【正确答案】I think that being a police officer is one of the most difficult jobs, mainly because of the possible danger involved. I mean, they never know when they turn up to a callout what they're really going to be dealing with, and often it presents a threat to their personal safety. The good thing is that police officers are very highly respected in my country, so they have public support on their side.
I think the most common types of crime are probably burglary and theft as well as mugging. These are the types of crimes that I read about most often in the newspaper. Youth crime has also experienced a big increase in recent years. I'm not sure about the reason for these crimes, but I would guess that poverty is the main motivation behind crimes such as burglary and mugging. If people don't have a job or enough money to feed their family, then I guess they resort to these types of crime in order to survive. As for youth, I think some people think this is due to a decline in social values and a rise in the number of broken homes, but I'm not really sure. Maybe it's just boredom.
I definitely think the police should be armed; otherwise they've got no protection and are extremely vulnerable in their day-to- day work. The unpredictable nature of police work means that having a gun on their person is essential. I think it makes the public feel more secure, too, as they know that the police are able to respond quickly and effectively to any dangerous situation which may arise. I know I certainly feel more secure knowing the police force here is armed.
I believe a good lawyer needs to be intelligent, compassionate and patient, as well as having strong beliefs in basic legal principles, such as the fact that everybody has the right to good legal representation. A good lawyer also needs to be able to argue their client's case for innocence even when they know they might be guilty, so I think morally it's not as straightforward as it might seem. It's not a profession that I would ever be interested in, for that very reason.
I think one of the solutions to this issue lies in the fact that many people in the public service are underpaid, and this contributes to the temptation to accept bribes and so on, so perhaps better wages and conditions for these types of workers might put a stop to some corruption. I also believe that harsher penalties for corruption would help prevent the problem but it is a complex one to try and tackle.
To be honest, the only situation which springs to mind is if one had to break the law in order to save another's life or to protect another person from imminent danger. This would be because the greater need in that instance would be the saving of human life as opposed to following a law or a rule. Maybe an example of this is killing someone in self-defense or defense of another innocent person. I think it's very complicated though and personally I can't imagine ever breaking the law.