Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari

Unit II. Crime concerns

1. Crimes
LEAD IN

• What is crime? Write a possible definition for crime.

• Is crime a serious problem where you live?
• Are some parts of your city considered more dangerous than
others? Which parts?
• There is more crime than there used to be. Do you agree?
Why (not)?
• A policeman on duty kills a criminal while defending a
victim? Has the officer committed any crime?

1. Read, translate and memorize.

 distress, n. – extreme anxiety,
sorrow, or pain;
 offence, n. – a breach of a law
48 or rule; an illegal act; any public
wrong or crime;
 harm, n. – physical or mental
English in use for Law-Enforcement
(something difficult); to attack;
 overt, adj. – done or shown
openly; plainly apparent;
 to overthrow, vb. – remove
forcibly from power; put an
end to (something) by the use

injury or damage; moral evil or of force;

wrongdoing;
 wrong, n. – an unjust or inju-
rious act; something contrary
to ethics or morality;
 to sanction, vb. – give official
permission or approval for (an
action); impose a penalty on;
 to attempt, vb. – make an ef-
fort to achieve or complete
 whereby, adv. – by which;
 tough, adj. – severe; harsh;
 to steal, vb. – take (another
person’s property) without per-
mission or legal right and with-
out intending to return it;
 punishment, n. – a penalty
inflicted as retribution for an
offence;
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
 safe, n. – a strong fireproof  to accuse someone of a crime

cabinet with a complex lock,
used for the storage of valua-
bles;
 to commit a crime or an of-
fence – to do something wrong/
illegal; against the law;
A Practical Course
– to say someone is guilty;
 to charge someone with (mur-
der) – to bring someone to
court;
 to fight/ prevent crime – to
take action to stop crime.

2. Word formation. Complete the following chart.

VERB NOUN PERSON
to offend offence offender
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to suspect
to steal
to accuse
to commit a crime
to imprison
to convict
to attempt
to punish

3. Use the vocabulary notes in situations of your own.

READING
Crimes
The word crime is derived from the Latin root cernō,
meaning “I decide/ I give judgment”. Originally the Latin
word crīmen meant “charge” or “cry of distress.”
In modern times a crime, also called an offence or a crimi-
nal offence, is a harmful act not only to some individual, but also
to the community or the state. It is a public wrong. Such acts are
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
forbidden and punishable by law.
Crimes are divided into felonies, misdemeanors and trea-
son. A felony is an offence punishable by imprisonment for more
than one year, by death or imprisonment generally. Felonies are
usually more serious crimes. A misdemeanor is a less serious of-
fence, and thus it is sanctioned by less severe penalties (impris-
onment for one year or less). Treason is a third class of crime. It is
the offence whereby a citizen attempts by overt acts to overthrow
or seriously harm his country as a nation.
If you do something illegal, then you have committed a
crime. Most people commit a crime at some time in their lives, for
example driving above the speed limit, parking illegally, stealing
sweets from a shop when they were children, etc.
In some countries, in order to fight crime governments do
a lot of things, although many people may think they are not a
good idea:
− police carry guns;
− police are allowed to stop anyone in the street and ques-
tion them;
− the courts give tougher punishments for crimes commit-
ted than in the past (e.g. bigger fines or longer prison sentences
than in the past);
− there is capital punishment (death, e.g. by electric chair or
50
hanging) for some crimes.
What can individuals do to prevent a crime from happen-
English in use for Law-Enforcement

ing? Here are things some people do to protect themselves and

their property:
− don’t walk along dark streets late at night on your own;
− lock all doors and windows when you go out;
− don’t wear expensive jewellery;
− fit a burglar alarm;
− make sure your money is safe;
− put money and valuables in a safe;
− carry a mace spray;
− keep a gun in your house for self-defence.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
COMPREHENSION

A Practical Course
I. a) Answer the questions.
1. What is the word crime derived from?
2. What is crime?
3. How are crimes divided?
4. What is the difference between felony, misdemeanor and trea-
son?
5. What can governments do to fight crime?
6. What can individuals do to prevent a crime from happening?

b) Fill the gaps in these questions with a suitable word.

1) Do you think the police should __________ guns? 2) Do
you think the police should be __________ to stop and question 51
people without a special reason? 3) Do you agree with capital
__________ for certain crimes such as murder? 4) Do you think
it should be legal for people to carry a mace __________? 5) Do
you think people should be allowed to use a gun or knife in self-
__________? 6) Do you think tougher punishments will help to
__________ crime?
What is your opinion on these questions? Discuss them
with your partner.

