can any NN help me to give an explanation?

flolentina

in GWD there is one question as follows

In each of the past five years, Barraland’s prison population has increased.  Yet, according to official government statistics, for none of those years has there been either an increase in the number of criminal cases brought to trial, or an increase in the rate at which convictions have been obtained.  Clearly, therefore, the percentage of people convicted of crimes who are being given prison sentences is on the increase.

 

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

 

1. In Barraland the range of punishments that can be imposed instead of a prison sentence is wide.
2. Over the last ten years, overcrowding in the prisons of Barraland has essentially been eliminated as a result of an ambitious program of prison construction.
3. Ten years ago, Barraland reformed its criminal justice system, imposing longer minimum sentences for those crimes for which a prison sentence had long been .
4. Barraland has been supervising convicts on parole more closely in recent years, with the result that parole violations have become significantly less frequent.
5. The number of people in Barraland who feel that crime is on the increase is significantly greater now than it was five years ago.

the official answer is choice C ? I am not quite understand it why.

Can Any NN who also have encountered  with this question please help me to give a reasoning process? many thanks

zangyang81

choose C,

a.strength but not weaken

b.d.e. no relevant

c.longer minimum prison sentence then before will also lead to the number of prisoner increase(stay in prison longer then before) even without increase convicted prison sentence.