The correctional system throughout the United States has many advantages as well as disadvantages. The sole purpose of the prison/correctional system is to punish offenders, deter potential criminals from breaking the law, keep the public safe, rehabilitate offenders, and provide structure and discipline to criminals. In other words, the system is designed to punish those who break the law in a way that will make them think twice before they attempt to commit any crime again. Some of the strengths/advantages to society of prisons include: the prison system offers a sense of justice to the law abiding as well as the criminal population can become better educated, more civil members of society; allowing them to achieve qualifications, undergo training and receive counseling/anger management that will hopefully not only stop them from re-offending…show more content… Also, with those who commit harsh crimes such as murder locked behind bars, it gives the community such a peace at mind and makes society feel safer. Lastly, the system poses a incentive to potential criminals to offend in the first place, reducing the amount of crime committed. On the other hand, the disadvantages to the prison system seem to outweigh the advantages. One, there's the huge cost to the taxpayers, who pay for the prison to be up and running like it does. Criminals also can be more efficient at committing crimes as older, more learned criminals learn tricks of the trade in prison. There's no significant barrier to crime initially, meaning one does not do much to tackle the original problem of crime, hence there is a lack of focus on prevention and the problems that