Essay #284 "Criminalization" 29.10.18 Over recent decades, the crime rates have only gone up, as has the criminalization of (our/the) population. Many people are concerned about this situation and they should be, as this affects our society in a highly negative way. There is not any panacea for this, however there is a certain way that the government can make this problem less severe. First of all, we have to determine main reasons behind this. One of the most influential is social environment. People who live in a criminalized atmosphere are shaped by it and in many cases end up being criminals. Also, upbringing and education play a very important role in this. Parental neglect and lack of attention only make this situation worse as this only raises the chances for children to adopt negative behavioral traits. These two are basically the main causes of the criminalization of our population and in order to solve the problem of the increase of crime rates we have to solve these issues. One of the most beneficial and effective measures would be the government introduction of new initiatives designed to help the most affected communities. It will not only create additional attention to this areas, but also provide people, who want to change their lives, an opportunity to do so. Also, some serious changes should be applied to the judicial system as often people who go to jail for minor crimes come out fully criminalized and cannot return to their previous lives. This system should concentrate more on correction rather than on punishment. To conclude, the rise in crime rate is a serious problem for our society and the government should put all of their effort into solving this. It is not an easy task and this cannot be solved in one step; it is a meticulous process which takes time. However, only by doing so will it be possible to create a society that will be safe, crime free and in which people will be able to choose their own future.