by Matthew J. Geiger

Created on: July 19, 2009   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

During the Presidency of George W. Bush, an over focus on the Iraq War and terrorism overshadowed crime, while the 2008/2009 global recession has certainly encouraged increases in criminal activity around the world. Although crime is harmful and creates social instability, maliciousness and greed are not always the motivation for crime, as people in desperate situations feel forced to act in a rash manner; therefore, crime cannot simply be stopped by inflicting more punishment upon people who commit crimes. On the one hand, society cannot tolerate criminal elements; on the other hand, the rehabilitation of criminals is necessary.

Logistically speaking, simply punishing criminals is unrealistic as repeat offenders will and do already contribute to the overburdening of our penal system. Eventually, most criminals must be released back into society, but there is little hope of those individuals being successfully integrated back into their community without some form of rehabilitation. In truth, no rehabilitation program will ever be perfect as criminals must decide they want to become productive members of society while personal changes can be extremely trying; however, a lack of effort to actively reform people who commit crimes, while they are in prison, is certainly doomed to failure and leaves them few chances to reform.

Furthermore, imprisoning criminals naturally punishes them, but prisons most importantly serve to restrict their movements and ability to repeat their offenses. It is important to remember that before many criminals end up in jail, they have a history of committing crimes, so once they are caught and sentenced for a particular crime, the prison serves to prevent these individuals from engaging in other criminal behaviors. For serious crimes like murder and rape, long term prison sentences, as well as harsher punishments, clearly are in the best interests of society. For lesser crimes, prison must be a means of removing such individuals from society so they can get the help they need.

Most people who commit crimes do so because they are in a situation where they feel there is no other solution beyond committing crimes like stealing, or even killing. Society has failed a lot of these people, and so, giving them a chance at redemption is the only way to demonstrate following the rules of society is beneficial to them, as well as younger individuals facing similar circumstances. No crime is excusable and everyone must take responsibility for their own actions, but the need to rehabilitate criminals must override the impulse of victims and society to simply punish. Finally, there is a lot of pain in the world, and inflicting more pain will not solve the social issues behind crime, while it is certainly not the reason our society has a justice system.

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