I. Pre-reading activities.

1. Match the words taken from the text to their definitions.

vandalism jewellery arson victim ram-raiding crime

a) driving a stolen car through a shop window and stealing the goods inside. b) the crime of setting fire to property in order to cause destruction. c) an illegal activity in general d) international, needless and usually wide-spread damage and destruction, especially of public property. e) a person, animal, etc. suffering injury, pain, loss, etc. as a result of other people’s actions, circumstances, illness, war, an accident etc. f) a decoration that contains one or more precious stones and is worn in clothes or on the body.

2. Underline the one word in each group that is different.

1. larceny, mugging, carjacking, abduction.

2. punishment, exculpation, penalty, chastisement.

3. discharge, imprison, confine, incarcerate.

4. damage, injury, recovery, harm.

II. Reading activities.

1. Read the text and try to guess the main idea. Crime in Britain.

Crime has increased in Britain, as in many countries, since the early 1950s, though recently the number of crimes reported to the police has fallen. In 1996 there were 9 700 crimes for every 100 000 people, of which the police solved 27 %. Over 60 000 people are in prison for crimes they have committed.

People living in inner city and urban areas are the ones most likely to be victims of crime. Burglary is twice as likely there as elsewhere. Theft (=stealing goods or property) is the commonest crime, though it fell by 14 % in the period 1992-1995. Car theft is relatively common: in 1995 almost one in five car owners had their car stolen, or had property stolen from inside it. Criminal damage or vandalism is an increasing problem. Offences that involve loss or damage to property account for 92 % of all crime.

The number of violent crimes is increasing. Murders and different types of assault (=violent attack) are usually widely reported by the media. The number of rape cases reported to the police went up by 50 % between 1988 and 1992. Robbery and mugging also increased significantly. Racially-motivated attacks and crimes against children, especially sexual abuse and paedophilia (sexual acts on children), arouse public anger and concern about moral standards.

In 1995 guns were used in 13 000 crimes in England and Wales. The killing of a class of schoolchildren at Dunblane, Scotland in 1996 greatly increased public feeling against people being allowed to own guns and resulted in two Acts of Parliament banning public ownership of handguns. Since 1996 there have also been restrictions on the manufacture of some types of knives. It is now illegal to sell sharp-bladed knives to people under 16.

Crime in the US.

The US has a reputation for having a lot of crime, especially violent crime. For every 100 000 people, there were 597 violent crimes in 1980 rising to 746 in 1994, nine of which were murders. Larceny is also common. Many people believe that the increase in crime is linked to the use of drugs. Guns are easy to buy in the US and are often used in crime. A new crime that began in the 1990s is carjacking: criminals with guns enter cars that have stopped at traffic light and make the driver leave the car, or drive to a place where there are not many people around. They take the car, and any money or jewellery, but usually leave the driver unharmed.

Crime is worse in cities, especially in the inner cities where poorer people live. African Americans are more likely to be victims of violent crime than whites.

Crime prevention.

At a local level, many British people have joined Neighbourhood Watch schemes, which encourage people to report anything suspicious happening near their houses. There are more policemen on the beat (=walking round an area, not driving in cars) to prevent trouble. Community policemen go into schools to talk to children and teenagers to try to stop them from taking part in crime. In 1995, almost four out often offenders were aged14-20.Young people are responsible for a lot of petty crime such as shoplifting (= stealing from shops) as well as more serious crimes such as arson, drug-dealing and joyriding (= stealing a car and driving it round the town very fast).

Closed-circuit television (= video cameras linked to special television screens in police stations) has been installed in many city centers to deter violence and prevent crimes such as ram-raiding (= driving a stolen car through a shop window and stealing the goods inside). Some people think that, because video cameras record the activities of innocent people as well as criminals, they are a threat to personal freedom. Nationally, there are repeated calls for harsher penalties and, sometimes, for the returnof capital punishment to deter criminals.

Fear and fascination.

Fear of becoming a victim of crime has increased, and people are particularly afraid of being burgled. Some people, especially women and old people, are scared to go out alone in the evening for fear of rape or mugging. In some areas, parents do not allow their children to walk to school alone in case they are attacked or abducted. Many people now hesitate to go and help someone being attacked in case they are attacked themselves, but those who do go to help someone being attacked in case they are attacked themselves, but those who do go to help are seen as heroes.

Despite this fear, many people enjoy stories about real and imagined crimes, especially murder. One of the most popular programmes on British television is Crime-watch, which asks the public for their help in solving real crimes. Other favourite television programmes include films of the Inspector Morse stories and novels by Agatha Christie. From time to time there is anxiety about the amount of violence shown on television and fear that it influences people's behaviour in real life.

Digest, 2005, № 4.