IN SOME COUNTRIES PRISON SENTENCE IS CONSIDERED BEST WAY TO REDUCE CRIMES. HOWEVER, EDUCATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY BY OTHERS. DISCUSS BOTH VIEWS AND GIVE YOUR OPINION.

Over the past few decades societies at large have witnessed tremendous growth and revolutionary changes have been the cornerstone (feature) of this multifaceted (in various aspect) progress. Growth and development often touted as a panacea for all ills afflicting the society comes with a scourge in its wake: surging crime rates. In this context an issue that has become a fixture of many discussions pertains to the effectiveness of using education to reduce crime rates as opposed to imprisonment. This essay shall analyse the issue from every angle and argue that education is a much better option among the two. In the arsenal of arguments supporting some people’s perspective that prison sentence could reduce crimes, one of the most potent is that it sends a strong message to those who are thinking of committing a crime as they would understand that any criminal action would have unpalatable that any criminal action would have unpalatable consequences like incarceration would let the criminal stay alone with himself and gives him an opportunity to introspect and reform there by reducing future instances of crime. However, if we are honest about it, we might acknowledge that if prisons were at least half as effective in reducing crimes- as it’s claimed to be then the world would have seen much lesser crimes as prison sentence have for long existed as a punishment for crime. On the contrary, anecdotal evidences and many longitudinal studies indicate that crime rates and the intensity of crimes are anything but going down, which only points to the ineffectiveness of the whole measure. A quick perusal of the issue at hand would throw up a surfeit of seminal reasons supporting my perspective that education is a better way to reduce crimes. To begin with, it should provide people with a respected and secure way of making money by honest means, which would cut crime levels in any society. I also feel that education would make people think of the consequences of their actions and that itself can refrain many from committing crimes in the first place. It is no coincidence that in developed countries like UK and Germany where people are compulsory educated to a certain level, crime levels are much lesser. Finally it wouldn’t be too off to the mark if I opined that real education can make a person more humble, less egoistic and instil universal moral values, which is a perfect recipe for crime reduction. Having considered both sides, it seems ever so sensible to register my disagreement with the statement that imprisoned people could reduce crimes. In spite of the intricate tapestry of argument delicately woven in favour of incarcerating violators, it seems unconvincing to my psyche on an underlying basis. It is also evident that while the downsides to imprisonment are tangible, profound and enormously consequential the benefits are ephemeral, superficial and beyond a point cease to palpable in the long run. Suffice it to say that education is the best option among the two, if we wish to reduce crimes in the society.