War on Crime

War on Crime

an essay by Matthew Bissonnette

As we enter the twenty-first century, many first world nations are grappling with citizens of their nations engaging in criminal activity; in some free countries there is a growing population of prisoners and it seems criminality becomes more common. Crimes committed have a wide range, it can be for either financial reasons or more troubled types of criminal offenses where individuals commit senseless acts of violence either because of a predisposition towards such behavior or people who enjoy inflicting pain. Though the reasons for this phenomena of criminality is diverse, a simple question is this; how best to fight crime, by locking men up to reform them or deal with some of the social-economic realities which lead young men to engage in crime. In the inner city; the allure of easy money made in the drug trade has led many young men to the prison system, and this is especially problematic since people from these communities do not have access to proper education so they may be given the tools to succeed in society if they have the intellect. Since we live in a culture where a person's entire worth is often determined by how much he possesses; easy money made from crime seems like a better path then working a low paying, thankless job which is honest but sometimes unrewarding. The prison system exists to punish individuals who have committed crimes against society; but is there a possibility that young men who might have been petty criminals are thrown into the brutal prison systems where they can affiliate with hardcore predicate felons and may not be reformed into a contributing member of society. Also as we progress into the future, senseless crimes of violence become more common as some dangerous men engage in the most barbarous acts against there fellow men and women. So what is the better solution, locking more individuals up or seeing that less citizens grow up to be criminals.

In the school system, those educated in such matters should create a profile of what alarming activities youths may show that could indicate they will grow up to be a violent criminal and see if there is any potential therapy to help change these youngsters into a stable member of the community. Also the school system in the inner city or poor neighborhoods should be given more funds so that if a citizen has the ability to succeed then he should have access to higher education no matter who he is. That to fight the tree of crime you go after the roots; or find which societal factors lead to crime and alter them so they no longer influence some into becoming a detriment to the community or society as a whole. Lowering crime is a ethical goal, but requires a knowledgeable view of what leads to crime and how to change such realities so that future generations will not suffer the consequences of actions committed by those who care nothing for the welfare of others. It is something to think about.