III(2)_Unit_6_Crime&Punishment_ST

On the face of it, as a society, we seem to be a little mixed-up when it comes to 'graffiti', as you call it if you work in the local council's cleansing department, or 'street art' as you say if you're the man - and they do mainly seem tobemalewielding thespray can.

But the confusion now runs deeper than those whospray and those who remove the paint. Great British institutions have been polarised. Last week the might of English law delivered its verdict at Southwark Crown Court in London where five members of the DPM Graffiti Crew were jailed - one, Andrew Gillman, for two years - after admitting conspiracy to cause criminal damage, costing the taxpayer at least £1 m. By contrast, just down the road from the Court, the riverside facade of Tate Modern had been covered in giant murals by six urban artists with international reputations, including Blu from Bologna, Faile from New York, and Sixeart from Barcelona, in the first display of street art at a majormuseum.

The courtroom and the museum were so close that supporters of the men on trial popped down to the Tate to do a bit of retouching during one lunchtime break at the court. 'There is a huge irony in the juxtaposition of the two events,' saidoneof theartists.

The man to credit for bringing street art into established gallery spaces is Banksy. A few years ago he was sneaking his work into galleries such as the Louvre and Tate Britain. NowTate Modern is selling his book in its gift shop. His works sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds and he was recently featured in a retrospective exhibition alongside Andy Warhol. He, more than anyone else, has legitimised the genre and spawned a new generation of young imitators - much to the displeasure of those who want to cleanupbehindthem.

Bob has been involved in graffiti since 1 982 when he was a punk. He now works, by day, for a London art gallery and describes himself as an upstanding taxpayer. 'London is to street art, at the start of the 21 st century, what Paris wasforImpressionismat thestart of the20th,' hesays with genuine immodesty. 'And yet we hate graffiti more than anywhere else in the world. England is by far and away the most draconian for punishments for what are only economiccrimes.'

A gallery in New York in the United States launches an exhibition next week based on the work of those convicted at Southwark. 'DPM - Exhibit A', at the Anonymous Gallery

Project in Soho, will display large photographs of the convicts' work alongside copies of their charge sheets to ask whetherthemenarecriminals orartists.

It is a question which prompts different answers in different parts of the world, says Cedar Lewinsohn, the curator of the exhibition at Tate Modern. 'Brazil for instance is more relaxed about it,' he says. 'In parts of Australia, they are like the UK and people really hate graffiti and tags on vans and trains, but in Melbourne drivers compete with each other as to whose van is more decorated.'

They have similarly schizophrenic responses in other nations too. In Toronto, police have just hired a street artist to paint walls to help find the man who murdered the street artist's brother. Elsewhere in Canada, a court has ruled that, after a police crackdown on graffiti artists, a 28- year-old man is only allowed to venture into town if he is accompaniedby his mother. Oneinternet bloggerwrote: 'In their twenties and still vandalising other people's property - shouldn't they have moved on to drug dealing, or perhaps becomerealestateagents by that age?'

Street art, you see, is a highly polarising phenomenon. On the one hand there are those like the American artist Elura Emerald, who is also involved in next week's New York exhibition, who insist that 'artists who paint on the street are merely expressing themselves, not hurting anyone' and should not be punished 'but appreciated and celebrated'. Then there are those like judge Christopher Hardy who, in court in Southwark, described the activities of the DPM Crew as 'a wholesale self-indulgent campaign to damage property onanindustrialscale'.

How is such a dichotomy to be resolved? How, The Independent asked the street artist Bob, can artistic expression be reconciled with the fear and loathing that graffiti inspires in many citizens who see it as a symbol of lawlessness and the deterioration of their neighbourhood? 'Well, not by sending them tojail,' hesays.

Greenwich and Tower Hamlets councils in London agree. They commissioned members of the DPM to lead summer workshops as street art tutors for young and vulnerable people. The two councils sent references to court vouching that the DPM men were 'positive' and 'inspirational' in working with 'young people who aren't able to do reading orwriting'. But itwas notenough tosavethem from prison.

Render the following extract into English using Active Vocabulary.

Ларри Даррант (Darrant), брат Королевского прокурора Кита Дарранта, совершил преступление: он убил человека, защищая любимую женщину. Узнав об этом, Кит был вне себя. Ведь его будущая блестящая карьера судьи была поставлена на карту! Он никак не мог примириться с мыслью, что его брат будет обвинен в преступлении, караемом смертью, предстанет перед судом и будет осужден.

