Lesson 
7
Juvenile Delinquency
Text A
Jennifer got off
bus fromuniversity
began walking towardsflat she shared with two other students. On her way she had
buy some foodstopped
one
the shopsthe street. It was run by an Asian family,althoughprices there were
little higher thanthe big supermarket further downstreet, she didlother shopping there. The vegetables were fresherthey had various things she couldn't get elsewhere. Mr Patel,ownerthe shop, was checking throughlist, but smiled, as he always did, when he saw her come in.
She picked upwire basketwalked towardsbackthe shop, whererice was kept: The shop was divided by three long aisles, with rowsshelves crammed with all sortsthings. Except
herMr Patel , there were only two other people there. They were two teenage boys,they were standing atendonethe aisles.
She glanced at them as she passed. They were both wearing long, old-fashioned overcoatsthey looked rather ridiculousthem becausecoats were too big. But such things were popular with some teenagers attime. 'Watch out, stupid,' she heard onethem whisperthe other. She walked onthe next aislefoundrice she was looking for.
Then she heard something else. It sounded liketin dropping
the floor. She peered throughgapthe shelfcaughtglimpseone.the boys bending down. She saw him pick uptinfood. But insteadputting itthe shopping basket, he dropped
intoinside pockethis long overcoat. Jennifer glanced back downaisle. She could see Mr Patel atcash till, still checking through
list.
Then she looked throughgapthe shelf again. The boys still had their backsher. 'Come on, let's get outhere,' she heard onethem say. Atsame time, she saw onethem put another tinhis overcoat pocket. They moved away from her. She could no longer see what they were doing or hear what they were saymg.
When she gotthe till,two boys werefronther. She watched them paythe few things they hadthe basket. They had both buttoned their coatsfastened them with their belts. Mr Patel did not seem suspicious at all. He even smiled at them as they were aboutleave. Jennifer opened her mouthsay something.
Text B
The only crime
have ever been connected with was unsuccessful. One summer nightwentbed, leaving my bedroom door open becausewas very hot. Duringnightwas woken up bysounda match being struck. Formomentthoughtmust befriendlived with, but thenremembered he was away.
I felt certain there was someonethe room.sawoutlinea man standing neardoor.was almost certainman wasburglar. Without thinking whatwas doing,shouted loudly and. jumped outbedcatchman. Asran acrossgarden,suddenly realizedwas doing something very foolish. The burglarwas chasing might be carryingknife.went straight back intohouselocked alldoorsprotect myself.
This wasvery small crime which did not succeed, but crime
a serious problemBritain. One sortcrime which particularly worries peoplejuvenile delinquency-that is, crimes committed by young people. For some years, juvenile delinquency has been increasing. There are two main sortsjuvenile crime : stealingviolence. Most people do not understand why young people commit these crimes. There are ,think,large numberdifferent reasons.
These crimes are not usually committed by people who are poor orneedl. Young people often dislikeresentadult world. They will do thingsshow that they are rebels. AlsoBritain today iteasier far young peoplecommit crimes because they have more freedomgo where they likemore moneydo what they like.
There are two other possible causes which are worth mentioning. Moremore peopleBritain livelarge towns. Inlarge town no one knows who anyone elseor where they live. Butthe villagecome from crimes are rare because everybody knows everyone else.
Although itdiffcultexplain,thinklast causevery important. Perhaps theresomething wrong with our society which encourages violencecrime. Ita fact that alltime children are exposedfilmsreports about crimeviolence. Many people do nat agree that this influences young people, butthink that young people are very much influenced
bysociety they grow up in.feel thatfault may be as tnuch with our whole society as with these young people.
Additional Information
It's just before school starts, when they checkpupilsguns. By now,,600 students at Chester High SchoolPhiladelphia have got usedit.
One by one, they go throughmetal detector gate, likeones at an airport, atmain entrancetheir school. The beeper alarmconstantly going off, indicating some metal objectthe pupil's pockets. Mostly, ita key, or coins.
Such searches-in some schoolsregular routine ,others ,spotcheck- are partthe attemptschool authoritiesthe United Stateskeep students from bringing intoclassroom their knives, revolversmachine-guns.
The metal detector checks have already become commonplaceschoolsPhiladelphia, Detroit,New York. A schoolFairfax,the outskirtsWashington, D. C. , will soon begin them.
School administrators decided that something finally hadbe done aftervarious shootoutsdiscoveriesweaponsschools aroundcountry had made headlinesweeks running.
On January 26, at Woodrow Wilson SchoolWashington,teenager shotwounded four othersa fight overplacesitthe school cafeteria.
On February 9, teachers confiscatedsemi-automatic pistol from two 3-year-olds atschoolthe Washington suburbSilver Spring after they had threatened other students withweapon. Six days later,student at Kramer High SchoolWashington threatenedschoolmate withsawedoff shotgun. Asked why he did it,youngster saidother had "stared so stupidly" at him.
The listsuch incidents goesand,on, andsome cases, they are fatall.
Accordingthe California-based " National School Safety Centre " (NSSC)a recent report, there were 360,000 violent incidentsAmerican schools986,last yearwhich statistics are available. The incidents ranged from fistfightsshootouts,70,000 weapons were confiscated, including , 700 pistolsrifles.
Since then , says Ronald Stephens ,directorNSSC ,numberincidents involving gunsschools has risen considerably.Teacherssecurity experts havehard time explaining why teenagers wantbring lethal weapons with themschool.
"Some wantimpress their schoolmates," believes Stephens."They feel thatguna symbolpowercontrol.Others havefeeling that they need weaponsprotectthemselves."
School authorities seeriseweaponsviolence above all as being connecteddrugsAmerican high schools. Armed youth gangs divide updrug trade turf among themselves. Accordingthe NSSC ,older gang members useyounger newcomers as "weapons depots".
Lyn Siperthe National Crime Prevention CouncilWashington believes that youths during their puberty lean towards fighting out their conflicts insteadtalking about them. Such drugs as cocainecrack addtheir emotional disturbance.
SiperStephens agree thatgeneral levelviolencethe streetsbig American cities,the unimpeded accessguns, playrole. America's citizens possesstotal20 million firearms. Manythe revolversrifles which authorities confiscatedthe schools had been legally acquiredregistered bystudents' parents.
