I have been a victim of this as a child. Been punished for offenses I didn't commit as well as for those I committed. Though at some point in my life these things tried to weigh me down, I never succumbed to the pressure. To me the future was bright, so my focus was more on the good things tomorrow holds.

However, I came to realize that people who take pleasure in repeated offennses/crimes even after receiving several (severe or lighter) punishments aren't normal people, sorry for using such expression.

One of the best way to tackle such issue in my opinion, is to establish an institution co funded and managed by the police and judiciary to follow up with offenders/criminals while they're incarcerated. Doing so will help them understand if such people deserves a second chance or not in the case of a parole.

I bet the correctional centers report is not enough and history has proven that they can't shoulder this responsibility alone.

Regarding if punishment need to be severe or not: I'm contributing to this as a Christian, sorry to mention. I don't believe in capital punishment with reasons which I can't elaborate here, but I am not also objective of severe punishment such as life imprisonment.

One thing worth noting is that, some crimes and offenses are triggered, starting by understanding what led to a particular crime and doing everything necessary to mitigate and prevent future occurrence is the way forward. Yet achieving this needs a collective effort starting from home.