II. Translate and organize the words into three groups:

crimes, people and places.
murder thief prison barrister robbery burglar cell
criminal court rape shoplifting manslaughter judge
prisoner jury police station suspect

Crimes People Places

III. Complete the following sentences.

1) A __________ is an offence punishable by imprison-
ment for more than one year. 2) If you do something __________,
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
then you have __________ a crime. 3) They say that the school
didn’t protect her and that she’s suffering emotional __________.
4) Crime demands just __________. 5) In some countries, in
order to __________ crime governments do a lot of things. 6)
Put money and valuables in a __________. 7) In modern times
a crime is also called an __________or a __________ offence. 8)
The scheme was __________ by the court. 9) Most people com-
mit a __________ at some time in their lives.

IV. Find in the text the English equivalents for the fol-
lowing words and expressions.
• to take action to stop crime • alone
• police have guns • to install an alarm
• to do something wrong/ • to wear a money belt
against the law • a strong metal box
• police are permitted to • to protect yourself if some-
• to stop a crime from hap- one attacks you
pening • valuable possessions
• home and land
• midnight
V. Translate the sentences into English.
52 1) Crima  reprezintă o acţiune periculoasă din punct de
vedere social. Pe plan internaţional, pedeapsa pentru această in-
fracţiune variază de la întemniţarea făptaşului pe o anumită peri-
English in use for Law-Enforcement

oadă de timp până la pedeapsa capitală. 2) În vechiul cod penal

infracţiunile erau împărţite în 3 categorii: crime, delicte şi con-
travenţii. Crimele sunt cele mai grave infracţiuni. Delictele sunt
infracţiuni cu un grad de pericol social mai mic. 3) Crima organ-
izată reprezintă cel mai periculos tip de criminalitate ce afectează
societatea modernă.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
VI. a) Crime Idioms. Match the idioms with their defi-
nitions.
To do something by the
1 without disturbing
book
2 To cook the books/accounts
3 To face the music
4 To do something under the table to be in prison
5 To get away with murder
6 A partner in crime
7 To be behind bars
8 A cat burglar
9 To serve time
10 Crime doesn’t pay
A Practical Course
a skilful thief who a
breaks into places
people or setting off
alarms
to accept the con- b
sequences of doing
something wrong
if you do something c
illegal, you will prob-
53
ably be caught and
punished
d
to keep inaccurate ac- e
counts for a business,
usually in order to
pay less tax
to do something se- f
cretly, usually because
it’s illegal or unethical
to be in prison g
not to be punished h
for bad behaviour
to do something i
strictly according to
the rules or the offi-
cial procedures
a person who helps j
you to make a secret
plan to do something
wrong or dishonest
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
b) Fill in the sentences with appropriate idioms.
1) My lawyer is a very accurate specialist, he does everything
_____________. 2) Police arrests are being given maximum pub-
licity as a reminder that _______________. 3) After the criminal
_____________, he was released. 4) One of the directors had been
______________ and the firm had been losing money for years.
5) Charles Peace is commonly cited as one of the most prolif-
ic _____________ in history, he broke into thousands of houses
during his lifetime. 6) After drinking alcohol all night, the next
morning I had to _____________ I had a bad hangover. 7) Mur-
derers have to be put ____________ for the rest of their lives. 8) A
lot of these people work 80-hour per week with all or half of their
salaries paid ____________. 9) That guy always ___________ just
because he’s cute. 10) Ex-judge’s ___________ has been sentences
to 33 months in prison.

VII. Complete the gaps with the correct form of the word
given at the end of each sentence.
1. She will go on ____________ for fraud. (TRY)
2. She agreed without the slightest _________. (HESITATE)
3. Jurors thought that the defence’s arguments were very
____________. (CONVINCE)
4. It’s ___________ to sell tobacco to someone under 16. (LEGAL)
54
5. A capital ___________ is a crime for which death is the punish-
ment. (OFFEND)
English in use for Law-Enforcement

6. Cheating and foul play should be severely ___________. (PEN-

ALTY)
7. I think that the judge’s ___________ was fully ___________.
(DECIDE/JUST)
8. She was acting totally ___________. (RESPONSIBLE)
9. Lawyers are trying to prove their client’s ___________. (INNO-
CENT)
10. She died in ___________ circumstances. (SUSPECT)
11. His ____________ record includes ___________ for assault
and dangerous driving. (CRIME/CONVICT)
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
12. After ___________ the manager with a knife, he stole $500 and

