Crime 2: Name of the offence CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR LAW

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR LAW

Crime 2: Name of the offence

Look at these situations, then decide which crime has been, or is being, committed in each case. These crimes can all be found in Crime 1 on page 29, but try to do this exercise first without referring back. In some cases, more than one option is possible. (Note that you do not need to use all of the crimes from page 29). 1 TV Newsreader: Police believe the fire was started deliberately at around 2 o'clock this morning when burning paper was pushed through the letterbox. They are appealing for witnesses to the event. 2 Crown Prosecutor: Tell us in your own words exactly what happened. Witness: We were in the bar when a man walked up to the victim, pointed a gun at his head and said 'You're a dead man.' Then he pulled the trigger three times. 3 Police constable: You were going in excess of 60, and this is a 30 zone. Man in car: I think you're mistaken, constable. I was well within the speed limit. 4 Woman: When I got home, I discovered that my back door had been broken open. Police officer: Had anything been stolen? Woman: Yes, my new laptop, £200 in cash and my pet parrot. 5 Police officer: I'm sorry sir, but I have to report your actions to the proper authorities. Man: Look, officer, here's £50. Let's just pretend this didn't happen, eh? 6 Extract from a newspaper article: The two men were arrested and detained after police checks revealed that they had been distributing pornographic material over the Internet. 7 Interviewing detective: All right, Dagsy. We know you didn't do the Cornmarket Street bank job yourself, but we know that you were involved somehow. Police suspect: I was just driving the car Mr Regan, honest. And I didn't know what the others were up to until they came back with bags of cash. 8 TV newsreader: The car bomb went off in a busy marketplace, injuring several shoppers. 9 Radio newsreader: The police raided a house in New Street this morning and recovered 250 illegal copies of the latest Harry Potter film, along with professional film copying equipment. 10 Man reading newspaper: I don't believe it. The Foreign Minister has been caught giving government secrets to another country! 11 Political agitator: Now is the time to rise up and overthrow the running dogs that call themselves our government. Death to the Prime Minister and his cronies! Death to the Royal Family! Death to the system that bleeds us dry and abandons us! Unwashed anarchist hordes: Hooray! 12 Shop assistant: I can't accept this £20 note, madam. It's a fake. Customer: What? You mean it's counterfeit? Shop assistant: I'm afraid so. Do you have any other means of payment? 13 Extract from a newspaper article: The investigation into the rail accident confirmed that it occurred because the rail company had failed to maintain the tracks properly over a five-year period. Eight people died when the train left the tracks and hit an embankment. 14 Police officer: Take your time and tell me what happened, dear. Pensioner: The man who came to my door said he had come to read the electric meter, so I let him in. I went to the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. When I returned he had gone, and so had my television. 15 TV newsreader: A journalist working in the city disappeared this morning. Police later received a note from a militant faction claiming that they had taken him and were holding him hostage. 16 Woman: The graffiti around here is getting really bad. Last week somebody wrote 'Chelsea are rubbish' on our garden wall. Man: That's not good. It should say 'Chelsea are complete rubbish'. 17 Man: Look at this note, Cheri. It arrived in the post today. It says 'Leave £10,000 in cash in the bin by the bus stop, or I'll tell everyone your dirty secret'. Woman: Don't worry about it, Tony. It's probably another little joke from him next door. 18 Prosecuting lawyer: Tell us again what happened on the night of the incident, Mr Williams. And let me remind you that you are still under oath. Defendant: Like I told you, I was at home asleep, so I have no idea what happened. Prosecuting lawyer: Don't lie, Mr Williams. We have video evidence that you were in the nightclub until 3am. And you were seen by several witnesses. 19 Defendant: I don't recognise this court. This trial shouldn't be taking place. Judge: Sit down, Mr Dowling. You are out of order. Defendant: Oh shut up, you silly old woman. Go back home and do some washing up or something. 20 Accountant: We've audited these accounts very carefully, and they just don't add up. Office manager: What exactly are you saying? Accountant: I'm saying that someone in your office has been secretly helping themselves to company money. 21 TV presenter: Jimmy Bond, a former government intelligence agent, has just published a book about the Intelligence Service called 'Lifting the Lid'. In it, he gives us a revealing insight into the life of a secret agent. The government have strongly condemned the book, claiming it contains classified information that should not be in the public domain. 22 Magistrate: Constable, could you explain what happened? Police constable: I was proceeding down Newland Street at approximately 8 o'clock last night when I heard a lot of shouting coming from The Newlands Inn public house. On entering, I saw the accused in a state of undress and dancing on a table. Magistrate: You mean he was naked? Police constable: Yes. As the day he was born. 23 Radio newsreader: The judge in the trial of notorious gangster Joe 'Pinko' Pallino adjourned the court today after it was revealed that several members of the jury had been offered bribes and other incentives to pass a verdict of 'not guilty' on Mr Pallino. 24 TV presenter: A bank account was opened in a false name in the Bahamas, and the cash deposited there. The funds were then sent by telegraphic transfer to another account in Switzerland, and the Bahamas account was closed. It was at this stage that the Metropolitan Police called in Interpol.

 

ANSWER KEY