Buổi 17: Reading – Y/N/NG ở bài báo ý kiến (lao động công ích thay cho phạt tiền)

Let the punishment fit the place

(Bài báo ý kiến tự viết; tác giả, thành phố và chương trình là giả định.)

When someone is caught dropping litter, painting graffiti or damaging a park bench, most cities respond in the same way: they issue a fine. In my view, this response is too often a missed opportunity. For many minor offences, community service – working without pay on projects that benefit the local area – would be a far more sensible punishment.

Admittedly, fines have real advantages. They are quick to issue, cheap to administer and easy for the public to understand. It is also true that for some people, particularly those on low incomes, losing money is a genuinely painful consequence. Yet a fine does nothing to repair the harm that was caused, and for wealthier offenders it may be little more than an inconvenience.

Community service, by contrast, connects the punishment directly to the offence. A teenager who sprays graffiti on a school wall and then spends several Saturdays repainting it is far more likely to understand the effect of his actions than one who simply pays a fine – or, more often, whose parents pay it for him. In the fictional city of Northbridge, where a pilot scheme of this kind has been running for two years, the council reports that fewer young offenders in the scheme went on to commit a second offence than those who received fines. I would not claim that this proves the scheme works everywhere, since the numbers involved are small. But the early signs are encouraging.

Critics argue that community service is expensive to supervise and that it can expose offenders to public humiliation. They are right to raise the question of cost: schemes need trained staff, and that money must come from somewhere. However, the suggestion that the work is humiliating is, I believe, misguided. Most of the tasks – cleaning parks, helping at food banks, repairing playgrounds – are ordinary jobs done by thousands of volunteers every day.

Nor am I suggesting that fines should disappear. For offences such as parking in the wrong place, they remain proportionate and practical. My argument is simply that, where an offence damages a shared space, the punishment should involve helping to restore it.

Tenancy agreement – key terms (extract) (giả định)

4.1 The tenant must pay rent on or before the 5th of each month. 4.2 The tenant may not sublet the property without the landlord’s written consent. 4.3 The landlord is responsible for repairs to the structure, plumbing and electrical system; the tenant is responsible for light bulbs and minor damage caused by the tenant. 4.4 Either party may end the agreement by giving 60 days’ written notice. 4.5 The deposit (two months’ rent) will be returned within 14 days of the end of the tenancy, minus the cost of any damage.