Topic 1: Does increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to

Topic 71: There are more and more effective security measures in large cities to reduce 
the crime. Does this endeavor bring more benefits than problems?
 
(counterproductive), (achieve unexpected outcomes) ;
(fail to reduce crime, but displace it to other areas) ;
(restrict freedom), ( invade privacy);
(raise the fear of crime)
(alert people to the risk of being victimized by crime);
(accomplish the purpose of deterrence) ; 
(proof)
In these years, the society has seen rapid proliferation of different measures aiming to 
prevent victimization. It is followed by a protracted debate over its positive and negative 
impacts. In my opinion, it is a reflection of the inflated fear of crime, but not of actual levels 
of crime. 
To a larger or lesser extent, the increased presence of anti-crime devices fuels the fear of 
crime and has a devastating effect on people's quality of life. Crimes are concentrated in 
particular areas, but the fear of crime spreads across the whole community and affects nearly 
every resident. The most annoying aspect of this trend is that people's freedom is curtailed 
(for example, using the stairway of a building less frequently due to the alarm installed there) 
and sometimes, people's privacy is invaded (due to the concealed surveillance cameras in 
offices). There is little, if any, evidence that the threat people perceive has a real life 
counterpart. 
On the other hand, although some measures are said to deter or stop crime, they too often 
produce opposite outcomes. For example, lighting in a dark area may reduce fear but also 
enable criminals to see their targets more easily, leading to a high probability of attacks. The 
benefits of self-protective measures such as gun ownership and martial arts training are 
doubtful because nobody can say with certainty that the net effect is to decrease harm. Most 
personal defensive devices are either too difficult to use or less effective than expected.
Crime reduction and crime prevention also rely on other approaches rather than on 
security measures. Criminals choose their targets based on time and whereabouts. Citizens 
will be less vulnerable to victimization if they bypass those places where crimes frequently 
occur. There is no need for carrying chemical agents for self-defense. Many mansions are 
armed with expensive in-door surveillance systems, but issuing passes to occupants and 
tenants and preventing easy access to the building is more effective and economical. In the 
inner city, where crimes are epidemic, eliminating the dilapidated buildings used by criminals 
for hiding or selecting a target is more useful than requiring all shops and residents nearby to 
install expensive security system. The central part of crime prevention is altering the 
environment, by which the root causes or at least the facilitators of crime can be eliminated.
As suggested above, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of anti-crime equipment 
and users should examine it regularly. The crime prevention framework should focus on 
making the environment safe from crime, reducing the potential for crime in high-risk 
situations and halting the possibility of future crime.

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1. Protract=prolong
2. Inflated=increased=escalating
3. Devastating=destructive=harmful=damaging=dreadful
4. Curtail=limit=restrict=restrain=inhibit=curb=reduce
5. Self-protective=self-defensive
6. Halt=stop=freeze

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