IELTS Essay Topic #20 Crime

Police and Crime Prevention

  • The job of the polices is to catch criminals
  • They must also prevent crime and make communities safer
  • There should be an increase in the number of police officers on the streets
  • Police officers should be seen as part of the community
  • They should be involved with education and prevention
  • The police should be in close contact with schools
  • They should focus on young people who have dropped out of school
  • These teenagers may become involved with gangs

Punishments/Prisons

  • Fines are used as punishment for minor crimes
  • If the crime is more serious, prison is the most common punishment
  • Some criminals pose a threat to society
  • They are put in prison to ensure the safety of other citizens

Negatives of Prisons

  • Criminals are put together
  • They make friends with other offenders
  • Many prisoners re-offend when they are released
  • A criminal record makes finding a job more difficult

Rehabilitation

  • Another aim of prisons is rehabilitation
  • Prisoners receive education of vocational training
  • Prisoners should learn personal skills and specific job skills
  • Punishment could make prisoners’ behavior worse
  • Rehabilitation aims to make them better citizens
  • Rehabilitated prisoners are less likely to re-offend

Capital Punishment

  • Supporters say that capital punishment deters crime
  • Fear of the death penalty stops people from committing offences
  • The death penalty shows that crime is not tolerated
  • It is a form of revenge
  • The cost of imprisonment is avoided
  • The offender cannot pose a threat to others

Against Capital Punishment

  • Innocent people could be wrongly convicted and executed
  • Crime rates are not necessarily reduced
  • Many criminals do not think they will be caught
  • Capital punishment is not a good deterrent
  • Executing prisoners creates a violent culture and encourages revenge
  • We have no right to take another human life

Community Service

  • Community service is a way to reform offenders
  • It could be a solution to prison overcrowding
  • It avoids the cost of imprisonment
  • It makes offenders useful in their local communities
  • They are required to clean streets or talk to school groups
  • Offenders repay their community
  • They avoid the negative influence that prison can have

Against Community Service

  • Community service is not a sufficient punishment
  • Criminals should be locked up, away from their victims

Crime in the Media

  • Crime is one of the main subjects of most news
  • The mass media focus on violent and sensational crimes
  • This leads to fear of crime among the public
  • Sensational stories attract more viewers or readers
  • The media report crime stories in order to increase their audience