Punishment vs. Rehab

How effective rehabilitation and punishment really are has been heavily analyzed throughout time. They have been analyzed to determine which one has a better outcome for society and the victim as well as the criminal offender. For society, the fiscal and social impact has been analyzed. It has been proposed that punishment only leads to deterrence and that rehabilitation will decrease recidivism.

Many argue that only punishing criminal offenders does not do much to deter them from committing future offenses. In fact, approximately sixty-three percent of criminal offenders who have been punished have committed crimes in the past. Many criminal offenders who have been punished also go out and commit other crimes.

Many argue that rehabilitation is more of a permanent solution in preventing criminal offenders from committing future crimes. The foundation of this argument is that a criminal offender who learns to adapt to society by learning a trade and getting an education will be more likely to become a productive part of society.

The main goal of rehabilitation during incarceration is to improve a criminal offender’s life so that they no longer have the desire to commit criminal acts.