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.