In recent times, there has been a heated debate about whether we ought to give long- time imprisonment to reduce the crime rate. I firmly believe that it is a completely bad idea because it could foster a negative mentality and increase crime due to joblessness.
On the one hand, imposing long hours in jails can develop ill mentalities in criminals. When they spend most of their time in prison, they are more likely to learn from the other bad guys around them, thus developing criminal mindsets. Moreover, if a person learns these behaviors for a long time, unknowingly some attitudes may come into his personality, thus highlighting the negative effects of this process. For example, a survey by ‘The Sun’ indicated that people from a jail in New York showed increased criminal activities by 67% after completing their punishment, ultimately showing the failed result of this procedure.
Similarly, there is a high chance that the prisoners after a long-time imprisonment will not get jobs, and eventually, this unemployment could lead to more crimes in society. This is because most business owners do not want to hire convicts, especially when they have been in jail for a long time. That’s why the probability of them getting a good job becomes lower and sometimes they might choose committing crimes as an easier alternative. To exemplify, research by Ghent University revealed that around 51% of people were unemployed after 5 years in jail and stayed that way for almost 5 years, which increased the crime rate by 7 %.
To recapitulate, spending a long time in jail not only can encourage negative mentalities but also can produce more jobless people who will eventually choose crime once again. Therefore, I maintain that it is a harmful idea.