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Comprehension questions and tasks. 1. Has bullying changed over the past years?






 

1. Has bullying changed over the past years?

2. Why, do you think, the problem is spiraling out of control?

3. Why is bullying burgeoning now?

4. Discuss the most efficient ways to combat bullying.

 

 


Meet the Burglar

 

I have only been burgled once, and the burglar wasn’t even that successful; he ended up leaving me some of his goods rather than leaving with mine. I could hear him pottering about. I shouted, he ran, leaving a typewriter behind, doubtless removed from a neighbour’s house. I considered myself lucky because of the stories about the mess burglars make when they’re on the job – the ransacked rooms, the broken furniture, the meals they cook themselves, the urine.

But what kind of person could go into the home of a total stranger and have the skill to find something of value (certainly difficult in my house) – and have no twinge of conscience about removing whatever he could lay his sticky little fingers on? And what’s the probability of it happening again?

According to Maguire and Bennett’s research it is very likely to happen again. They reckon that the “Average British citizen” can expect to be burgled two or three times during his or her lifetime. Burglary is more popular today than ever before. Sentences for house burglary can be quire stiff – the maximum is 14 years – but many burglars today end up in magistrates’ courts facing fines. As another burglar put it to me, “I’d enough in my piggy bank for the first fine.”

But what are burglars really like? How could I meet some personally? ”

A chain of association eventually led me to Danny (name changed). Still only 20 but already a pro: he’s served his time at his chosen profession in more ways than one. Several hundred burglaries in five years, and two stretchers in Borstal and one in prison. In official terms he’s a recidivist. He puts it bluntly: “Money, clothes, and having a good time is my life. If I got a job, I’d have to change my whole lifestyle. What could I do with £ 80 a week? I can spend that in one night. Burglary is the only real skill I’ve got.”

Danny’s profession runs in the family (his father is currently on the run for an armed robbery offence) but he says his family had nothing to do with it. It was his mates. He was 15, they were 16, he was their eager pupil. He started with a warehouse. “We were careful to choose one without a burglar alarm. He got in through a ground floor window. It was dead easy. We all had a look about and I found a cashbox in a drawer with a hundred quid in it. I couldn’t believe it. It was money for old rope. We blew the money in two days on Indian meals, taxis, and drinks. Then we went out again about three days later. We just get the bus a couple of miles down the road to the Moor or Bramall Lane and have a wander about.” Research in Sheffiels suggests that nearly three-quarters of burglars travel less than two miles from their homes to commit the crime.

Danny enjoys his new pastime. “Some nights we’d do three places in the one spot. Sometimes of course you’d find nothing but occasionally you’d hit the jackpot.” Within six months Danny had graduated to houses. We’d usually get the bus to Gleadless, which was a good spot because it borders on a wood. Dead easy to get away. We’d go up in the afternoon and just pick a house that looked empty.

“My two mates would stay in the next street and I’d just go up and knock on the door. If anyone answered I’d say “Is Paul in please? ” Nobody was ever suspicious. They’d just say “Sorry, you must be at the wrong house.” If nobody answered I’d just go and get my mates and we’d go round the back and steam in. If the windows were locked we’d put a coat up to the window and knock it in. When I was in, I’d head straight for the bedroom to look for the jewellery case. I’d also look under the mattress straight away. Then it was down to the kitchen. You’d be amazed how many people keep money in the oven, but I’ve even found money stashed in cornflakes boxes.

“We never made a mess, at least deliberately – some houses would look a bit untidy afterwards but that’s because you’re looking for things in a hurry. You haven’t got all day. The most I ever got from a house when I was a kid was eight and a half grand in goods – at least that’s what’s the local paper said. Me and another kid only got a grand and a half for the jewellery and stuff. But the lad I did the house with got caught on another job. He grassed on me. I got a £ 554 fine plus probation. Of course, the fine wasn’t that bad. I’d made quite a lot by then. My mum had to pay the fine though. I’d spent what I’d made.”

Danny leans back in his chair. “It might seem to you that I haven’t been that successful, but I’ve done hundreds of jobs and I’ve never actually been caught on the job. It’s usually people wanting to do themselves a favour with the coppers. I know I’ve got the bottle and the skill. In ten years’ time I’ll either be doing a ten-year stretch or living it up. I’m not going to change my life style.”

As he got up to go, sun tan, streaked blond hair, expensive leather jacket, all the trimmings of the pop star, I asked him the key question. Do you ever think about your victims? Research by Maguire and Bennett suggests that burglary has a considerable effect on people’s lives, leaving them uneasy, insecure, even feeling violated.

Danny doesn’t think about this. “Why should I? The people I burgle can afford it and jewellers are all bent and bump up the insurance claims. Another thing, I never burgle poor people or old people.”

Danny was beginning to sound like Robin Hood. “But just a minute, you’ve burgled council houses, isn’t that right? ”

“Yes, ” Danny says, “but loads of ordinary people have stacks of dough stashed away.”

“But do you really mean that if you went to all the trouble of breaking into a house and then discovered that it belonged to an old person, you wouldn’t take anything? ”

“Well, not nothing, ” says Danny, “But I wouldn’t leave them broke.” And Robin Hood had, before my very eyes, started to metamorphose into the Sheriff of Nottingham. Just enough left in the kitty to survive, when Danny’s high demands were met. (Abridged)

 

From Headway Advanced

 


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