A Practical Course
ran off. (THREAT)
13. Two students were ___________ very differently for the same
offence. (PENALTY)
14. His enemies have made false ___________ against him. (AC-
CUSE)

VIII. How well do you know Phrasal Verbs on the topic

“Crimes”? Read the definitions and choose the corresponding
phrasal verbs. Then check your answers.
1. To get into a building or car using force is to ___________.
a. break out b. break down c. break in
2. Stealing money from a bank by using force is a ___________. 55
a. hold –in b. hold –down c. hold- up
3. To steal or take something without asking is to ___________.
a. run off with b. do without c. do over
4. To hurt someone badly by hitting or kicking is to___________.
a. pull them over b. beat them up c. put one over
5. To kill someone in informal English is to __________ with them.
a. do away b. have away c. stay away
6. To destroy something with a bomb is to ___________.
a. beat it up b. blow it up c. knock it over
7. To take a criminal to the police is to ___________.
a. turn them over b. turn them in c. turn them down
8. To put someone in prison is to ___________.
a. lock them up b. do them in c. blow them up
9. To not punish someone for their crime is to ___________.
a. give them over b. let them off c. put them away
10. To succeed in not being punished for a crime is to _________ it.
a. get away with b. make off with c. pick through

WRITING
1. What did you learn? PROJECT - Search a news report
in English about a crime. Find all the words in the report con-
nected to crime.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari

CRIME

2. The planet Criminolia. You have been elected to be the

president of Criminolia, but Criminolia has many problems. There
are many robbers and thieves. Gangs are vandalizing all the public
places. Many government employees are accepting bribes. How will
you solve these problems?

3. Crime is on the increase. Offer some possible solutions.

Use the following phrases in an essay of around 200 words.
It is my firm belief that… A further advantage of this…
One way to combat crime would On the one/ other hand…
be… It would certainly be a good idea
The result of this would be... if …
Furthermore … One final suggestion...
Due to the fact that…

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English in use for Law-Enforcement
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
INFO BOX

A Practical Course
NEWS IN BRIEF

Read attentively:
1. __________________________________
Detectives investigating the murder of a woman are trying to
find out exactly how and when she died. They also don’t know
her name. A man who was walking his dog discovered the
body and called the police. The police are examining the crime
scene but don’t have any evidence yet.
2. __________________________________
Police have arrested a 55-year-old man after he tried to strangle a
woman on New Year’s Eve. The 22-year-old woman is in hospital.
57
The man will appear in court tomorrow. Police want any wit-
nesses to contact them. The attack happened just after midnight
outside Reveler’s Nightclub.
3. __________________________________
The police are employing an ex-thief to help them fight crime.
‘Bob’, who is in his forties, has spent more than ten years in
jail for various crimes including burgling around 500 houses.
He now works with the police, helping them to give advice to
homeowners on how to stop potential burglars.
4. __________________________________
A 19-year-old woman has been caught smuggling drugs worth
£100,000. She has been sentenced to six months in prison. Cus-
toms officers stopped the woman as she was walking through Gat-
wick Airport. She was on her way home from holiday.
5. __________________________________
Police in one UK town have arrested more shoplifters in a week
than they would usually arrest in a year. More than 30 under-
cover and uniformed officers caught people who were stealing
from shops. The police arrested nearly 250 people.
 Viorica Corceac, Diana Cebotari
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. a) Complete the headlines with the words in the box.
arrest attempted crime detectives jailed thieves

• Man charged with ______________ murder.

• Woman _________________ for smuggling.
• _________________ puzzled by death.
• Police _____________ 250 _____________.
• Burglar helps police stop _______________.

b) Read the newspaper stories again and match the

headlines from the previous exercise to the correct story.

c) Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

Story 1: The police know how the woman was killed.
Story 2: The woman in the story isn’t dead.
Story 3: Bob doesn’t break into houses now.
Story 4: The woman was going on holiday when she was arrested.
Story 5: The police usually catch more than 250 shoplifters every
week.

2. Find words in the newspaper stories to match with

these definitions.
58 a. trying to find out the facts about something to learn the truth
about it (story 1)
b. to find something you didn’t know before (story 1)
English in use for Law-Enforcement

c. useful information that may help solve a crime (story 1)

d. (the police) took someone to a police station because it is be-
lieved that he/she committed a crime (story 2)
e. people who see a crime, accident, or other event happen (story
2)
f. giving work to someone (story 3)
g. possible or likely in the future (story 3)
h. with a value (usually in money) (story 4)
i. working secretly in order to catch criminals or get information
(story 5)