offender, as now they will be in the system and be categorized as a criminal.

Furthermore

,

this

will

also

impact their future and commit more crime. Since nowadays almost all employers run a background check before hiring a candidate, they may never be able to find work again,

thus

making the offender to shift towards performing more crime in order to make a living.

Hence

, sending a perpetrator to a rehabilitation centre or perform community work would make them understand and teach a valuable lesson rather than a permanent black spot on their life. Less serious crimes should be given a different punishment rather than

jail

time. Critics in favour of

jail

time point out that offenders with serious crimes

such

as repeated sex offenders, sex traffickers, serial killers should be given imprisonment for life or even capital punishment which is true

nevertheless

, I would argue that that less serious offenders may get the motivation and skills required from high-level criminals to make more serious crimes when thrown into

jail

as, in many locations prisons are shared between the two categories due to capacity issues. Which will increase more criminals rather than reducing. In conclusion, sentencing to

jail

can tarnish someones social status and their future career growth.

In addition

, low-level offenders should be given an alternative punishment rather than mixing them with other high-level offenders.