Almost everyone knows that crimes have consequences, People understand that stealing can lead to prison, fraud can get them into trouble and violent crimes can result in long jail terms, life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Yet crimes still happen every day, so the question now is that do punishments actually really work? I think they don't work in some cases, I think that they are not enough to stop people from committing crimes , the reason I say this is because a lot of people don't commit crimes partly because they know there are consequences attached to them, the existence of laws and punishments creates some level of order in society imagine a world where there were no consequences for wrongdoing,i honestly think things would be much worse than they already are.
Despite knowing the consequences some people still break the law, Why? Because I think people sometimes do things because of how they feel at that moment, Human beings are emotional creatures, sometimes they allow anger takes over, sometimes greed takes over, sometimes desperation takes over, people convince themselves that they won't get caught when they are in the act of committing this crimes, or they convince themselves that it's only going to happen once.
At that moment the possible punishment is less important than their feeling, For example someone angry may act without thinking about the consequences, they are focused on their emotions, not the punishment.
The same thing happens with greed, A person sees an opportunity to make money illegally, thinks about the reward and not the risk,
Unfortunately, that kind of thinking has landed many people in serious trouble, there is also the issue of desperation.
People make decisions because they feel trapped, that doesn't make the crime right, It explains why punishment alone may not prevent it,
You know how people often think bad things only happen to other people?That mindset exists when it comes to crime too, someone sees others getting arrested and still believes they will somehow escape.
Until they don't.
Not all punishments are equally effective, A punishment can only deter people if they believe it will be enforced, If people think they can get away with something the fear of punishment becomes weaker, strong laws alone are not enough there must be consistency, in how they are applied.
I don't think every solution should focus on punishment, society also needs to look at prevention, Education, opportunities, good parenting, mentorship and support systems can help reduce situations that lead people to commit crimes, if we only focus on punishing people after something happens we may miss part of the bigger picture.
So do punishments work? Yes they work to an extent, They help maintain order and discourage people from committing crimes, punishment alone is not enough, People are complicated, emotions, circumstances, greed, anger, desperation and personal choices all play a role in people's behavior, sometimes people choose to act based on how they feel without thinking about consequences waiting for them on the other side.
