TOPIC: CRIMES AND THE LAW

Students’ notes
A/ Laws and society
12-11-2020:
Society is based on rules and laws. If individuals were free to do whatever they want to do, it could not
function. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above statement?

1/ Definition of laws:
- Sets of rules that bind all individuals living in a community
- Standards that people are expected to follow
- Infringements of the laws will result in penalties/punishments or loss of rights

2/ Functions and importance of laws:

- Protect individual rights and belief
=> defend members of a community against abuses or evils from fellow citizens, organizations or
even governments
- Provide a framework for dispute resolution and settlement
=> The court serves as a place where people seek justice
- Set standards for all aspects of life: employment, environment, education…
=> Important in all civil activities, promoting the common good
- Maintain order and stability: ensure public and personal safety at all levels
=> Without rules and law enforcements, chaos would be prevalent, affecting citizens’ well-being

B/ Crimes in society
1/ Crimes – Reasons, Impacts and Solutions
15-12-2016:
To what extent is crime a product of human nature? Is it possible to stop children from growing up to be a
criminal?

a/ Reasons:
- Poor economic conditions are the main culprit of crimes: Poverty and unemployment force
individuals to resort to illegal behaviors to sustain their life
- Family factors contribute to the rise in crime rates: 1
o Inadequate or inefficient parenting: lack of supervision and monitoring
o Family dysfunction or breakdown: parental conflict, domestic violence and abuse, alcoholic
parents
- Effects of the mass media
o A tendency to focus on sensational news which contains violent or vulgar content
o Lack of exemplary role-models => viewers fail to distinguish right from wrong
- Other factors:
o Substandard levels of education, emphasis on academic subjects rather than morality and
behaviors
o Ineffective enforcement of laws
o Reoffending of former convicts due to discrimination or contempt from society
b/ Impacts:
- Result in chaos, instability -> cause political and social unrest
- Loss of personal and social financial resources, as well as reduction of productivity
- Negative psychological impacts on citizens due to a sense of insecurity
c/ Solutions:
- Reduce unemployment rate and improve welfare for impoverished individual
- Apply severe punishments for particular crimes
- Parents need to be aware of their importance in the education of children

2/ Cybercrimes
a/ Reasons:
- The Internet is developing at an unprecedented pace, becoming present in all aspect of life
- Network security is inadequate, even in major technology corporations => Hackers can easily
bypass firewalls or other security methods
- Lack of legislations that regulate activities in the cyberspace => attackers find loopholes that allow
illegitimate acts

b/ Impacts
- Financial and economic impacts:
o Stolen funds or credit card fraud may pose threats to one’s finance
o New forms of crimes emerge, especially white-collar crimes (embezzlement, identity fraud,
tax evasion, money laundering…)
o Attacks on computer systems can disrupt economic activities, causing serious loss
- Social impacts:
o Cyberbullying or blackmailing causes anxiety or stress for individuals, while leading to
distrust or unrest in society
o In some cases, it is the victims who stand trial for heinous crimes they do not commit => no
sense of justice

c/ Solutions
- Individuals and organizations need to apply security methods: password, biometric authentication,
two-factor authentication…
- Raise awareness among vulnerable members of society (the elderly or children)
- Stricter enforcement of the laws and legislations that stay ahead of, or keep up with, the 2
development of technology

C/ Forms of punishment
29-06-2019:
Some people think sending criminals to prison is not an effective way to deal with them. Education and
training are better. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
07-11-2019:
In many countries imprisonment is the most common solution to crimes. However, some people believe
that better education will be a more effective solution . To what extent do you agree or disagree?
11-08-2018:
Some people think that the best way to reduce crime is to give longer prison sentences. Others, however,
believe that there are better alternative ways of reducing crime. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
1/ Imprisonment
Advantages:
- Ensure the safety of other citizens
- Considered a strong deterrent against crimes in the future
Disadvantages:
- Experience in prison may be traumatic => increase the risk of re-offending
- Ex-prisoners may be treated with contempt and bias from other members of the community
- A criminal record may make finding a job difficult
- Put a financial burden on the authority as it may be costly to maintain the operation of a prison

2/ Community service
Advantages:
- Appropriate for minor crimes and juvenile delinquents
- Provide a way for offenders to prove their value to society
- Can help rehabilitate and educate criminals as they are given a chance to be useful
Disadvantages:
- Not harsh enough to prevent serious crimes or reoffending
- May require extra supervision and monitoring
3/ Rehabilitation
Advantages:
- Provide education and vocational training => help criminals to be helpful in the future
- Rehabilitated criminals are less likely to reoffend
Disadvantages:
- Bias and contempt may negatively impact the rehabilitation process
- Is a long and arduous process which requires effort from both the convicts and society

4/ Financial penalty
Advantages:
- Appropriate for minor crimes
- Provide budget for the authority to reinvest in other fields
Disadvantages:
- Offenders who are financially powerful may not respect the law
- May cause burden for offenders of poor background 3

