Some People Think That Criminals Who Commit Minor Crimes Should Be Made To Do Unpaid Community Work | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

Some people think that criminals who commit minor crimes should be made to do some unpaid community work rather than jailing them. Do you agree or disagree?

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Band 8 IELTS essay sample

Minor offences have become very common these days. A few individuals believe that those who commit them should be penalised and put behind bars. Others disagree with it and insist that these criminals should be forced / made to do some volunteer work for the society. I do not agree with this view because jailing is necessary for making criminals realize the repercussions of their action and if punishment is not given, minor crimes will eventually lead to major crimes.

Most criminals do not even realise that they have made a mistake when they carry it out on a small scale. This is due to the reason that a few countries like India and Pakistan do not sentence people to a term for committing petty criminal activities such as reckless driving, trespassing, and breaking traffic rules. Consequently, they keep on performing such things repetitively since they are aware that the government is not going to put them behind the bar. To make sure that everyone realizes their mistakes and learns a lesson from them, the criminals should be sent to jail for committing even minor/trivial offences.

Similarly, although making them do unpaid community service may be beneficial for the society, not prosecuting them for small crimes will encourage them to commit even more serious crimes. There have been a few recorded instances where crimes such as rape, murder, and kidnapping were executed by people who were already involved in smacking and eve-teasing and were not punished for the same. If these criminals had been punished then and there some major crimes could have been avoided.

In conclusion, making lawbreakers engage in voluntary work might help them feel better. However, in my opinion, sentencing them to a term is indispensable even for the minor crimes they commit so that they will not repeat them in future.

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