Случилось так, что полиция арестовала бродягу (vagrant), который хотел ограбить убитого. Против бродяги были веские улики, и Кит не сомневался, что суд присяжных признает его виновным. При создавшихся обстоятельствах это был лучший выход, и Кит решил им воспользоваться. Жестокий и расчетливый человек c его ложным представлением о чести, Кит был рад, что их славноеимя не будет запятнанным.

Но не таким был Ларри. Когда он узнал, что бродягу могут повесить за преступление, в котором виновен он, Ларри, он решил пойти в полицию и все рассказать. Как ни старался Кит убедить его, что человек, виновный в ограблении убитого, нисколько не лучше убийцы и заслуживает смертного приговора, Ларри упорно стоял на своем.

Тогда Кит пообещал взять на себя защиту бродяги и добиться, чтобы с ним поступили по справедливости. Однако Кит проиграл дело. Суд присяжных вынес решение «виновен», и подсудимого приговорили к смертной казни. Узнав о приговоре, Ларри и его возлюбленная покончили с собой. Ларри оставил письмо, в котором было написано, что это он, а не бродяга, виновен в убийстве.

Кит Даррант, найдя письмо, сжег его, чтобы уничтожить эту улику. Какое ему было дело до

Vocabulary Practice (teacher’s instruction)

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Unit 5: Teacher‘s Book

•volunteer

organisations

solutions •...

•...

Unit 5: Teacher‘s Book

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Hometask 3

Write about the following topic(250 words).

It isoften said that crime isone of the main thingsthat makestheir quality of life poorer.Crime in developed countriesisoneof the biggest problemsin society.What are thecausesof the problem and what measurescan be taken to reduce it?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Listen to a lecture and tick statements you hear.

Listen again and complete the notes below.

Make your own notes of the lecture in the form of a plan.

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Unit 5: Teacher‘s Book

Vocabulary of the Unit

commit crime combat/fightcrime crimerate(=theamountofcrimethat happenssomewhere) crimefigures/statistics crimeprevention violent crime serious crime

pettycrime(=crimethatis notvery serious) street crime victimofcrime witness

juvenile/youthcrime(=bychildrenand teenagers) toughoncrime(=always punishing crime severely)

crimesthat involvestealing things: robbery, burglary, theft, shoplifting, fraud, carjacking embezzlement

crimesthat involveattacking people: assault, mugging, murder, rape manslaughter homicide kidnapping

domesticviolence

crimesthat involvedeceiving s/o fraud slander

crimeofpassion

someonewhocommitscrimes: criminal, thief, crook, burglar, mugger, robber, pickpocket, rapist, offender, lawbreaker shoplifter vandal hooligan hijacker kidnapper

Unit 5: Teacher‘s Book

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courtoflaw courtcase appearincourt go to court

takesomebodyto court(=bring a legal case

against someone)

bringacasetocourt acasecomes tocourt settlesomething outofcourt(=reach an

agreement about a dispute without using the court) acaseis heard incourt(=a case is dealt withby a

court) thecourt(=the judge, the jury, and the other people in a

court) criminalcourt(=a court where cases about crimes are

heard) civilcourt (=a court where cases about civil

disagreements are heard)

peoplein acourt oflaw: judge, magistrate, jury, defence, prosecution, defendant, witness, attorney, lawyer,

barristerBritish English, solicitor British English,

districtattorney American English

what happensinacourt case:

1.Atthebeginning ofthetrial, thepersonwhois accusedpleads guiltyornot guiltytothecharges againstthem.

2.Thelawyers fortheprosecutiontryto provethatthedefendantis guilty, and thelawyers forthedefencetryto provethattheir clientis innocent.

3. Thejudgeand thejuryexaminetheevidence and listentothetestimonyofthewitnesses.

4.Attheend ofthetrial, thejudgethen sums up thecase, and thejurythengives/reaches theirverdict.

5.Ifthepersonis found guilty, thejudgesentences themto a periodoftimeinprison, ororders themtopayafine.

6.Ifthepersonis found notguilty, theyareacquitted and released.

a crime) facecharges (=be accused of a crime) drop thecharges (=decide to stopmaking charges)

denya charge admita charge plead guiltytoa charge

bereleased withoutcharge becleared/acquitted ofa charge(=when

someone is officially not guilty at the end of atrial)

beconvicted ofa charge(=when someone is found

guilty at the end of a trial)

Young appeared incourtona murder

charge.

Higgins is facingachargeofarmed

robbery.

Greenwas cleared ofallcharges

against him.

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Unit 5: Teacher‘s Book