Is jail always the answer?

i think it depends on the crime and history.. some people seem to go to jail for stupid little things where people that have a huge history and do awful things walk or get minor time..

I do believe that jail is the answer to stop the crime. But we must also consider the situation. we must give a strong penalty for those crime commited even a little crime so that criminals would be punished.

You are right not all circumstances warrant a jail sentence. Some minor incidents can be given counseling and rehabitation but this always depend on the Judge and the social report of the person. There are so many persons in society who needs help and the court system overlooked this aspect of it and placed them into jail/person. Sometimes this imprisonment help the person but another time it backfired negatively.

I think that jail is not the answer, i could sound cruel, but all criminals should die, they would make us a favor, there are lots of humans rigth now and little space, we need to stop having kids and start killing more unuseful people. :)

I don't think jail is the answer, for anything. If you think about it, put a person in prison and they'll do nothing other than read books, trains and take courses (in some jails) or nothing at all, and you feed them, clothe them, you pay everything for them...I think that's a waste, especially if you think there's a huge number of homeless for which nobody pays a meal. Instead, I think homeless should have better access to houses, meals, clothing, and not just let the 'favorites' access that, but all. And for the people snetenced to jail, no jail, but forced work. Maybe in developing coutnries, which would be even better. There's plenty of countries trying to recover from natural disasters, or that need to rebuild buildings, bridges, rails...it's a lot of work and they are struggling to do that, instead of paying people to do nothing (stay in jail) I'd vote to force them work and earn their bread...

jail is never the answer there is so many different ways to handle a situation , i went to jail for 3 days because I had a warrant for my arrest, it was the worst 3 days of my life because I had to sleep on a hard floor and all they gave you was a blanket jail is really crappy and scary I could take it luckily I was let out and told them I would have 3 months by the 9th month of next year

depends on what they did. some need to go to mental hospital to be treated

Maybe they will be put into jail and make the justice more faster to decide for a person’s case. Our justice system seems so slow in deciding what punishment they can give to a person done unlawful. Putting in jail is like putting on hold on that person while they are under investigation by law. The problem is the time it takes for the judge to decide what punishment they can give which is I think unfair. Here in my country, the people inside the jail have still a job to do. They do handicrafts, they have bible study , they still continue living,unfortunately not all in jail are guilty of a crime. I hope justice will be served on them if they are guilty or not.

it really depends on the circumstance. like stealing food-if it's found they are truly in need,they shouldn't be prosecuted in my opinion-they should be offered help.obviously they're desperate. there has to be a better answer to that one.

I feel it depends on what they have done if it was steeling something like food out of the store there's got be a reason but going to jail isn't right for them they should get some help and check out how they are doing even for money it's got to be a big reason why they took it but not go to jail.there's always to sides to a coin. if you know what I mean. cd

Hey dl! I don't think that anyone can truly answer that question unless they know exactly the situation and the circumstances that you are referring to. Sometimes I do believe that a jail sentence may be too harsh a punishment for a crime, but it all depends on the circumstances! And then on the other hand, sometimes I feel that a jail sentence is NOT ENOUGH punishment for certain crimes! I feel that the punishment should fit the crime! And that doesn't always happen. I also believe in "an eye for an eye", meaning "you kill, you die"! So, you see there are all ends of the spectrum and too many variances to decide! (P.S. I worked in the Legal Field for over 20 years, so when I say what I'm saying there is a reason! I worked for a Criminal Attorney for 4 years who is now a Judge!) See where I'm coming from?

Putting people in prison for not paying their council tax is stupid.They should raid that persons bank account,if they cannot afford to pay they should be let off.Putting shop lifters in prison is silly as they need therapy.I am of the opinion every crime should be judged on its own,some people would benefit from prison while others would not.If someone has hurt someone else then yes or if they hurt a child then they should be shot ,that would empty a few cells.

It's hard to be good, there are temptations everywhere ... lots of reasons a person committed a crime, ranging from economic reasons until the hobby of a crime. We'll see, if unemployment increases, crime usually increases, and ended for a reason: the economic situation ... Prison person can indeed make people give up to do evil. A criminal in jail, it is hoped that he was sorry and would not have violated the law again. But, his name is also human, everyone has bad side, depending on how severe. Sometimes there are people in jail, he regretted not going to commit a crime again. Many criminals, after leaving prison, making the crime again. So the prison is only one solution, with no great influence for criminals. Now, depending on the person, whether he was sorry and would not do the crime again, or even getting worse ... that's all.

A judge is usually the best person to determine the kind of punishment that fits the crime. Sometimes if a person commits a crime that is punishable by house arrest, the judge will warrant that instead. Hate crimes should never go un-punished.

I think it all depends on the crime they have committed also and I do believe also that people do make mistakes sometimes and they can change without serving jail time. Some people need to be in jail and away from others though because they are corrupted and they will never change.

The old statement, "Let the punishment fit the crime." seems to me to be much more valuable than letting us support with our tax dollars thousands of people who can not abide by our laws.

I think that jail is not always the answer too. Having someone in jail here costs around $60,000 per year I think I heard the other day! It is a waste of money and jail is not always going to stop the person from re-offending. I think that hanging out with other criminals inside can in fact lead them to commit more crimes in the future. Governments would be better spending money on crime prevention in the first place. They are starting to do these things here in Australia with the youths that commit crimes. They have what they call a youth justice hearing which brings the youth together with the victim for a meeting to discuss some form of compensation to the victim for the crimes that the youth committed. In the past, they would have gone straight to court and then to a young persons jail. I had to attend one of these meetings last year as the victim of a break in and the kid was very uncomfortable about being in my presence. I do not think that he would do the same thing again!

Have done some research and this is what i found. The purpose of imprisonment There are a number of accepted reasons for the use of imprisonment. One approach aims to deter those who would otherwise commit crimes (generaldeterrence) and to make it less likely that those who serve a prison sentence will commit crimes after their release (individual deterrence). A second approach focuses on issuing punishment to, or obtaining retribution from, those who have committed serious crimes. A third approach encourages thepersonal reform of those who are sent to prison. Finally, in some cases it is necessary to protect the public from those who commit crimes—particularly from those who do so persistently. In individual cases, all or some of these justifications may apply. The increasing importance of the notion of reform has led some prison systems to be called correctional institutions. This description of imprisonmentapplies mainly to the countries of Europe and North America. In China, imprisonment was historically used as a means of reforming the minds of criminals, and it obliged prisoners to work in support of the state. Imprisonment in the Soviet Union similarly became a method of forcing so-called enemies of the state to labour on its behalf and, in so doing, to recognize the error of their ways. Developing countries faced a different challenge as they confronted prison systems that in many cases symbolized a legacy of colonial domination. Given the difficulty of replacing the structure and organization of an existing prison system, many countries consequently struggled to implement effective forms of punishment that were also decent and humane.

i don;t think so that jail is the better way to treate criminals because for criminal it became their habit to do the crime and go to the jail.they making fun of jail.they make jail as their home as they do the crime and retun to the jail..for them jail doen't mean punishment but it increase their dare to do the crime again and again.in my opinion some other better way to trate this criminals should be implemented.

I think jail is not the best answer. If i can decide, put the people to a big farm, and let them work.