"Great teacher inspires inner city kids" is literally a movie trope predicated on the idea that society can, in fact, do something about that. The trope is an over-simplification of the situation but we know for a fact that when society steps in, the children of "bad parents" do much better than they would otherwise. Society in turn benefits just as much, if not more so.

> The basic idea is that if you take criminals out of lawful society and put them in prison, they might someday learn that lawful society is worth participating in

Prison systems in most countries are typically designed to reinforce the disillusion and lack of belonging that landed many of the prisoners there in the first place. In their current form they actively work against incentivising people that society is worth contributing to.

To put it another way, we take people that society has generally treated like shit and treat them like worse shit. After a few years of this we turn around with a "surprised pikachu" face when those people don't end their sentence as model members of society.

People become criminals, for the most part, they're not born that way. Dealing with criminality means dealing with the situations that give rise to it. When people's needs are met and they believe they're being treated fairly, they are much less likely to engage in acts of criminality. A society that constantly broadcasts extreme displays of wealth at those living in precarity invites only discord and strife.