相关考题：Some ex-prisoners commit crimes after being released from the prison. What do you think is the cause? How can it be solved?(2023 年 1 月 14 日大作文考题)
考情分析：本题为2023年1月14日考试真题，是往年题，属于犯罪类话题。
2023年前两个季度中，犯罪类话题考频率为1次。(截止至2023年5月6日中国大陆纸笔考试)。
真题解析：
1. 属于报告类;
2. 难点：
① 观点缺乏多样性或者阐述不细致
② 审题遗漏，只回答一个问题
原文节选(原因)
Why programs like 'prison-to-work' should be more widely implemented to reduce recidivism.
According to the Prison and Policy Initiative as of 2021,Kentucky’s incarceration rate stands above the national rate (664 per 100,000) at 930 per 100,000. Each year, around 16,000 inmates are released back into the population.
During the community re-entry process, prisoners experience an extensive range of stressors. This stress derives from trying to find a house, a job and build connections after their time spent away from the outside world. Ashleigh LaCourse, a doctoral student at the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, argues that this reintegration stress is what primarily creates repeat offenders.On Nov. 7, 2022, Andy Beshear, advocated for a “prison-to-work” initiative that could potentially lessen the stress prisoners feel during their transition. Beshear’s administration has aligned with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to ensure the initiative comes to fruition. Considering how our labor force participation rate currently stands at 58%, this initiative will not only provide jobs for prisoners but also boost our workforce participation. The initiative will match low-employment occupations with prisoners in need. Interviews will be conducted virtually, allowing prisoners to potentially have a job immediately after being released. This initiative increases economic activity while also giving prisoners a stable starting point.
Joan Petersilia, the president of the American Society of Criminology, highlights social barriers ex-prisoners experience in the community.“A recent survey in five major U.S. cities revealed that 65% of all employers said they would not knowingly hire an ex-offender (regardless of the offense),”Petersilia writes.
People fear the reintegration of felons into the community due to further violence that may accompany their introduction. However, prisons strip prisoners of their individuality and savings, leaving them economically unstable upon their release. This economic instability is what often leads to recidivism, as many must turn to illegal means in order to survive without a job.
Furthermore, although the prisoner has been released from prison and fulfilled their sentence, the community still views them as a convict and a threat. They are abeled as a social deviant. This sequestration along with the financial implications re what increase recidivism rates.
According to Nihal Deo and Mehar Kaur, students of Gujarat National Law University, “labeling usually has two aftermaths, the first being that an individual’s self-image is altered along with his social stigma. The perception of being a deviant in society takes over the individual’s true self,” they write.
解析：本段主要讲解了有前科的人员刑满释放后再次犯罪的原因。
雅思写作扩充——Opinions
有前科人员再犯罪的主要原因有：
1. 经济不稳定 Economic instability
2. 社会障碍 Social barriers
3. 重新融入的压力 The stress to build connections
4. 标签和社会的排斥 Labeling and social stigma
雅思写作扩充
Boost
to increase or improve something
E.g: I tried to boost his morale by praising his cooking.
Boost workforce participation在写作中，我们常常需要强调某个观点的重要性或效果的增强。使用"boost"这个
词可以帮助你凸显某个方面的重要性、积极影响或改进。例如，你可以说
Education plays a crucial role in boosting economic growth。
Label
the act of putting a label on something, or labels that are put on something: Successive food scares led to Europe-wide demands for clear labeling.
E.g: the act of putting a label on something, or labels that are put on something:
Successive food scares led to Europe-wide demands for clear labeling.
使用"label"这个词可以帮助我们清晰地表达分类、归类。例如，你可以说 The two
main causes of climate change are labeled as natural factors and human activities.
原文节选(解决方案)
网址：https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2023/03/10/whyprograms-like-prison-to-work-should-be-more-widelyimplemented/69951104007/
As labor force participation decreases across our state, this initiative can assist in filling the gap. According to Kentuckiana Works, this “gap” is mostly concentrated on people who stay at home and take care of their families. A fear that may arise with the programs is that the new influx of prisoners in the workforce will overstimulate the economy, and therefore take jobs from law-abiding citizens. However, at times when workforce activity is low, ex-prisoners can become valuable assets to our economy, as they will take unenviable jobs that the average American doesn’t want to work.
Programs like “prison-to-work” should be more widely implemented, as they aid prisoners in their reintegration into the community as well as increase the economic yield of communities.
