Please help, schreibe Klausur / ENGLISCH am 30.10.06

Hallo, ich schreibe am Montag den 30.10.06 eine Klausur über diesen Text im Fach Englisch. Fragen stehen unten. Wer kann mir helfen? Da mein Englisch sehr schlecht ist, ich bitte alle um hilfe. Antworten bitte ich sie an art.mueller@web.de zu senden, da ich nicht jeden Tag hier bin. Bin auch bereit demjenigen der es macht auch 5euro im Laufe der Woche als Belohnung zu überweisen.

************ BITTE ALLE UM HILFE ****************


Social life and the crime scene
Serious crime in the USA began rising rapidly in the 1960s towards a terrible peak in 1993 New York alone had over 2,000 murders a year. Much crime, from mugging to murder, was drug-related, and the police appeared almost powerless. Society seemed close to collapse.
Since then, crime rates have apparently fallen by 40% or more. In one recent year, murder was down by eight per cent nationally, and rape fell by five per cent. At 10% and 11%, the declines in car theft and robbery were even greater. `Our communities are now the safest they have been for a generation, the President recently declared. Modern security technology has helped make much crime more difficult. Movement-sensitive lighting, burglar alarms and closed-circuit TV
(CCTV) all make crime against property harder. Electronic locks have reduced car theft similarly.
What gets most of the Publicity is hardline policing, though. `Zero-tolerance` policies in cities such as New York and Los Angeles mean immediate tough action against offenders. Another (baseball) catchphrase - Three strikes and you`re out` - means an automatic prison sentence after three offences. The American public likes this.
But do these results mean dramatic improvement? Not really. For a start, two million Americans are now in jail, and this cannot be good. Then again, tough police action often focuses on young, ethnic urban males, especially blacks. Naturally, racial tension increases.
This leads to differences between actual crime and reported crime. When certain social groups are treated harshly by heavy-handed police, they tend not to report crimes or request police help. This has probably helped `reduce` crime considerably.
Furthermore `modern` crimes such as computer crime, credit card fraud and, among the wealthy, tax evasion, are actually increasing fast. Among the young, mobile phone theft is rocketing and so too is shoplifting. Around 23 million Americans have shoplifted, and this costs retailers $1,2 billion yearly. This forces up prices, and so the average family pays an annual `shoplifting tax` of $800. Teenagers are the largest group of shoplifters, and their main targets are not basics like food, but non-essentials - often fashion goods. Why do they do it? The Chart offers an explanation:
over half steal because they want more than they can - or want to - afford. America’s epidemic of serious` crime may be under control, but its epidemic of consumerism and consumer-related crime is not. And, actually, this is very serious, too.

Contents and Comprehension
1. How did the crime scene in American society change since the 1960Žs?
2. How did modern technology influence the face of crime in the US?

Discussion and Comment
3. Do you think that modern security technology can be of any elp and really protect a society? Say why – yes or no.
4. What do you think of America’s “zero-tolerance” policies?
Will they prevent crime successfully?
5. How would you personally punish criminals?
Express your ideas by giving examples.
6. Why are teenagers the larges group of shoplifters?
Please try to explain.