As statistics show, there is a lack of education among criminals, which can be a compelling reason for the view that the most effective technique to minimize crime rate is to educate criminals in jail so that they get a job. While I believe that educating criminals can be an efficient solution, I also contend that criminals commit a crime not because they lack education, but because they cannot find new vacancies.
It is true that educating criminals can help diminish crime rates. One possible reason is that if criminals are taught any valuable skills or knowledge, they can get jobs, earn salary and even pursue a career. This means offenders with particular occupation to make a living become less likely to commit a crime. As a result, this contributes to decreased level of criminal activities. Furthermore, educating not only gives criminals an opportunity to earn money, but also broaden their horizon on life. For instance, when the prison system entails a free access to a library with a wide variety literature and self-help books, this can modify criminals’ perspective on life and enlighten their awareness about other ways of living. Therefore, this approach seems to carry a considerable weight.
Nevertheless, I do not support the view that criminal activities are often occurred by the lack of education for several reasons. Firstly, not all criminals are uneducated. If that were true, they would not even bother to try a criminal activity. It is mainly because committing a crime often requires high level of planning and mental abilities, which reveals criminals are those who have very strong tactic and critical thinking, not uneducated. Secondly, a lack of knowledge or academic skills cannot be seen as a primary reason for increasing criminal rates. In other words, it has nothing to do with education, but the unemployment is the root factor contributing to higher numbers of criminal activities. Without a job and sustainable salary, even professional people with certain degrees and diplomas have no choice but to be involved in criminal groups for the purpose of covering everyday finances. Many people, especially in today’s materialistic world, have financial shortcomings due to a high cost of living, which can be attributed to that issue than lack of education.
In conclusion, although educating prisoners can help reduce crime to some extent, it seems reasonable to state that crime has more to do with unemployment and high cost of living rather than uneducated people.