Prison is the best punishment for criminals. Discuss

Nowadays the rate of crime has skyrocketed and governments across the world have to deal with an increasing number of offenders. One of the most debatable problems in our society relates to the most effective measure to punish or rehabilitate criminals. Some critics argue that the best

way

to sanction criminals is to sentence them to

time

in

prison

. I partially agree with

this

statement and in

this

essay I will support my opinion with examples.

Firstly

,

prison

culture is not much different to the part of the society these criminals are coming from and in some situations jails have become schools of crime for the newcomers.

For instance

, those who commit petty crimes

such

as vandalism or theft, will spend

time

with people who committed murder or violent crimes. Since people generally learn by conditioning, those offenders who committed less personal crimes will be educated in the ways of the criminal and are more likely to graduate from low-level offenders to lifetime criminals. Research conducted in several developed countries shows that more than 35% of prisoners will re-offend once they are released back into the community.

Therefore

,

this

makes it clear that detention is far away from being the best

way

to rehabilitate criminals.

Secondly

, each year a larger amount of taxpayer money goes to fund the

prison

system, but there is no strong evidence that it rehabilitates the offenders. A small fortune is wasted in convicting criminals and housing prisoners the

first

time let

Accept comma addition

time, let

alone the

second

time

when they re-offend, suggesting that

this

type of punishment is not cost effective. That money could be spent on education and social service that may prevent people to commit crime in the

first

instance, rather than transforming prisons into holiday camps. Several studies reveal

that is

more expensive to keep someone in

prison

for one year than the tuition fee to a prestigious university.

Thus

,

this

becomes apparent that imprisonment is the least effective

way

to discipline offenders. To summarize,

although

detention Centers may be the only means to punish the most dangerous criminals in the society, I believe that they are far from being the best

way

to rehabilitate the lawbreakers. In some cases,

time

in

prison

can increase the likelihood that inmates will re-offend,

therefore

I think it should be the

last

resort to be used.