The role of prisons should be to punish criminals who have committed serious crimes. Training courses and education offered to prisoners are a waste of taxpayer's money. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The role of prisons should be to punish criminals who have committed serious crimes. Training courses and education offered to prisoners are a waste of taxpayer’s money. To what extent do you agree or disagree? It is often argued by many that wrongdoers who committed severe crimes ought to receive the punishment in jails and rehabilitation programs including vocational and educational training are wasteful of state budget. Although I agree that serious offenders should be punished, I still think that financial investment in these requested programs is very wise due to the safety of society and national money-saving. I agree that dangerous offenders such as rapists, terrorists and murders have deserved the punishment in prisons because of some reasons. Firstly, social isolation and compulsory labour services with strict supervision are truly effective in letting them know consequences of their illegal actions, reducing their criminal intentions after release. Secondly, outside criminals could hesitate to pose threats to society and even choose not to pursue the illegal path anymore due to the fear of prison sentence, which may result in a decline in offending rate. Nevertheless, I also believe that another primary aim of prison systems is to provide inmates with necessary educational and vocational courses. This is because the prisoners who fully attend prison classes and job-training programs are more likely to develop a deeper understanding of correct moral behavior and successfully apply for normal jobs in the outside world. As a result, they would not re-offend. In this regard, a certain amount of state budget allocated to these courses in jails can be justified if the safety of communities is increasingly guaranteed due to a decrease in recidivism rate. Furthermore, with fewer re-offenders in prisons, prison systems may require less money from taxpayers, saving national funding effectively. For example, preventing them from spending state fund maintaining correctional facilities and starting new jail-related constructions. In conclusion, I once reaffirm my position that punishing serious offenders is needed and the benefits of rehabilitation programs vastly outweigh the cost.