💡

How to use this lesson

Teacher Guidance

Give students 18 minutes to read and complete the exercises. Review answers by focusing on the evidence in the text rather than just keywords.

Student Steps

Read the passage first to understand the main ideas. After you finish, check your answers and read the explanations to see why you were right or wrong.

Academic Reading • Topic: Crime, Law and Justice

Shifting Conceptions of Crime and Justice

Recommended reading time: 6–8 minutes

A vintage illustration of a 19th-century London street scene with a classic Metropolitan police officer, no text

A

In 1829, Robert Peel, serving as Britain's Home Secretary, guided the Metropolitan Police Bill through Parliament, establishing the Metropolitan Police in London. This legislation created a permanent, salaried police force dedicated to public order and crime prevention, replacing an inconsistent patchwork of parish constables and night watchmen. The organisation officially commenced operations on 29 September 1829, marking a historic shift towards professional law enforcement under central governmental oversight.

B

That same year, across the Atlantic in Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary admitted its first inmate under the pioneering Pennsylvania System. Designed by the architect John Haviland, the prison featured seven distinct cellblocks radiating outward from a single central surveillance rotunda. Inside, prisoners experienced unyielding solitary confinement combined with manual craftwork, intended to encourage quiet reflection and awaken genuine personal regret for wrongdoing. Despite international acclaim during the nineteenth century, this severe model proved psychologically destructive, and the solitary system was officially abandoned in 1913.

C

Legal standards underwent further international codification on 10 December 1948, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris. Article 11 established crucial legal protections, asserting that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence. This landmark principle affirmed that fair procedures must govern any lawful society.

D

Looking back across these developments, it seems that ideas about justice keep changing. What society considers fair treatment shifts continually across different historical periods. In my view, these episodes show why observers must remain cautious; past events do not prove that any single approach to crime is permanently effective or ethically beyond question.

IELTS Reading Tasks (Questions 1–10)

Answer all questions based strictly on the passage above.

Questions 1–3: Yes / No / Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the claims or information of the writer in the text? Choose:

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1. London's police force in 1829 was created to be a permanent, salaried organisation.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

2. Solitary confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary was maintained until the mid-twentieth century.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

3. John Haviland designed prison buildings in several other American cities.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

Questions 4–5: Multiple Choice

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

4. What was the original intention behind the Pennsylvania System at Eastern State?

____ A. To enforce unpaid physical labour on city infrastructure projects. ____ B. To encourage offenders to experience personal remorse through isolated work. ____ C. To keep prisoners under constant watch from a central point. ____ D. To replace the older patchwork of parish constables and night watchmen.

5. What is the writer's attitude towards historical crime policies in Paragraph D?

____ A. Convinced that nineteenth-century authorities had completely flawed intentions. ____ B. Confident that modern statutory frameworks have solved past judicial failures. ____ C. Cautious about claiming that any single strategy has been proven superior. ____ D. Sceptical regarding the legal standing of international conventions.

Questions 6–7: Matching Information

Which paragraph (A–D) contains the following information? You may choose any letter once.

6. An international agreement regarding legal protection for accused persons.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

7. A specific architectural layout centered around a single core.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

Questions 8–10: Summary Completion

Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

8. Under Article 11, any individual facing criminal charges must be presumed ____ until proven guilty according to law.

9. Legal proceedings must take place in a ____ with all necessary guarantees for defense.

10. The author observes that what society considers ____ continually alters and evolves across historical eras.

Shifting Conceptions of Crime and Justice

How to use this lesson

Shifting Conceptions of Crime and Justice

IELTS Reading Tasks (Questions 1–10)

Questions 1–3: Yes / No / Not Given

Questions 4–5: Multiple Choice

Questions 6–7: Matching Information

Questions 8–10: Summary Completion

Related lessons

Class activity: Mock Trial Role-play

IELTS Speaking: Crime, Law and Justice

Crime, Law and Justice

Writing Workshop: Crime and Justice

Reading: Why Habits Are Hard to Change

Reading: Company Memo on Hybrid Working