Buổi 55: Writing Task 2 – Opinion: án tù dài hơn có giảm tội phạm?

It is widely assumed that harsher punishment leads to less crime, and longer prison sentences are therefore often proposed whenever crime rates cause public concern. While I accept that imprisonment has an important role to play, I disagree that lengthening sentences is the most effective way to reduce crime.

There are situations in which longer sentences are clearly justified. When someone has committed a serious violent offence and poses a continuing risk, keeping them in prison protects potential victims in the most direct way possible. Long sentences can also express society's condemnation of particularly harmful acts, which matters to victims and their families. In this limited sense, the argument for tougher sentencing has real force.

However, the claim that longer sentences reduce crime overall rests on a questionable assumption: that potential offenders weigh up the length of a possible sentence before deciding whether to act. Many crimes are committed impulsively, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or by people who simply do not expect to be caught. For such individuals, the difference between a three-year and a five-year sentence is unlikely to be a deciding factor. What is more likely to deter them is the belief that they will be caught at all, which suggests that investment in effective policing may achieve more than increases in punishment.

Furthermore, longer sentences can be counterproductive. Prisoners who spend many years away from their families and the job market often find it extremely difficult to reintegrate on release, and without support, some return to crime. Programmes that provide education, treatment for addiction and help with finding work address the causes of offending rather than only its consequences.

In conclusion, although long prison sentences are appropriate for the most dangerous offenders, they are not the best general strategy for reducing crime. A combination of a higher likelihood of being caught and serious efforts at rehabilitation is likely to be far more effective.

Incident record – 26 November, 10:05, Warehouse aisle C

A forklift operated by a recently recruited driver made contact with the end of a storage rack. No one was injured. One upright was bent and the rack was closed off at 10:15. The driver stated that he was moving stock for an urgent order. The cause has not yet been established; visibility, aisle markings and training records will be reviewed before 30 November.