Task 2. Work in groups. Make a list of arguments for and against the following statements.

Mild sentences are a sign of a civilized society.

Capital punishment is not a deterrent to murder.

Armed policemen can perform their duties better.

Scenes of violence in films encourage crime.

Legalized selling of firearms stimulates murder.

Legalized selling of firearms ensures security.

The instinct to kill is basic to human nature.

Task 3. Read the text. Crime in Great Britain

About 90 per cent of all crimes are dealt with by Magistrates' courts. Sentences (that is, the punishments decided by the court) vary a lot but most people who are found guilty have to pay a fine. Magistrates' courts can impose fines of up to £2,000 or prison sentences of up to six months. If the punishment is to be more severe the case must go to a Crown Court. The most severe punishment is life imprisonment: there has been no death penalty in Britain since 1965.

The level of recorded crime and the number of people sent to prison both increased during the 1970s and 1980s. By the end of that period the average prison population was more than 50,000 and new prisons had to be built as overcrowding had become a serious problem. By 1988 the cost of keeping someone in prison was over £250 per week, which was more than the national average wage.

Task 4. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following expressions.

• уровень преступности;

• средний заработок;

• жестокое наказание;

• пожизненное заключение;

• смертная казнь;

• признаны виновными;

• содержание кого-либо в тюрьме;

• преступления рассматриваются в магистратских судах;

• накладывать штраф;

• приговор;

The Survey of Crimes task 5. Match the words from the box with the definitions below.

Drug smuggling; hijacking; pickpocketing;

shop-lifting; kidnapping; mugging;

fraud; arson; theft.

a) they broke the window of his car and stole the radio;

b) they sold paintings that they knew weren't genuine masterpieces;

c) they illegally carried drugs into another country;

d) they held a pistol at the pilot's head and he had to do what they said;

e) they set fire to the hotel;

f) they took some things off the shelves and left the supermarket without paying for them;

g) they took away the rich man's son and asked him for a lot of money; h) they hit the man on the head as he was walking along the street, and stole all his money and credit cards;

i) they took her purse out of her handbag as she was standing on the crowded platform waiting for the train.

Task 6. Look at this list of "crimes ". Try and rate each crime on a scale from 1 to 10. (1 is a minor, 10 is a very serious crime). They are in no order.

- driving in excess of the speed limit;

- common assault (e.g. a fight in a disco-club);

- drinking and driving;

- malicious wounding (e.g. stabbing someone in a fight);

- murdering a policeman during a robbery;

- murdering a child;

- causing death by dangerous driving;

- smoking marijuana;

- selling drugs (such as heroin);

- stealing £1,000 from a bank, by fraud;

- stealing £1,000 worth of goods from someone's home;

- rape;

- grievous bodily harm (almost killing someone);

- shop-lifting;

- stealing £1,000 from a bank, by threatening someone with a gun;

- possession of a gun without a license;

- homicide.

Unit IV.

PUNISHMENT

The Purpose of State Punishment

TASK I. Answer the questions.

What does "The State Punishment" mean?

What kinds of punishment do you know?

How do you understand the purpose of State Punishment?

How should the punishment be organized?

TASK 2. Make a list of ideas and proposals on the topic of State Punishment. Supplement your list with the ideas you hear in class.

TASK 3: Complete the following text with the words or phrases from the box, using them in the appropriate form.

wrongdoer;	deterrent;	law-abiding;
misdeeds;	reform;	crime doesn't pay;
barbaric;	Retribution;	corporal punishment;
humane;	Rehabilitate	death penalty.

What is the purpose of punishment? One purpose is obviously to (a) _________ the offender, to correct the offender's moral altitudes and anti-social behaviour and to (b) ________ him or her, which means to assist the offender to return to normal life as a useful member of the community. Punishment can also be seen as a (c) __________ because it warns other people of what will happen if they are tempted to break the law and so prevents them from doing so. However, a third purpose of punishment lies, perhaps, in. society's desire for (d) _________ which basically means revenge. In other words, don't we feel that a (е) _________ should suffer for his (f) ________ ? The form of punishment should also be considered. On the one hand, some believe that we should "make the punishment fit the crime". Those who steal from others should be deprived of their own property to ensure that criminals are left in no doubt that (g) _________. For those who attack others (h) _________ should be used. Murderers should be subject to the principle "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and automatically receive the (i) _________. On the other hand, it is said that such views are unreasonable, cruel and (j) _________ and that we should show a more (k) _________ attitude to punishment and try to understand why a person commits a crime and how society has failed to enable him to live a respectable, (l) ________ life.