IELTS Topic Ideas on Crime and Punishment

Increase in Crime Rates

Causes:

1. A lack of police on the streets can result in more opportunistic crime.

2. All too often, criminals get off very lightly.

3. Poverty encourages some people to turn to crime in order to pay bills and meet family responsibilities.

4. Unemployment can lead people to crime due to financial pressure and a lack of structure in their daily lives.

5. Young people can easily turn to crime from peer pressure or lack of parental guidance.

Solutions:

1. Harsher punishment can deter people from crime.

2. Offering training programmes can stimulate employment, bring hope, and give structure to people's lives.

3. Schools and parents should teach young people to shun criminal and anti-social behaviour.

4. Seeing more police officers on the beat might put people off criminal behaviour.

5. The government should increase social benefits to alleviate poverty.

Long Term Prison Sentences

Pros:

1. Criminals are locked away, effectively protecting society.

2. It keeps criminals off the streets and prevents them from re-offending.

3. A lengthy punishment illustrates that the crime is wrong.

4. Offenders are deterred by long sentences.

5. Criminals receive punishment rather than training or rehabilitation programmes.

Cons:

1. Criminals leaving prison after long periods find it hard to adapt to life on the outside.

2. Taxpayers must foot the bill for long-term accommodation.

3. It can lead to overcrowding in prisons.

4. Long-term incarceration can exacerbate mental health issues.

5. Lack of rehabilitation opportunities may lead to re-offending.

Re-Offending After Release from Prison

Causes:

1. People with a criminal record are not accepted by society.

2. Ex-convicts are unable to find paid employment.

3. They are conditioned by life in prison and cannot adapt to life outside prison.

4. Criminal behaviour is a mindset.

5. Peer pressure from other offenders has a negative effect.

Solutions:

1. Ex-convicts should receive counselling before re-entering society.

2. Training programmes in prison can help offenders develop new skills.

3. Criminals must be rehabilitated to avoid anti-social behaviour.

4. Rehabilitation programmes should help them make the right choices in life.

5. Rehabilitation programmes should tackle the social exclusion of offenders and their families.

Internet Crime / Cybercrime

Types of Crimes:

1. Hacking computers and databases to obtain financial and private information.

2. Hacking people’s emails and computers to hold them for ransom.

3. Money laundering online.

4. Fraudulent companies selling online.

5. Racial and sexual harassment.

6. Targeting and exploiting children.

Solutions:

1. People need to take responsibility for their own internet security.

2. People should not pay a company they do not know.

3. The government needs stricter control of the internet.

4. Parents need to monitor their children's online activities.

5. People should buy good anti-virus software and use strong passwords.

6. Parents need to talk to children about the internet and its dangers.

Advanced Technology to Solve & Prevent Crime

For:

1. Criminals or criminal groups can be tracked by electronic surveillance.

2. Data mapping allows the police to access information.

3. Online chatter can be monitored in real-time.

4. Plans for crime can be uncovered online.

5. Bystanders can record crimes in action on their smartphones.

Against:

1. Many low-tech crimes are still being committed.

2. Some crimes are spur-of-the-moment and cannot be tracked beforehand.

3. Re-education is the best prevention of crime.

4. The internet is too vast to effectively control or monitor.

5. Some criminals have better technological skills than the police.

Fixed Punishment for All Crimes

For:

1. Punishment will be objective and not depend on the judge's opinion.

2. It means that being able to afford a good defence attorney will not affect the punishment given, leading to greater equality.

3. It saves time in court and is more cost-effective.

4. It is a more effective deterrent when people know the exact consequences for the crime they commit.

5. It prevents any corruption within the legal system from affecting the punishment given.

6. It prevents criminals from slipping through loopholes in the law.

Against:

1. Not all crimes are committed under the same circumstances.

2. A person who plans a violent crime with clear intention should not receive the same punishment as someone who acts in self-defence.

3. Personal circumstances, such as extreme poverty or mental health, should be taken into account.

4. Not all people who commit a crime are violent or aggressive by nature.

5. A person who has never committed a crime should not receive the same punishment as a repeat offender with a long prison record.

Juvenile Crime

Causes:

1. Violence in the media can affect young people's attitudes and behaviour.

2. Lack of parental guidance can lead teenagers to delinquency.

3. Peer pressure and gangs can exert an adverse influence on the young.

4. Lack of interests and direction can lead youngsters astray.

5. Domestic violence can force young people onto the streets and into bad company.

Solutions:

1. Limit the viewing time of violent films and online games.

2. Parents must set clear guidelines and rules.

3. Encourage parents to take an active role in their child's life.

4. The government should have supervised social clubs where youths can go in their free time.

5. Encourage youngsters to take up a sport or a hobby.

6. Set up more helplines and support groups for young people from troubled family backgrounds.

7. Schools should organise more interesting and involving extracurricular activities.

Juveniles Receiving Adult Punishment

For:

1. Juveniles need to know that the law is serious and punishment is a good way to teach them this.

2. Violent crime should carry the harshest sentence.

3. Teenagers are fully aware of their actions and know the rules of society.

4. People with a violent nature should be removed from society as early as possible.

5. Adult sentences can act as a strong deterrent to others.

Against:

1. Juveniles are not fully responsible for their actions.

2. Teenagers need re-education and re-socialisation, not punishment.

3. A crime is a crime regardless of age.

4. Bad behaviour is easier to change when a person is young.

5. Youngsters might be negatively influenced by time in adult prisons.

The Death Penalty

For:

1. Capital punishment deters criminals from contemplating crime.

2. It sends a clear message that crime is morally wrong.

3. It eliminates the possibility of criminals re-offending.

4. It is a cost-effective punishment and a cheaper alternative to prison.

5. Criminals who commit heinous crimes should be put to death to protect society.

Against:

1. Innocent people wrongly convicted might be killed.

2. Executing someone is equivalent to killing or murdering someone.

3. There is no pain-free way to kill someone.

4. It is better to re-educate and re-socialise criminals.

5. The death penalty does not effectively reduce the crime rate.

Responsibility for Crime in Society

The Government:

1. The government has the responsibility to allocate more funds to policing the streets.

2. The government should set up more counter-terrorist units.

3. Cybercrime units should be better funded.

4. Only the government can alter society on a national scale through the implementation of new laws and stricter punishment.

5. The government is responsible for keeping the public informed about risks and how those risks can be reduced.

Individuals:

1. Individuals should ensure their belongings and homes are secure daily.

2. It is the individual's responsibility to change their passwords regularly and keep their online transactions secure.

3. People should learn self-defence and be aware of their safety on the streets.

4. People should take responsibility for protecting their own neighbourhoods by reporting suspicious behaviour and setting up neighbourhood watch schemes.

5. People should avoid making choices that put them at risk, such as walking alone late at night.

Broadcasting Criminal Trials on TV

For:

1. The public has a right to information, so they can form their own opinions.

2. The public can learn about court proceedings and the legal system in their country.

3. Seeing the criminal on trial might act as a deterrent to others contemplating crime.

Against:

1. Public and media pressure might influence the outcome.

2. Public opinion might invalidate the jury's role in the long run.

3. Legal representatives might use TV as an opportunity to promote themselves rather than focus on the task at hand.

4. It might turn criminals into TV stars, which could negatively influence young people.