Is giving criminal longer prison sentences the best way to reduce crime? Some people believe that giving criminal longer prison sentences is the best way to reduce crime. However, others claim that there are better ways to reduce crime rates. I agree that extending prison sentences can deter people from offending or reoffending. For criminals, this way enforces them to reflect on their crimes in prison, which is beneficial to cause many of them to feel remorseful for their criminal acts and reduce the possibility of reoffending. While, for people who never violate the law and discipline, the threat of longer prison sentences is also a powerful deterrent against future crimes. However, longer prison sentences means that the prison will restrict criminals’ freedom for long time, which maybe cause tragedy that people are hatred to society, and even worse, they are likely to have anti-society behavior. In addition, those criminals who serve longer prison sentences are isolated from the society and they couldn’t adapt to the fast-development society after they are released. In my opinion, there are more effective methods to lower the crime rate. First of all, offering people, especially the children, good moral education. It will develop moral values such as kindness, honesty, fairness, tolerance and respect for others. Then, the government should using censorship to control violence, sexual images and offensive language in the media, otherwise children will exposure to mass media and become more aggressive. The last but not least, developing the economic growth of our country and help people to become more competitive in the job market through increasing education opportunities, especially for people in poor rural area. All of these ways are more effective to lower the crime rate than just extending prison sentences.