Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

7 Cracking the case

Types of crime

The police suspect that arson James was injured in the Todd is being blackmailed to
was the cause of the fire. violent assault. do something against his will.

Bribery is the act of giving My neighbour was a victim of a These banknotes are clearly a
someone money or gifts to burglary. Someone broke into forgery and not the real thing.
do something illegal. his house and stole his things.

He stole other people’s credit Call the police! That man is Be careful of pickpocketing

card details to commit fraud. kidnapping a baby! when you go out. Keep a close
eye on your belongings.

The woman was caught A police dog is checking the Vandalism is the deliberate
shoplifting. Many stolen items baggage to see if anyone is destruction of other
were found in her bag. smuggling drugs. people’s property.
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Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Practice
You are writing a play script about some police officers. Complete the play script with
the correct words about different types of crime on page 22.

Officer Tom: Sergeant, we found this man spraying graffiti on another person’s car.
What should we do with him?
Sergeant: Isn’t it obvious? Charge him with (1) ____________________.
Officer Phil: Sergeant, what about this one? He was caught trying to buy things
with fake banknotes.
Sergeant: That’s a clear-cut case of (2) ____________________.
Officer Tom: I’ve got another one here. This woman tried to pay off a government
official to look the other way and ignore her building code violations.
Sergeant: Well, that’s a case of (3) ____________________ then.
Officer Phil: What about this guy? He’s been calling elderly people and getting
them to divulge their credit card information.
Sergeant: He’s obviously guilty of (4) ____________________.
Officer Tom: Sergeant, this man was caught stealing things from other people’s
homes. What should I do with him?
Sergeant: You had better charge him with (5) ____________________.
Officer Phil: What should we do with this woman? A shop owner caught her trying
to sneak out of his shop with some of his goods in her pockets.
Sergeant: Well, that’s called (6) ____________________.
Officer Tom: Sergeant, I’ve got a difficult case here. Apparently, this man
intentionally set his rival’s business on fire.
Sergeant: That’s not hard at all! It’s clearly a case of (7)
____________________.
Officer Phil: What about this one? This man here knew that his boss was having
an affair, so he threatened to tell his boss’s wife unless he paid him
one million dollars. Is that really a crime?
Sergeant: Of course it is! That’s (8) ____________________.
Officer Tom: How about this kid? We caught stealing people’s wallets on the MTR.
Sergeant: That’s (9) ____________________. We can’t allow him to get away
with it.
Officer Phil: This man got into an argument with another man at a bar. He beat
him up really bad. What should I do with him?
Sergeant: You should arrest him for (10) _______________.
Officer Tom: Oh, this is terrible. This guy tried to steal another person’s child.
Sergeant: Isn’t it obvious? Arrest him for (11) ____________________!
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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Officer Phil: Excuse me, sir. This guy was caught hiding drugs in his suitcase at
the airport. He tried to bring them into Hong Kong.
Sergeant: Arrest that man for (12) _______________ then.
Officers: Understood!
Sergeant: How did you guys make it out of the police academy?

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Words related to crime and law

The suspect has no alibi. He The defendant was unhappy The man was stopped by the
cannot tell the police where he with the court’s decision and police and arrested for drink-
was at the time of the murder. decided to appeal. driving.

The police believe they have The investigator collects The police believe the suspect
caught the culprit of the crime. evidence at the crime scene. will crack under interrogation.

The jury listens intently to the He is currently serving a The man gave his testimony
case during the trial. sentence of two years in at the trial and told the court
prison. what he witnessed.

The lawyer believes he can win The jury delivered a verdict of The detective is asking the
the trial for his client and prove not guilty and the suspect was witness about what she saw.
her innocence. immediately released.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Practice
You are reading a transcript of a police interview with a murder suspect. However,
some of the words are unclear. Complete the transcript with the correct words
related to crime and law on page 24.

