Some individuals claim that longer imprisonment is necessary to reduce criminal activities while others believe that there are alternative ways. Whereas imposing longer prison sentences seems effective, I am more inclined to the latter view.
Admittedly, there are valid arguments why longer prison sentences are believed to reduce crime rates. Given the fact that the majority of arrested prisoners still maintain their reckless nature and justify their offenses due to such short-term imprisonment, they often re-commit the crimes just after being released. Therefore, with more severe consequences in the form of a longer sentence, the likelihood of such action might be reduced since they would become more afraid of the consequences of their actions. Moreover, it is also thought that a longer prison period could make the potential criminals aware of the serious penalties they may face if committing these activities. For example, orphans are usually seen as potential offenders because of being scarce of parental involvement. They may violate the laws often because of a lack of law awareness rather than evil intentions. As a result, these children at such young ages would not have the courage to commit any offenses if the prison sentence were extended.
However, I believe there are other measures that can be even more efficient as they address underlying social issues. Primarily, focusing on education at schools could tackle this problem more effectively. This is because this solution prioritizes affecting the root of the problem as crimes often come from poverty and lack of education. With a higher schooling level, individuals may find decent jobs more easily, making it unnecessary to break the laws as they could have legal ways to earn a living. In addition, tackling economic hardship in undeveloped areas is also a feasible measure as surveys often point out that the crime rate in these areas is often higher than in developed ones. By opening a program to help people in low-income areas find occupations, the likelihood of a law-abiding citizen having to violate the law for their livelihood would be ultimately reduced.
In conclusion, while it is justifiable to impose a longer prison sentence, I believe that other solutions such as focusing on education would be more effective as they deal with the root causes of crime. It is recommended that the government should combine both extended imprison terms and other approaches for the best result.