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 measures to punish or rehabilitate criminals. Some critics argue that the best

way

to sanction criminals is to sentence them to

time

in

prison

. I totally disagree 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 committed petty crimes

such

as vandalism or theft, usually reside in the same place with high risk offenders who were charged with murder or other violent

crime

. Since people generally learn by conditioning, the lawbreakers who committed less personal crimes will be educated in the ways of the criminal and will be 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.

Consequently

,

this

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

way

to punish 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. If that money was spent on education and social service, most likely that would deter people from committing

crime

in the

first

instance. Several studies reveal

that is

more expensive to keep someone in

prison

for one year than paying 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 centres may be the only means to punish the most dangerous criminals in society, I believe that they are far from being the best

way

to rehabilitate the lawbreakers. In some cases, serving

time

in

prison

can increase the likelihood that inmates will re-offend,

therefore

I think it should be the

last

resort to be used.