Police transcript
Interview with Jason Wong

Det. Wu: Mr Wong, you have been (1) _______________ for the murder of your
wife. You don’t have to answer any of my questions in this
(2) _______________, but it’ll go much better for you if you do. Do you
understand?
JW: You’ve got the wrong guy! I’m not the (3) _______________!
Det. Wu: Mr Wong, we’ve got a lot of (4) _______________ against you. We found
your hair and fingerprints all over the house.
JW: Of course you did. I live there!
Det. Wu: You also have no (5) _______________ for your whereabouts on the
night of the murder.
JW: I’ve already told you I was in the shower when it happened. Of course no
one saw me at that time! I rushed out of the shower when I heard my wife
scream. By the time I got to her, she was already dead with a knife in her
chest.
Det. Wu: How convenient for you. Now, Mr Wong, explain this. We talked to many
(6) _______________ around the crime scene. They all said you often
argued with your wife. Is that why you killed her? She got on your nerves,
didn’t she?
JW: I don’t deny that we argued from time to time. But don’t all married
couples do that? That doesn’t mean I murdered her!
Det. Wu: OK, Mr Wong. I can see that you’re not going to cooperate. In that case,
we’ll just have to let this go to (7) _______________ in a courtroom. I
expect the judge will have no problem giving you a/an
(8) _______________ of life in prison. And before you start having any
dreams of winning a/an (9) _______________, let me tell you that the
appellate court is even harsher with suspects like you!
JW: Oh, I have no problem going to court to be judged by a/an
(10) _______________. I’m sure that after they have heard my
(11) _______________, they’ll have no problem giving me a not guilty
(12) _______________.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Using collocations about crime

Collocation refers to combinations of words that often go together. Here are some
common forms of collations about crime.

adjective + noun
e.g. first-time offender, undercover agent, armed robbery

noun + noun
e.g. bank robber, murder victim/weapon, repeat offender, life sentence

verb + noun
e.g. break the law, fight crime, witness/report a crime, await trial

verb + adjective
e.g. keep safe, find guilty, plead guilty

noun + verb
e.g. an alarm rings, a gun fires

adverb + adjective
e.g. wrongfully convicted

Other collocations about crime:

Example sentences
1 There was an armed robbery here last night.
2 The suspect has to remain in prison while awaiting trial.
3 The bank robber stole a huge sum of money.
4 The police are increasing the frequency of their patrols in an effort to fight crime.
5 As Sherry is a first-time offender, she’ll probably receive a lighter sentence.
6 The suspect broke down and cried after he was found guilty.
7 They heard the sound of a gun firing.
8 Keep safe. Make sure your doors and windows are locked when you go out.
9 The prisoner is serving a life sentence for murder.
10 That man is an undercover agent investigating a criminal organization.
11 He witnessed a crime last night and called the police.
12 The man was finally released after being wrongfully convicted.

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Practice
You are reading the newspaper, but some of the words have got smudged in the
rain. Complete the news stories with the correct collocations about crime from the
example sentences on page 26.

Guilty verdict in robbery case

A bank (1) ____________________ was (2) ____________________ guilty by a jury
after the prosecution showed that the man robbed First National Bank at gunpoint in
July. The robbery was prevented that day because there was actually a/an
(3) ____________________ agent already at the scene in plain clothes. The
prosecution stated that (4) ____________________ robbery was a serious offence
and that the defendant should get a heavy prison sentence. In rebuttal, the defence
argued that since the defendant was a/an (5) ____________________ offender, who
had no criminal record, the judge should give a more lenient sentence. The sentence
will be handed out in one week.

Innocent man set free

Vincent Leung was finally set free today after five years in prison. Leung was
wrongfully (6) ____________________ of murdering his father. He had been serving
a/an (7) ____________________ sentence, but new DNA evidence on the murder
weapon used to kill the man later proved Leung’s innocence.

Community safety at risk

Yesterday, two serious crimes were reported, including arson in an antique shop and
shoplifting in a jeweller’s. The police have already arrested the suspects, who are
now (8) ____________________ next week. In light of the increasing criminal cases
in recent months, the police force appealed to the public to help report any
suspicious strangers and crimes in the community. ‘If you
(9) ____________________, don’t hesitate to call the police at once!’

Police step up efforts to (10) ____________________ crime

The police have announced plans to make certain neighbourhoods safer again. In
some poorer neighbourhoods, gangs often have turf wars in the streets. The sounds
of guns (11) _______________ are not uncommon. The police announced that they
want to change this situation, so they will be going in at full force in these
neighbourhoods. The police are urging regular citizens of these neighbourhoods to
(12) _______________ safe and stay indoors while this crackdown is occurring.

