Some people think that the best way to reduce crime is to give longer prison sentences. Others, however, believe there are better alternative ways of reducing crime. Discuss both views.

Most people would agree that a long
prison
sentence is the most common and oldest way to penalize offenders. For centuries,
criminals
were put in jail because of their terrible actions that broke the law and harmed society. But there is another point of view, which asserts that there are more efficient ways to punish lawbreakers for their
crimes
than sending them to
prison
. On the one hand, longer
prison
sentences may solve crime problems through intimidation. If people knew how long their punishment would endure and how many years they should spend in
prison
, they would think twice before committing illegal actions.
Therefore
,
criminals
might stop doing
crimes
because of
this
hard punishment.
This
explains why some individuals think that punishing offenders with long terms in jail is the most effective approach to lower crime.
On the other hand
,
criminals
who serve their time in
prison
do so at the expense of the government, or more precisely, the taxes that citizens pay. It implies that the cost of keeping offenders alive would increase with lengthier
prison
terms. There are many other less costly and still effective methods of reducing
crimes
.
For instance
, the implementation of the death sentence can significantly lower outlawry because of the fear that culprits would be subjected to it and will stop committing
crimes
.
Furthermore
, rehabilitation can be used to turn
criminals
into helpful members of society by teaching them work skills. Considering all of
this
, the advantages of keeping dangerous
criminals
out of society are evident, but options like paying fines or participating in community services should not be overlooked.
Additionally
, the large budget of prisons could be better used to transform inmates into better citizens.
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