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What is the best way to deal with young people who commit crimes?

 

Lessons on a life of crime

 

It is morning at the Cantell School in Southampton and a slight, attractive man of 45, wearing plain grey clothes, introduces himself to a group of 40 children. ‘My name is John. How old are you … 13 or 14? Well, I’ve spent as many years as you’ve been alive in prison. At the moment, I’m serving a seven-year sentence. This is my parole licence.’ He waves a paper in front of them, then picks up three closely-typed pages and continues: ‘This is my criminal record. Detention centre, Borstal, prison. That’s a wasted life.’ John Bowers’ visit is part of the children’s personal development course, a chance to explore ideas about responsibility that they have already discussed with their teacher, John Jones. For Mr. Bowers, it is a chance to redeem himself after 30 years of crime. On his release last February, he contacted New Bridge, a voluntary organisation that helps ex-prisoners find employment. He began giving talks about prison life to school where the children might be at risk of getting into trouble. ‘those of us who are concerned with prisoners believe that the process of caring has to continue when they leave prison.’ says Eric McGraw, the director of New Bridge. ‘The main problem is that people are let out of prison with £20 in their pocket, no job and nowhere to go, and we expect them not to commit crimes again.’

At Cantell, a large secondary school, Mr. Bowers writes ‘prison’ and ‘prisoner’ on the board and asks the children to suggest what the words mean. Hands go up and ‘bars’, ‘bad news’, ‘lonely’, ‘isolation’, ‘terrible food’, ‘shame’, and ‘violence’ are written down. ‘Boredom’ says one girl. ‘That’s exactly right,’ says Mr. Bowers. ‘What do you think of me for wasting my life in place like that? Honestly?’ There is an awkward pause, then a boy at the back of the class whispers ‘thick!’ and everybody laughs. Later some of the questions reveal traces of anger, perhaps because the children have been victims of crime. ‘Did you ever burgle a house at Christmas?’ one girl demands. ‘No,’ Mr. Bowers says. ‘In some crazy moral way, I laid low at Christmas – as if that justified doing it at other times of the year.’ Another child asks whether he had any regrets. ‘You try and blot out what you are doing to people,’ he explains. ‘If I had robbed your house, it wouldn’t have been anything personal. If I’d had any conscience, I wouldn’t have lasted five minutes.’

Mr. Bowers has written on the board all the words the children came up with. ‘That’s right,’ he says. ‘All these words apply to me.’ This is the heart of his message. ‘I’m here to say that all these words will apply to you too, if you embark on a life of crime, or waste your life through drugs, alcohol or as I did, though imaging the world owes you a living.’ He asks them to think about how their parents would feel if any of them were arrested for shoplifting or stealing a car radio. There is some uncomfortable shuffling as they volunteer ‘ashamed’ and ‘upset’. He asks why they think people commit crime. Short of money, revenge on a society that does nothing for you, problems at home, no friends or the wrong sort of friends, they reply. But he accepts no excuses. ‘Most prisoners are very selfish people,’ he says. ‘They’d rather rob than get a job. No friends, jealousy and idleness – this covers 99 per cent of the prison population.’

Mr. Jones suggests that the children should tell Mr. Bowers what they think of him now they’ve heard what he has to say. Replies come thick and fast: friendly, honest, willing, a good citizen, trustworthy, ‘nearly a normal person’. In 40 minutes Mr. Bowers has undergone a journey that is vital to his self-respect, from a criminal whom one boy said he wouldn’t like to meet on a dark night, to being an ex-offender – ‘nearly normal person’. It is, after all, a course in personal development.

 

2. Find a word or a phrase in the text, which in context is similar in meaning to:

Paragraph 1

1. time in prison

2. permission to leave prison

3. list of criminal convictions

4. regain his self-respect

Paragraph 2

1. Stupid

2. Slight indication

3. Sense of right and wrong

Paragraph 3

1. Begin

2. Moving the feet

 

3. Are the following statements true or false?

v John Bowers has been a criminal for 14 years.

v He has finished his prison sentence.

v At first the children are hostile to Mr. Bowers.

v The children feel embarrassed.

v Mr. Bowers writes up all the words the children use to describe him.

v Mr. Bowers is more critical to criminals than the children are.

v Mr. Bowers makes a good impression on the children.

 

4. Imagine, that you are a reporter from “New-York Times”. John is giving you an interview. What questions would you ask him? Issue this interview.

5. Discussion.

Do you believe, that criminals can change for the better, when they are acquitted? Give explanations to support your opinion.

 

THE MOCK TRIALS

A mock trial provides:

  • Language practice
  • Practical application of theoretical introduction to the British and American legal system
  • Research and drafting skills
  • Student motivation

 

Role-play 1

I. The Inquiry Into The Case

LADY WYATT ACCUSED OF SHOP-LIFTING

 

On Wednesday morning I went to Hall Department Store to do some shopping and to meet a friend for lunch. In the Ladies’ Fashion Department I bought a belt and a bag and paid for them. As I was waiting for the lift to go up to the Rooftop Coffee Lounge, I saw a silk scarf that I liked. I tried it on and decided to buy it. I looked around for an assistant to pay but couldn’t see anybody. The lift came and as I was late for my appointment, I put the scarf with my other purchases, intending to pay for it later on my way out. Unfortunately, I forgot to pay and was stopped at the door by the store detective who asked me to go to the manager’s office where I was accused of having stolen the scarf. It’s quite ridiculous. I simply forgot to pay. I was on duty on the second floor when I observed Lady Wyatt trying on a scarf. She looked at herself in the mirror, looked round several times and then put the scarf in her bag. She then went up in the lift to the top floor café where she met a man. I kept up my observation and when they left together, I followed them to the door. She had made no attempt to pay so I stopped her and asked her to accompany me to the manager’s office. She became abusive and refused to go with me until a policeman arrived on the scene.

 

I.1 The duty of a police officer is to check through witnesses’ statements. Make up dialogues, mocking the examination. Use suggested information.

Witness 1 David Milton

(An old friend, an accountant for 15 years, to have lunch at 12 o’clock, to discuss family business, to be astonished, to be a very wealthy woman)

Witness 2 The store manager

(Not to know smb. as a regular customer, to work for two weeks, to lose hundreds of pounds worth

of goods every week, to appoint a store detective, to have confidence in, not only the poor

members of the community resort to shop-lifting)

 

Witness3 The doctor

(To prescribe pills, to suffer from regular bouts of depression, a side-effect could cause erratic or

unusual behaviour)

 

Witness 4 The shop assistant

(To work for seven years, to know as a regular customer, to buy a bag, belt, to pay a cheque, to

behave normally, to be on duty, not to leave the department)

 

 

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