DISCUSS EFFECTIVE MEASURES FOR COUNTERACTING VIOLENCE IN OUR CITIES
DISCUSS EFFECTIVE MEASURES FOR COUNTERACTING VIOLENCE IN OUR CITIES
The first point that has to be clarified here is the meaning of the word violence. There are, after all, many types of violence in our cities, ranging from baby battering to the suppression of political demonstrations by police. For the purposes of this essay we can limit discussion to the violence which most concerns city dwellers nowadays: riots, robbery and physical assault on the streets.
What measures can be taken to combat this kind of violence? Well, to begin with, it is often argued that violent crime should be punished more severely. That is to say, more offenders sent to prison, longer prison sentences, and even the reintroduction of the death penalty. The first two ideas seem reasonable, but ignore the problem that our prisons are already full, and also that ex-prisoners are more likely to commit crime than other people. In addition, it is very expensive to keep people in prison. As for the death penalty, there is no hard evidence that it has any effect on the commission of crimes. Punishing crime more severely, then, does not seem to work.
A more effective measure would be to improve the service provided by the police. Many people would say that policemen should carry guns, but I do not agree, since this would lead to more violence, probably involving innocent bystanders. Also, we must remember that not every policeman is psychologically fit to carry a gun. Nevertheless, certain changes can be made. Firstly, the size of the police force could be increased, by improving salaries and conditions. Equally importantly, the police should receive better training, so that they can deal effectively with trouble without becoming unduly violent themselves. Clearly, a large, well-trained police force must be an important factor in any attempt to tackle crime.
However, none of these ideas deals with the root of urban violence, and that is what we should turn to for the rest of this
The first point that has to be clarified here is the meaning of the word violence. There are, after all, many types of violence in our cities, ranging from baby battering to the suppression of political demonstrations by police. For the purposes of this essay we can limit discussion to the violence which most concerns city dwellers nowadays: riots, robbery and physical assault on the streets.
What measures can be taken to combat this kind of violence? Well, to begin with, it is often argued that violent crime should be punished more severely. That is to say, more offenders sent to prison, longer prison sentences, and even the reintroduction of the death penalty. The first two ideas seem reasonable, but ignore the problem that our prisons are already full, and also that ex-prisoners are more likely to commit crime than other people. In addition, it is very expensive to keep people in prison. As for the death penalty, there is no hard evidence that it has any effect on the commission of crimes. Punishing crime more severely, then, does not seem to work.
A more effective measure would be to improve the service provided by the police. Many people would say that policemen should carry guns, but I do not agree, since this would lead to more violence, probably involving innocent bystanders. Also, we must remember that not every policeman is psychologically fit to carry a gun. Nevertheless, certain changes can be made. Firstly, the size of the police force could be increased, by improving salaries and conditions. Equally importantly, the police should receive better training, so that they can deal effectively with trouble without becoming unduly violent themselves. Clearly, a large, well-trained police force must be an important factor in any attempt to tackle crime.
However, none of these ideas deals with the root of urban violence, and that is what we should turn to for the rest of this