It is reasonable that whoever commits a crime will be sentenced to prison. However, this is not the optimal punishment since its impact would not guarantee the criminal’s evil acts in the future. In my opinion, there are both benefits and setbacks to this way of handling criminals.
To begin with, imprisonment for any case of murder, rape, or robbery is by far one of the most effective solutions. During the time spent behind bars, criminals and wrongdoers could take time for reflection and adjust their own core values. Community work or upskilling programs could be implemented to rehabilitate offenders and addicts. These could help shed light on their social beliefs, which were once misunderstood, and create a premise to develop more humane characteristics. For instance, there have been successful real-life cases of lawbreakers who transformed into businessmen with a hopeful future ahead.
Despite the end goals of prisons and their detrimental impact, there are exceptions. Isolating a criminal is not that simple based on the circumstances of the crime. A harsh punishment could increase the level of aggression inside a serial criminal and the possibility of ongoing scenarios after being released. Moreover, gathering different criminals like shoplifters, rapists, terrorists, and murderers in the same cell could promote partnerships or otherwise, another crime scene right at the place they are locked up if the level of tensions and disputes between them is high. Another major problem, especially for those who suffer from psychological disorders, is that imprisonment cannot treat their medical conditions. Disturbing these without much caution often causes more harm than good.
To sum up, putting a criminal in jail will not secure an orderly society due to several factors around the criminal’s social beliefs and demographics. I believe it is crucial that laws must be enforced along with education so that the criminal himself can be guided to a more positive way of living.