Crime and punishment

1. Crime - can it be stopped?

• NO, because crime has always been there.
• NO, because there will always be people who commit crimes.
• NO, because people are envious and evil and want more for themselves.

2. What leads people to committing crime?

• lack of money
• unemployment
• drugs and alcohol
• economic crisis
• mental issues
• gambling
• revenge
• envy
• problems at school, work
• bad political system
• family problems
• "bad" friends

3. Why are more young people getting involved in crime nowadays?

• influence of "bad" friends
• need for money (drugs, alcohol)
• they want to be heroes in their friends' eyes
• boredom
• bad upbringing

- what are the typical teenager crimes / crime-related issues?

mugging, fighting, underage alcohol drinking, drug abuse, shopliftig, gambling

4. How do drugs and alcohol contribute to increasing crime? Give examples.

• People under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol are more aggressive and they often don't know what they are doing
• Drugs and alcohol change people's behaviour, they don't think reasonably, and they need money for it.

5. What can be done to stop crime from increasing?

• education
• talking about drugs and alcohol issues
• more hobbies and duties in people's free time
• harder punishment

6. Are prison sentences an effective punishment for criminals? Why?

For some criminals prison is bad - they don't get on with other criminals. Some of them are having a good time - they can watch TV, do sports...
No, community service is better. / Community service is an easy penalty.
Yes, it's right to take their freedom. It's a cruel punishment for a man.

7. Could other forms of punishment work better than prison? If so, what?

Criminals should suffer the same way their victims have.

• what do you think about the death penalty?
• what do you think about punishment in the form of community service?

Community service: we think that it's good because criminals have to do something for society.
Death penalty: we think if somebody kills, he should die, too.

8. What do you expect from the police concerning crime and protection?

• More interest concerning criminality - some of them are indifferent.
• I expect better protection and help, more interest.

What punishment should the following people get?

a) A ten-year-old child who has committed 8 burglaries in six months.

• community service and therapy

b) A thirteen-year-old girl who has been caught shoplifting. She stole a jumper.

• financial penalty and hanging her photo in the shop.

c) A fifteen-year-old boy who went joy riding and killed an innocent pedestrian.

• he should be sent to a remand home.

d) An eighteen-year-old boy who mugged an eighty year old woman.

• community service; help her with housekeeping