Crime has been a problem societies are to find a solution for thousands of years. There are numerous approaches about how to cope with criminals and crime. While some people are of the opinion that severe punishments deter criminals from breaking the law, others think in a well educated society, people morally choose to stay away from crime so there is no need to harsh punishments as long as there is an effective education system. I think both have their benefits and down sides and are not solely enough to decrease crime rates.
Firstly, humans naturally have a propencity to consider consequences of their actions and evaluate whether the action is worth it. Therefore, severe punishments are indeed a greet tool to discourage potential criminals. Moreover, punishments must be severe enough to fulfill society’s sense of justice. For instance, if a murderer is released from prison after a few years, not only people with bad intentions are encouraged but also people lose their faith to justice system and want to bring their own justice. This, in turn, leads to higher crime rates. However, especially young and vulnerable people are prone to make bad desicions and they deserve a second chance when they commit a crime unless it is a serious crime such as rape or murder. That is to say, there should be a balance between the crime and the punishment. Giving harsh punishments for minor crimes is no justice either.
On the other hand, if harsher punishments were enough to solve crime problem, there would be no unlawful acts because all countries would legislate the most severe punishments but this is not the case. On the contrary, people commit crimes even if they know they will be sentenced to capital punishment. There are various reasons for that including lack of logical thinking and not being able to control anger. One of the main reasons of this is not getting a proper education. When people are not morally educated, they don’t realize how important to respect others’rights. Additionally, with education people have something to contribute society and they feel valued. Besides, educated people generally have healthier relationships with their family and others and thus, they do not want to lose it by commiting a crime. Similarly, most of the law-breakers have problematic relationships with their families and society. Therefore it is vital to teach children and parents to build healthy and strong bonds. Also, children should be taught moral values so that people internalize commiting crime is wrong apart from the fear of punishment.
To sum up, harsh punishments and education are both important tools to fight crime. While punishment discourage potential criminals and keeps society faithful to justice, education helps rooting out the idea of crime. Therefore governments should use both instead of choosing one.