Team Ahimsa Blog Relay, Various Contests

Render Jails Reduntant - Rated ASR - Words: 199 - wk 3, pr 2

Locking up is not the answer.

I know, crime should not happen.

Crime hurts the victim, it hurts society, it hurts the perpetrator and her / his family.

The answer lies in eliminating (or, at least, minimising) crime - not in putting individual criminals away.

To do that, we must first understand why crime happens.

Emotional instability? Financial stress? Greed? Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses? Economic injustice?

Once the reasons are pinpointed, steps must be taken to remedy the situation. We need to have an atmosphere in which crime cannot take root. If people don't need or want to commit crime, they won't. Individuals who feel loved, secure and worthwhile don't commit crime. Let every individual feel loved, secure and worthwhile. With careful planning, with everyone on board, it can be done.

A note about punishments and deterrents: Let's work for a world in which these are not needed. Criminals, in any case, feel confident of not being caught at the time of planning the crime. The punishment will not put them off then - they're not going to face it anyway.

So let's create homes, schools, colleges and work-spaces where people feel they bleong, where they feel secure, and let's render the jails redundant!

Words: 199

PROMPT ▼

Should criminals be locked up, housed, feed and clothed at the public's expense, or something else

?