We all know that our criminal system is failing, but how many of us kn

We all know that our criminal system is failing, but how many of us know the extent of the failure? Do you know, for example, that 9 out of 10 offenders re-offend within two years of completing their punishment? No wonder that our prisons are so overcrowded that programs of education and rehabilitation have been abandoned. Staff simply do not have the time or resources to run them any longer. An offender rarely gets a prison sentence on the occasion of their first conviction. They are far more likely to be sentenced to a curfew monitored by an electronic tag and police surveillance. But by the time they have appeared before the judge on the third or fourth occasion, all hope that community-based punishments will work are abandoned and the persistent offender is sentenced to a period of imprisonment. Many don’t even wait for the end of their period of curfew before re-offending. Large numbers breach their curfew repeatedly and even remove their electronic tags. Under the current system, even the fear of being caught and punished again is failing to deter. As already mentioned, rehabilitation programs have been abandoned due to the sheer overcrowding in the system, with thousands of offenders waiting six months or more to be offered a place on one of the few schemes still operating. No wonder crime rates are soaring.

Q1. Which of the following statements serves as a premise to the author’s main claim?

A. that rehabilitation programs reduce offending rates
B. that today’s punishments fail to deter re-offending
C. that the objective of punishment is to deter re-offending Answer
D. that the frequency of re-offending is increasing
E. that crime rates are soaring


Q2. A reason given for the abandonment of rehabilitation programs is best captured by which of the following statements?

A. Prisons are so overcrowded that prisoners must forgo education and rehabilitation programs so that staff may concentrate on issues of security.
B. The criminal system is slow or unwilling to provide the resources required for rehabilitation provision.
C. Prisons are so overcrowded that staff must forgo education and rehabilitation programs, as they simply do not have the time or resources.
D. Overcrowding in the criminal system means that thousands of offenders are waiting six months or more to be offered a place on one of the few rehabilitation schemes still operating.
E. The time or wherewithal to run rehabilitation programs is no longer available, as it is taken up by the need to cope with overcrowding.


Q3. Which of the following sentences would most likely follow as the next in the passage?

A. It is abundantly clear that we need to find alternative workable solutions to tackle this very real challenge to society.
B. Perhaps we need to find other ways to punish those in society who refuse to stop offending.
C. Persistent offenders need longer sentences that might change their attitude towards rehabilitation programs and encourage them to reform their criminal behavior.
D. It seems beyond the wit of everyone involved to find a workable way of curbing the rate of offending by persistent young offenders.
E. Recidivism will decline as long as our community- and prison-based punishments fail to deter the persistent offender.