What is the true aim of our prison system? Many would argue that it is to punish those who have committed wrongs. Yet this should be a secondary function of these institutions. Their most important function must be to rehabilitate and reintegrate criminals into society so prisons can have a positive effect on inmates.

Using punishment to rehabilitate a criminal is analogous to using an ice pack to fix a broken bone. Each remedy attempts to correct only the symptoms, but once they are taken away the problem is still there. As a weed must be torn out by its roots, crime must be eliminated by destroying its underlying causes.

The roots of crime are often a result of a person's alienation form society, which steals his dignity and worth. Consequently, this causes feelings of detachment and helplessness and destroys any feeling of personal responsibility to that community. In other words, he will have no personal interest in, nor the power to effect his community and therefore he cannot care about its fate. As a result of his apathy, he will have little objection to putting his personal welfare above that of the community by breaking the law.

As a society we must help alienated people by reviving their dignity and giving them the skills and knowledge to help themselves. Through education and job training, these criminals can have the power to take control of their own life and contribute to the community. Once able to contribute to the community, a person will feel a sense of ownership in that society. He will therefore want to protect the community, and uphold its laws. In short, a criminal with the right rehabilitation can be turned from a menace to society into one of its valuable assets.

A prisoner who is not given the chance to get an education, receive job training, and have healthy interactions with people is likely to walk out of prison in worse shape than when he went in. Conversely, after undergoing effective reform programs, he can make a positive impact on the community when he re-enters. To conclude, the true aim of our prison system must be to reform and rehabilitate criminals, not to simply punish them. ?