5/ Capital punishment
Advantages:
- Considered the strongest deterrent against crimes
o Fear of the death penalty stops people from committing offences
o Shows that crime is not tolerated
o Eliminate the chance of reoffending: criminals cannot pose a threat to others
- The cost of imprisonments and other related expenses can be avoided
Disadvantages:
- Considered to be inhumane and cruel
- Sometimes innocent people are framed, wrongly convicted and executed
- Creates a violent culture and encourage revenge
- Desperate criminals may commit even more serious crimes => not necessarily reduce crime rates
D/ Deterrence of crimes
1/ The police
Importance:
- The police play an important role in maintaining order and security
- The police also prevent crimes and catch criminals
Problems:
- The police sometimes are not respected
- They may be poorly-equipped and armed
- Criminals activities are on the rise => understaffed
- Some officers lack ethics and may themselves be involved in criminal activities
Recommendations:
- Police officers need to be seen as an integral part of the community:
o Support and assistance from civilians are essential in the fight against crimes
o The police can participate in the education activities
- The police should be better armed and equipped
- A strict code of ethics or conducts may be required
2/ Weapon and Gun ownership
Why guns and weapons should be legal:
- Individuals have the right to protect themselves in self-defense
- The threat of guns and weapons may deter criminals
- For police: allow them to carry out their job more effectively

Why guns and weapons should not be legal

- There are risks of accidents and injuries involved
- Criminals may also have access to guns and weapons and become better armed
- May backfire: create a violent society with higher murder rates

3/ Education to prevent crimes

30-09-2017:
The best way to reduce youth crimes is to educate their parents with parental skills. To what extent you
agree or disagree?
Reasons:
- Children and youngsters may commit crimes due to lack of awareness: 4
o Without guidance, children are unable to distinguish right from wrong
o Without monitoring, children cannot adjust their behaviors in a timely manner
o Without a positive role model, children cannot form moral and ethical conducts
- Some children are not willing to heed their parents’ advice => collaboration between parents and
schools are essential
- Children may face peer pressure or are exposed to negative influence from others at school
- Teachers have a major role in students’ cognitive and behavioral development
Solutions:
- Schools should allocate a portion of the curriculum for moral education
- Parents and teachers must work closely to ensure children’s well-rounded development
- Schools must be a violent-free and stress-free environment where students feel safe and
comfortable
- Ex-convicts may be invited to give talks to discourage the young from following in their footsteps
 OTHER TOPICS TO CONSIDER:

- 27-02-2021. Some people feel that young people should follow the traditions of their society.
Others, however, believe that young people should be free to behave as individuals. Discuss both
these views and give your own opinion.
- 20-02-2021 Children should do organized activities in their free time while others believe children
should be free to do what they want. Discuss both views and give your opinion?
- 12-11-2020 Some people argue that individuals’ freedom should be in accordance with laws and
rules, otherwise, society cannot function as it should be. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
- 28-11-2020 Government should make laws about people’s nutrition and food choice. Other argue
that is their choice. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
- 7-11-2019 In many countries, imprisonment is the most common solution to crimes. However,
some people believe that better education will be a more effective solution. To what extent do you
agree or disagree?
- 02-11-2019: Throughout history, people have dreamed of living in a perfect society, but most of the
time fail in making this happen. What is your opinion about an ideal society? How can we create an
ideal society?
- 29-6-2019 Some people think sending criminals to prison is not an effective way to deal with them.
Education and training are better. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
- 17-1-2019 Some people think that the best way to improve road safety is to increase the minimum
legal age for driving a car or motorbike. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

- 25-05-2017: Parents often give children everything they ask for and do what they like. Is it good for
children? What are the consequences when they grow up?
- 09-12-2017: People think that children nowadays have more freedom. To what extent do you agree
or disagree?
- 30-01-2016: Prison is the common way in most countries to solve the problem of crime. However, a
more effective solution is to provide people a better education. Do you agree or disagree?
- 15-12-2016: To what extent is crime a product of human nature? Is it possible to stop children from
growing up to be a criminal? 5
- 25-04-2015: Young people who commit crimes should be treated in the same way as adults who
commit crimes. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
- 18-06-2015: In some countries, a high proportion of criminal acts are committed by teenagers. Why
has this happened? What can be done to deal with this?
- 08-08-2015: Some people who have been in prison become good citizens later. Some people think
that having these people to give a talk to school students is the best way to tell them about the
dangers of committing a crime. Do you agree or disagree?
- 26-09-2015: Studies show that many criminals have a low level of education. For this reason,
people believe that the best way to reduce crime is to educate people in prison so they can get a
job when they leave prison. Do you agree or disagree?
 FOR THE NEXT LESSON
TRANSPORTATION
TOPIC-RELATED VOCABULARY
a/ Rephrasing of some common topic words
- Transport facilities: transport infrastructure
- Transport system: transport network
- Intersection: roundabout
- Traffic congestion: traffic jam; stationary traffic
- Means of transport: vehicles, transportation, means of travelling
b/ Useful nouns
- Mobility: the ability to quickly travel between places
- Rush hours: peak hours
- Private vehicle: personal vehicle, personal means of transport
- Traffic = volume of traffic: the number of vehicles on the road
- Fatigue: the state of being very tired, exhaustion
- Intoxication: the state of being drunk or under the influence of alcohol
- Commuter: someone regularly traveling between work and home
- Drunk driving (UK: drink-driving): the act of driving a vehicle after drinking too much alcohol
- Over-speeding: travel too quickly exceeding a speed limit
c/ Useful verbs
- Commute: travel, go between places, get around
- Disregard: have no respect
- Conform to = comply with: obey, follow a rule
d/ Useful adjectives
- Degraded: reduced in quality
- Upgraded: raised to a higher standard
- Chaotic: in a state of complete disorder
- Inadequate: having poor quality, having low standard
- Affordable: cheap, economical
e/ Other definitions
- Public transports: bus, train, underground, tube, ferry
- Problems on the road: speeding, running red light, road rage, collision, accident 6
- Traffic infrastructure: road, traffic light, speed bump, round-about
- Traffic hazard: causing accident which may lead to injury or even fatality
- Heavy traffic: busy traffic