While some argue that punishment could be the most impactful way to reduce crime, others believe that education and skills training are the better approach.
In some cases, even the most skilled and intelligent people can commit crimes so I would not fully agree that it is the best solution. When a person knows that they will face a punishment, they might rethink breaking the law. It does depend on both the type of offense and the kind of punishment it is, but still, only fines would not be that effective. For instance, people who commit serious crimes might not be afraid of paying fines, but the possibility of going to prison could make them think twice. Therefore, punishment can help discourage people from breaking the law, but sadly that is not always the case.
On the other hand, people, mostly younger generations, without jobs are the ones that tend to commit crimes to earn fast money, and proper education could help them understand the consequences from different perspectives and therefore make better decisions. Job training would give people skills to find jobs and earn stable incomes without the need to break the law. For example, someone who struggles financially might turn to stealing, while a stable job and income would likely prevent this problem. So education can prevent crime before it happens, rather than just punishing people afterward. Instead of having stable jobs and incomes, ambitious people who want to make easy, fast money, focus on defrauding others. This problem is common in Tbilisi too. All in all, since only education, proper jobs and punishment separately are not enough, I believe that a balance should be found between them. If younger generations are better educated, can understand values and have well paying job opportunities awaiting them in the future, they might be less likely to commit felonies.