Some people think that offenders should be put in prison. Others, however, believe that providing offenders with education and training is more effective than putting them in prison. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

For thousands of years,

people

have discussed the different ways of dealing with

criminals

, and even in the modern

era

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,era

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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.