Crime Prevention

robberies	backgrounds	criminal record
treatment	inmates	precautions
reduce	habitual	gun-licensing

One of the best ways to reduce crime is to reform or rehabilitate (13) _______criminals. The main problem is not the first offender or the petty thief but the repeated offender who commits increasingly serious crimes. According to criminologists, crime would decrease greatly if all such offenders could be turned away from wrongdoing. But prisons have little success in rehabilitating (14)_______. About two-thirds of the people arrested in any year have a previous (15) _________.

Rehabilitation of criminals could probably be improved greatly if experts could provide the right kind of program for different types of offenders. Criminals vary widely in the kinds of crimes they commit, their emotional problems, and their social and economic (16) ________. Not all offenders can be helped by the same (17) ________. Many require the aid of physicians, psychiatrists, or psychologists. Others respond well to educational or vocational training.

There are many other ways to (18) ________ crime. People can be educated or persuaded to take greater (19) ________ against crime. They can be taught, for example, how to protect their homes from burglary. Automobile thefts would drop sharply if drivers removed their keys and locked their cars when leaving them. Better lighting helps discourage purse-snatchings and other (20) _________ on city streets and in parks. Many experts believe that strict (21) __________ laws would greatly reduce crime.

Neighbourhood Watch

Ex. 28 You will hear three people talking at a “neighbourhood watch” meeting. Answer questions 24-30 by writing H (for Jack Harborne), L (for Les Fowler) or R (for Mike Ransworth).

24	Who makes a threat?
25	Who offers money?
26	Who wants more security?
27	Who suggests an alternative security measure?
28	Who tries to make peace?
29	Who is relieved?
30	Who expresses regret?

Punishment

Ex. 29 A. Before reading the text think of the possible purposes for the state punishment of criminals. Are they really achieved? In what way could the situation be improved?

B. Read the texts and fill in the gaps with the given words or phrases:

The Purpose of State Punishment

wrongdoer	deterrent	law-abiding
misdeeds	reform	crime doesn’t pay
barbaric	retribution	death penalty
humane	rehabilitate	corporal punishment

What is the purpose of punishment? One purpose is obviously to (1) _______ the offender, to correct the offender’s moral attitudes and anti-social behaviour and to (2) _________ him or her, which means to assist the offender to return to normal life as a useful member of community. Punishment can also be seen as (3) ________, because it warns other people of what will happen if they are tempted to break the law and so prevents them from doing so. However, a third purpose of punishment lies, perhaps, in society’s desire for (4) ________, which basically means revenge. In other words, don’t we feel that a (5) ________ should suffer for his (6) ________?

The form of punishment should also be considered. On the one hand, some believe that we should “make the punishment fit the crime”. Those who steal from others should be deprived of their own property to ensure that criminals are left in no doubt that “(7) _________”. For those who attack others, (8) _________ should be used. Murderers should be subject to the principle “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” and automatically receive the (9) _________. On the other hand, it is said that such views are unreasonable, cruel and (10) _________ and that we should show a more (11) _______ attitude to punishment and try to understand why a person commits a crime and how society has failed to enable him to live a respectable, (12) _________ life.

 Ex. 30 A. You are going to hear an English teenager, Neil, discussing the question below. Before you listen, read the following task and think about what you would say.

On the basis of what you have read and heard so far, which of the views of punishment below would you agree with? Give reasons.

1. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

2. We need punishment as a deterrent to stop people offending.

3. The legal justice system should aim to rehabilitate offenders, not take revenge on them.

B. Listen to the recording. Which view of punishment does Neil argue for? Is your opinion the same as his?

C. Now listen again and tick the expressions Neil uses from the list below.

I think (that) ...

It seems to me that ...

The main argument for ...

However, the argument against this ...

As well as that ...

So let's look at the alternatives ...

Another related point is that ...

Finally, the idea that ... seems to ...

Some people think that ...

All in all, I suppose

Notice how Neil deals with each point.

He gives his opinion.

He gives arguments for and against.

He discusses the alternatives and gives reasons for rejecting them.

He summarises - by restating his original opinion.

Which of the expressions above could be used at each of these stages?

Ex. 31 A Read the text and comment on the use of various kinds of punishments.