It may sound absurd, but in many countries prison systems are absolutely ineffective, while money invested into them is huge. The statistics of repeated offence, which is disturbingly high, show us the failure of that system. I think that the main reasons for that are lack of attention paid to prisoners’ rehabilitation and definitely poor job opportunities that they have after being released from the jail.
The first thing I want to discuss, that seems to be the main reason for reoffence, is the whole punishment system. Unfortunately, in many prisons inmates are treated badly or even cruelly and obliged to do unbearable labour work. This approach leads to numerous mental and physical traumas, which are not the main attributes of the productive member of society for sure. However, not all the prisons are the same. For example, in Norway ex-convicts easily assimilate to society after being released, and it is the credit to the prison system that is focused on rehabilitation, not on punishment. I think other countries should take an example from Norway and reconsider their prisons.
Secondly, lack of job opportunities is also a border between ex-convicted and a normal life. As soon as people are released from the jail, they are thrown to the real world, where they have to pay bills and buy food. However, these simple tasks may be absolutely unaffordable for a person without a job. No one would argue that ex-convicts are less likely to receive full-time or even part-time jobs, consequently they have no other choice than doing what they are used to – committing crimes. The situation may be changed if the government would encourage companies to hire some ex-convicts who have necessary skills, thus reducing the unemployment rate among this group of people.
To sum up, I want to say that every county should be more concerned about the rehabilitation and life after the prison of sentenced people, as they should be able to return to normal life.