I think there are many ways in which the criminal justice system could be improved. I believe that we just put criminals into prison hoping that if they spend enough time in there they will mend their ways and become productive members of society. That is just not the case. Many prisoners leave prison only to come right back. When it comes to serious and violent crimes I definitely feel we should give harsh sentences to prisoners to keep them off the streets because they pose a danger to others around them. Because of prison over crowding it is hard and expensive to keep people in prison. If tax payers are going to pay for these prisoners then I think we should all have an interest in actually working with these criminals to help them become better people. Unfortunately I think the prison system is so concerned with keeping order in prisons and getting prisoners out so they have more room is taking precedent.
For criminals that are involved in less serious and non-violent crimes I do not know if long prisons sentences are necessary. These people need help. We should use the time we have while they are in prison to focus on helping them see their errors and becoming better people. This would involve drug treatment for drug users, therapy for prisoners with troubles pasts, and treatment programs for people who have problems like sex addiction. If we are doing nothing to help these prisoners then we are just wasting out money because when they get out they will have learned nothing and they will commit crimes again. Prison should be a time of reflection and rehabilitation. We could help criminals get educated like the female prison in the film we watched. We could also help these criminals get jobs once they leave prison instead of sending them straight back to the streets. There is room for much improvement in the criminal justice system.
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