In many countries, prison is the most common solution to the problem of crime. However, another effective way is to provide people with better education so that they cannot become criminals. To what extent do you agree or disagree? v.2

Many places around the world are troubled by an increasing number of crimes. In order to combat this problem, governments have been seeking the best solution. In my opinion, only by providing better education and punishing offenders strictly at the same time can the crime rate be effectively lowered. There is no doubt that education has a critically important role to play in crime prevention and this is particularly evident in this knowledge-based century. Studies have shown that a large proportion of offenses are committed by poorly educated people who can neither make a living without the skills and knowledge acquired from school nor are aware of the line between legal and illegal. Therefore, if the government makes more efforts towards eliminating illiteracy and improving academic competence, crimes such as theft, robbery and violent attack can be effectively prevented. However, even though the access to education has been guaranteed, the possibility of breaking the law still remains. This is because apart from poverty and lack of legal awareness, there are many other reasons for committing a crime, such as greed, envy and vengeance. Therefore, the establishment of prisons is as effective as education to prevent crime, serving the purpose of deterring potential offenders. By confining prisoners within an extremely small area and taking away their freedom to meet families, law enforcement departments can punish them with pain both psychologically and physically. As a result, those who intend to receive bribes or abuse animals may weigh the cost carefully. In conclusion, although ensuring that every citizen has the access to being sufficiently educated contributes positively to reducing crimes, locking up criminals is equally effective and extremely necessary.