It is obvious that the criminals must be punished due to their actions There are many kinds of criminals so there need to be some ways to penalize them For many, the best way to punish criminals is to detain them in prison, wheres others believe that offenders may be punished by other ways which are better In this essay, I will explain both sides before giving my opinion In the first place, there are people who agree that all criminals must be locked up in prison regardless their motive They state that if felons know there is a severe punishment even for small crimes, they are hindered and will never attempt to commit any crime Person who causes a serious must be sentenced to a period of time due to their immoral act For example, murders must be taken away their freedom because they have taken a life And life in jail depends on the seriousness of the offence providing that criminals have enough time to remorse for doing wrong behaviour Therefore, the violence and crime rates decline considerably and thus a better society we will have On the other hand, deciding a crime according to the situation and motive of it make perfect sense as it would ensure that the lawbreaker is given a fair trial and the right punishment is handed down to him, For example, petty crimes such as vandalism or tax evasion not need to be commited in prison, we should make them repay the victim or society with a suitable punishment.Another instance is that teenagers who are more easily influenced by their peers or surroundings have a high rate of crime They not have a mature thinking and are not being aware of the possible negative impacts of committing crimes These offender should be educated carefully by their parents It means that prison is not only way to punish criminals In conclusion, there is an argument about a form of punishment, is prison the only way to punish criminals ? Having considered both sides of argument, I believe that the government should have other methods to chastise people who have made a mistake Therefore, the rate of criminals will decrease dramatically