WRITING 4 – LAURA GARCÍA ARAMBURU

Criminals will forget their old life

In this day and age, life has become more insecure than in the past due to the
rise of crime. Our jails are crowded, with a large variety of criminals. What should we
do with all those people? This is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinion.

There are two main procedures to be applied to them: the convict could be
punished with lengthy jail terms or he could be re-habituated in order to be
reintroduced to his society. The first option is more effective if it is implemented on
those prisoners whose crimes were against a person. This kind of penalty must be
revised by a psychologist, in order to study if the inmate is able to be in touch with the
rest of the population. The second alternative is the most suitable possibility for those
who have committed minor crimes, such us pickpocketing or vandalism, but also for
those whose crimes do not involve violence. They are not a real danger for our
security, and these community service programmes would help them to understand
the damage that they were causing to the whole society.

There are those who argue that re-education is not a definitive solution, and
they claim that this proposal would not have any effect in some kind of convicts.
However, it is clear that this measure is a solution which focuses the attention in one
hopeful thought: people can change their behaviour, no matter their past.

In conclusion, social programmes become the last opportunity for prisoners to

be part of the society. We should give them this unique chance: everybody makes
mistakes.