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Useful expressions
1 What line of work is he in? He is a forensic scientist.
2 First aiders arrived at the scene only minutes after the emergency call was
received.
3 Why are you bringing that up again? The case is closed.
4 They brought in their best detective to crack the case.
5 Don’t take everything at face value. Do some research and find out the whole
story.
6 We need to combat prejudice so that everyone will be treated equally.
7 Surprisingly, the host has a rather cold and unwelcoming demeanour.
8 I usually like to kill time by reading detective fiction.
9 If you witness a crime, you should report it to the police right away.
10 We have cause for concern as the crime rate in the city is soaring in recent
years.

Self-study list
Write down other words and expressions you have learnt in this unit.

Types of crime

Words related to crime and law

Using collocations about crime

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Know the text type

Detective story
The Missing Ring

I heard a knock on my door. I looked up from my case notes

on the murder I was investigating when in stepped a beautiful
Beginning: young woman. There was something familiar about her. She
introduce the looked flabbergasted, but was it all just a rouse? I had my
setting and
characters mental guard up from the start.

‘Are you Detective Smith?’ the blonde-haired woman asked

looking me up and down.

‘That’s what the name says on the door,’ I replied coolly.

‘Detective,’ she began, ‘you have to help me. My fiancé gave

me the most beautiful engagement ring you’ve ever seen. It
was surely the envy of every woman in town. But it’s gone
missing now. I have no idea what happened to it.’

‘Is that so?’ I said. ‘Leave it to me, and I’ll crack this case.’

‘Oh, that’s so wonderful,’ the woman said. ‘I’m sure it was

Main body: that Helen Ng! She’s been trying to steal my man from the
describe the
mystery and how day I first met him. She must be the culprit!’
the detective
goes about ‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ I replied.
solving it. You can
use techniques ‘Well, if it wasn’t her, then who could it be?’ the woman said.
such as red
herring, plot twist, ‘You’re not going to like the answer,’ I said as I stood up,
double identity,
etc. gathering my case file.

Walking towards the woman, who gave me a funny look, I

took a deep breath of her cheap perfume. I had smelt it a
mile away, but I had to be sure. ‘Well, isn’t it obvious?’ I said.
‘You’re the one who stole the ring, and I suspect that you
killed Helen and her fiancé too!’ I threw the crime scene
photos at her.

‘Ridiculous!’ the woman screamed.

‘You were never engaged to the man,’ I said, ‘and you were
Ending: reveal mad with jealousy. I can see it in your eyes and I smelt your
the culprit
perfume at the crime scene. You’re going to prison for the
rest of your life!’
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Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Writing task
You want to write a detective story for the Reading Club. Use the useful phrases and
expressions, the writing tips and the brainstorming section on the next page to help
you.

Useful phrases and expressions

… was stolen/killed/disappeared …
breakthrough in the case …
DNA tests prove that …
question/interrogate the suspect/witness …
found evidence of…
… gave him/her away …
eyewitness testimony stated …
all of a sudden/out of the blue/came out of nowhere …
time was running out …
It suddenly dawned on him/her that …
It was obvious that …
the final piece of the puzzle

Writing tips
Before writing your detective story, think about the evidence and clues that will
lead the detective to the culprit. Map them out to make sure they are logical and
make sense.

Think about what features of detective story you would like to include, such as
red herring, double identity, doomed confessor, etc.

Create suspense in your story to make readers excited about finding out what
will happen next.

Control the pace of your story. At times, you may need to speed up or slow
down the story depending on the action.

Include a plot twist, if possible, to shock and surprise your audience. However,
make sure that the twist is reasonable and ties in with the rest of the story.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 3B Unit 7

Brainstorming
Use the following guideline to help you come up with ideas for your detective story.

What is the setting of the story? When and where does it take place?

Who are the main characters? Think about the victim, the detective, the
suspects, the witnesses and the culprit.

What is the conflict or problem of the story? What sort of crime has
occurred? What clues and evidence are there?

What sort of features of a detective story do you want to include?

Is it possible to include a plot twist? If so, what is it?

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