Critical Reasoning

it is common knowledge that drug abuse is rampant amongst the homeless and that there is a direct correlation between the number of drug abusers in an area and the crime rate in the same area.the correlation is rooted in the fact that drug abusers often seek money through illicit activity in order to sustain their habits.to promptly address the rise in crime associated with the recent influx of homeless in our city,shelters for homeless should be moved from downtown to non residential,industrially zone regions.

all of the following if true would strengthen the proposed solution EXCEPT?
A)illegal drugs are not as readily available in non-residential regions of the city
B)it will be easier to treat the homeless for drug addiction if they are moved out of downtown region
C)the homeless generally confine themselves to region serviced by community shelters
D)Law enforcement officials maintain a highly visible presence in downtown residential areas
E)Most industrial Zoned areas maintain stronger security measures than their residential counterparts

ANS-D
i got this question from VERITAS free exam.i got confused while making a choice between A and D.

D generally has no bearing on the solution to move the homeless out of downtown area and can be the choice but A also proposes that if the drugs are not available in non-residential areas then the homeless will turn to downtown and as a result the crime rate would increase.this can also weaken the argument

mrinal2100 wrote:it is common knowledge that drug abuse is rampant amongst the homeless and that there is a direct correlation between the number of drug abusers in an area and the crime rate in the same area.the correlation is rooted in the fact that drug abusers often seek money through illicit activity in order to sustain their habits.to promptly address the rise in crime associated with the recent influx of homeless in our city,shelters for homeless should be moved from downtown to non residential,industrially zone regions.

all of the following if true would strengthen the proposed solution EXCEPT?
A)illegal drugs are not as readily available in non-residential regions of the city
B)it will be easier to treat the homeless for drug addiction if they are moved out of downtown region
C)the homeless generally confine themselves to region serviced by community shelters
D)Law enforcement officials maintain a highly visible presence in downtown residential areas
E)Most industrial Zoned areas maintain stronger security measures than their residential counterparts

ANS-D
i got this question from VERITAS free exam.i got confused while making a choice between A and D.

D generally has no bearing on the solution to move the homeless out of downtown area and can be the choice but A also proposes that if the drugs are not available in non-residential areas then the homeless will turn to downtown and as a result the crime rate would increase.this can also weaken the argument

IMO A is not at all good choice!! As u said , A has its own problem.I would have picked F becox A & D has same degree of "uncertainty".

Now I UNDERSTAND why people suggest always go thru OG only. As of now I haven't found atleast one CR in OG which contradicts its assumptions in the stem while making strengthen/weaken questions.

Premise of Passage: Homeless people tend to be drug abusers. Drug abusers tend to do criminal activities.

Conclusion of Passage: to promptly address the rise in crime associated with the recent influx of homeless in our city,shelters for homeless should be moved from downtown to non residential,industrially zone regions.

A) illegal drugs are not as readily available in non-residential regions of the city. -----Hence, crime in non-residential region will not increase. Supports the conclusion of passage

B) it will be easier to treat the homeless for drug addiction if they are moved out of downtown region .----This again would reduce crime. Supports conclusion of passage.

C) the homeless generally confine themselves to region serviced by community shelters .------This again would reduce crime in downtown/city area as the homeless would be confined in non residential,industrially zone regions and would not move to downtown/city area. Supports the conclusion of passage

D))Law enforcement officials maintain a highly visible presence in downtown residential areas.----Hence there would be less violation of law in downtown area as compared to other area(industrial etc). This seem to suggest that crime in downtown area should be less as compared to industrial(etc) area. Does not support the conclusion of the passage

E) Most industrial Zoned areas maintain stronger security measures than their residential counterparts ----------Hence moving the criminals in industrial area would reduce the crime. Supports the conclusion of the passage.

Hence IMO the ans is D

how do we remove option c though?

it simply states that the homeless confines themselves to community region ; doesn't state anythig about the drugs ..

ansumania wrote:how do we remove option c though?

it simply states that the homeless confines themselves to community region ; doesn't state anythig about the drugs ..

Since homeless confines themselves to the community region, so they would remain confined to industrial region etc once they are moved there(industrial region).
This means that homeless would not go to downtown and hence the absence of homeless in downtown would surely reduce the crime in downtown.