Youth crime is a topic you may come across on IELTS test day.
This essay is likely to score a straight 9.0. It follows the double question format, and we have used the following template…
Introduction: with our position
Body Paragraph 1: one cause + one solution
Body Paragraph 2: one cause + one solution
Conclusion: repeating our position
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The Question
It has been said that society is to blame for increasing youth crime.
What is causing this trend? Who should be responsible for dealing with it?
The Answer
Society itself – that is, our living, working and playing largely in harmony with our fellow humans – is not to blame for increasing youth crime. Rather, current approaches to keeping society functioning as it should have, for some young people, created an environment in which crime is normalised. Governmental, organisational and institutional leaders are all responsible for ensuring fewer young people find themselves in such a position.
One problem is a lack of funding for youth support. Youth centres, community outreach projects and other initiatives provide a clear alternative to crime for young people in the most disadvantaged areas. Yet budgets for these initiatives have been repeatedly squeezed, often rendering them unviable. Government should provide more funding for organisational leaders to reinstate youth support initiatives, which will result in fewer people in prison and lower overall costs to the state.
Another issue lies within the education system: in recent years, the number of pupils permanently excluded from school has been rising. This means more children referred to specialised educational institutions, in which a higher proportion of their peers are likely to be involved in crime. The key responsibility here belongs with headteachers, who should ensure all avenues of support have been exhausted before any pupil is excluded.
In conclusion, youth crime is rising not because of society itself, but because of the way in which we maintain it: specifically, choosing how taxpayer money should be allocated and who should attend school. These choices have, by accident or by design, left some young people behind – one consequence of which is increasing youth crime. Government, organisations and institutions should all now work together to form more inclusive and progressive policies.
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