网址：https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/12/two-thirds-of-homelessex-prisoners-reoffend-within-a-year
Homeless ex-prisoners are significantly more likely to reoffend than those living in housing, in what charities have described as a “merry-go-round” in which people are “swept into prison and then dumped back on to the streets”.
Data obtained from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) under a freedom of information request showed that out of all adult prisoners released in 2016, 67% of those who slept rough or were otherwise homeless went on to commit another crime within a year.
For those living in “unsettled” or temporary accommodation, the rate of reoffending was also higher, at 54%, compared with 43% for those who had either a permanent home or short-term supported housing.
Andrew Neilson, the campaigns lead at the Howard League for Penal Reform charity,described accommodation as integral to “staying on the straight and narrow”,
alongside employment and support from family members or friends.“Prisons are being used for people who are too poor and too fragile to sort their lives out,” he said. “But instead of us providing support, we’re spending billions each year policing them, criminalising them and incarcerating them.”
Phillip, a formerly prolific offender with a two-decade history of offences relating to burglary and drugs, was homeless on several occasions after being released from custody.
“I’d have to sofa surf with people I knew, but that pushed me back into old habits being around the same people,” he said.
“If I had come out and gone into a proper place to stay away from all that, I could’vestarted fresh and done better.”He said he was not “proud of” his past but insisted that after he began receiving support in 2017 from the Nacro substance misuse project, which provides residential recovery schemes for men with addictions to drugs and alcohol, he broke his addiction and rebuilt relationships with his family members.
…
“We’re also helping vulnerable former prisoners find stable accommodation through a £6m pilot scheme at Leeds, Pentonville and Bristol prisons.” Two-thirds of homeless ex-prisoners reoffend within a year
解析：
解决方案：
可以通过以下方式来降低出狱罪犯的再犯罪率。
1. Employment and workforce participation 就业和劳动力参与
2. Stable housing 稳定住房
3. Support and rehabilitation 支持和康复
4. Collaboration and creative solutions 合作和创造性解决方案
雅思写作扩充
fill the gap(填补空白)
属于口语化的表达，用于写作中时可以写为“bridge the gap”(弥合差距)
e.g: Efforts should be made to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and
practical skills.
类似的表达还有：
Address the issue(解决问题)
Close the knowledge gap(弥补知识差距)
Overcome the deficiency(克服不足)
stable accommodation
意为稳定的住所，雅思写作中很常用类似的表达还有：
Secure housing(安全住房)
Affordable housing(负担得起的住房)
Decent accommodation(体面住所)
话题语料扩充：监狱教育能降低再犯罪率
网址：https://www.mackinac.org/pressroom/2023/research-finds-prisoneducation-programs-reduce-recidivism
Research Finds Prison Education Programs Reduce Recidivism
…
They found in their review of published research that prison workforce and education programs reduce the likelihood of recidivism by 14.8%. The findings also show positive employment benefits for former offenders, including a 6.9% increase in the likelihood of employment and an extra $131 in quarterly wages.
…
The United States has the sixth highest prison population, with five in 1,000 people behind bars. The cost of incarcerating so many people is steep. Taxpayers spend an estimated $182 billion a year to house prisoners, pay police, and provide for courts,health care, and additional expenses. Given that many prisoners are reoffenders, some states have turned to education and workforce training in an effort to reduce recidivism and prison costs.
…
Sprick Schuster and Stickle also calculated the return on investment of these programs. They found that college education programs produce the best benefit for participants, while work training provides the best return on investment from a taxpayer’s perspective. The ROI for each program was positive and that does not include many indirect benefits of lowering recidivism rates, such as fewer victims of criminal behavior and other indirect costs of crime.
…
“Even in more forward-thinking states like Michigan, only a minuscule percentage of the inmates released back into society have access to these programs,” said Guenthner. “We will work with our research team and policymakers to lay out a path to substantially expanding these programs.”解析：
文章指出，对监狱教育和职业培训项目进行的更高质量研究表明，参与者在再犯率、收入和就业机会方面取得了积极的影响。
原因如下：
1. 监狱教育和职业培训项目可以降低再犯率;
2. 可以减少再犯率和监狱开支;
3. 可以创造更安全的社区，同时也带来积极的经济回报.
雅思写作扩充
Given that
knowing about or considering a particular thing
E.g: Given that there is a living to be made at night, natural selection has favoured bats that make a go of the night-hunting trade.
Perspective
the way individuals see the world. It comes from their personal point of view
E.g: He writes from a Marxist perspective.
forward-thinking
e.g: Forward-thinking architects focus on the long-term environmental impact of their
buildings.
