Prompt: The prison system has not been effective at reforming criminals. A large number of convicted felons return to committing crimes soon after being released. Ċ What are the problems with the prison system and what solution can you recommend to address this issue?

Punitive actions against criminals often include sentencing them to prisons. There is a growing view that these systems of confinement are ineffective at reforming those with charges of felony as a large number of them return to committing crimes as soon as they are released. This essay elaborates on the issues with the current prison system and discusses practical ways towards reaching achievable solutions. Ċ To begin with, the foremost glaring problem is that jails are poorly maintained facilities where all felons with a thought process inclined towards criminal ideas stay together. Moreover, there are no counselling facilities for such inmates who want to try and shift their focus on constructive work. So, they end up getting caught up in the same stream of ideas. Secondly, there is no constructive work or vocational training offered at these facilities. Thus, the empty minds of custodians end up becoming the devil's workshops. Lastly, even if a person wants to leave the world of crime post his release, most employers end up rejecting these candidates. For example, most multinational companies have a condition in the contract of having no criminal background. Ċ Focusing on the solutions, firstly what needs to be done is that these prisoners need to be counselled. So instead of detention centres, they can be sentenced to counselling centres where they will be attended by specialists and taught how to channelise their mind towards the right thoughts. In addition to this, another solution that can be offered is that vocational courses can be offered in prisons so that the candidates become employable. e.g. Kiran Bedi, the jailor at Tihar jail had started such courses for prisoners. Finally, job bureaus can be set up to bring these people into the mainstream after their release. For instance, setting up internet portals like jobs.com. Ċ In conclusion, although there are problems with the current prison system, practical solutions are available and can benefit the convicts if implemented.