Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. crack down on (something)
    • ex. The city plans to crack down on drivers who do not follow traffic rules.
  2. smash-and-grab
    • ex. The police are looking for the suspects of a recent smash-and-grab robbery at the jewelry store.
  3. prosecute
    • ex. The man will be prosecuted for stealing the car.
  4. a theft
    • ex. The police are investigating a car theft at a mall’s parking lot.
  5. shoplifting
    • ex. The store often experiences shoplifting.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed ten new laws that aim to crack down on smash-and-grab robberies and similar crimes. The new laws make it easier to prosecute thieves and increase penalties for reselling stolen items. Large-scale thefts and shoplifting have become a big problem in California. These crimes are often shown in videos on social media and are widely reported.

With the new laws, the police can combine the value of stolen items from different people to give stricter penalties. The law also allows videos to be used to arrest thieves for shoplifting. In addition, the new laws make it easier to crack down on cargo thefts, prosecute criminals involved in car thefts, and require online markets to collect information from sellers.

Data shows that shoplifting has increased in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles from 2021 to 2022. However, the California Retailers Association said that it’s difficult to measure the full range of crime in the whole state because many stores do not report their crime data. But based on the available records, crime rates in California are still lower compared to those in the previous decades.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

California’s New Laws

  • Data shows that shoplifting has increased in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles from 2021 to 2022. Would you start a business in these areas? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Many stores in California do not report their crime data. Why do you think businesses do so? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you have a business in California. How would the signing of 10 new laws make you feel (ex. I would feel safer)? Discuss.

Theft and Shoplifting

  • What can you say about the rate of theft and shoplifting in your country (ex. there are few cases, there are many incidents)? Discuss.
  • Crimes like theft and shoplifting are often shown in videos on social media. How do you think this affects people’s awareness of such crimes? Discuss.
  • Data shows that shoplifting has increased in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles from 2021 to 2022. Why do you think there are more cases of shoplifting in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles? Discuss.