Some Definitions of Criminal Acts

• Arson: Purposely setting fire to a house or other building or vehicle.

• Assault: Threatening to do, or trying to do, or actually doing bodily harm to another person.

• Blackmail: Demanding money from somebody in return for not revealing secret or unpleasant information about them.

• Bribery: Giving or receiving a reward for a dishonest action, such as a policeman accepting money from someone who has committed a crime, so that the person will not be prosecuted.

• Burglary: Entering the premises of another person with intent to commit a crime within; or, having entered the premises of another, then committing a crime.

• Disorderly conduct: Behaving in such a way that the quiet and comfort of other people is disturbed or their sense of what is right and decent is offended.

• Forgery: Signing another person’s name, or changing something that is written on a cheque or document. This is done by a dishonest person in order to get something that is not rightfully his or hers or to win some other advantage.

• Fraud, also known as Theft by Fraud: Cheating another person out of something he or she owns.

• Hijacking: Seizing control of a vehicle, especially an aircraft, in order to force it to go to a new destination or demand something from a government in return for the safety of its passengers and crew.

• Joy Riding: Going for a ride in a motor vehicle without the owner’s permission. This is a crime even if the vehicle is returned.

• Kidnapping: Taking away (a child or a person) and keeping him/her by force (usually asking for money to be paid before he/she is released).

• Larceny/ Stealing/ Theft: Taking something that belongs to another person without that person’s consent. Larceny is the term used for theft in the United States.

• Mugging: Attacking somebody (e.g. in a dark street, a lift, an empty corridor, etc.) violently and robbing.

• Murder: Intentionally or recklessly killing another human being. Homicide simply means killing a human being. Manslaughter is killing a human being without malice. It is not murder, according to the law, to kill someone accidentally or in self-defence, or to kill an enemy of one’s country in time of war.

• Perjury: Telling a lie after swearing to tell the truth, usually in a court of law.

• Pickpocketing: Stealing money or things from people’s pockets or bags in public places.

• Rape: Unlawful sexual intercourse with a female, by force or without consent.

• Robbery: Taking something away from another person by force, or frightening that person into letting it be taken.

• Shoplifting: Stealing from a shop by hiding things in a bag or in the clothes.

Task 9. Think of the words to fill the gaps; translate the text.

People who b… the law are c… . There are many different types of c… . S… means to take something which is not yours. The person who does this is a th… . If you steal something from a shop which is small and easy to hide, we call it sh… . If you enter a house or office by force (by breaking the window, for example) this is a b… . If you steal something from somebody by being violent – so you attack them and take their money – this is m… . The word “m…” is only used if the crime happens outside.

There are many other types of c… . If you take control of an aircraft by force and demand money or other things, this is a h…. A m… is when one person deliberately kills another person. If a person commits a serious crime he or she may be sent to p… . For less important crimes people sometimes have to pay a f…, which means that they must pay money.

Task 10. Respond to the statements, say what crime he/she was charged with.

Pattern: - He broke into the house.

- He was charged with burglary.

1. He killed his wife.

2. She stole clothes and jewellery from the department store.

3. The man on the motorbike didn’t mean to kill the boy.

4. He took the money from her bag.

5. He set fire to his neighbour’s house.

6. He took his uncle’s car without his permission to go for a ride.

7. They broke the window and entered the house while the owners were away.

8. He attacked an elderly lady in the lift and snatched the purse from her hand.

Task 11. Choose the word from the box to describe crimes in these situations.

burglary arson vandalism terrorism

forgery blackmail smuggling fraud rape

mugging kidnapping drug pushing shoplifting

1. He threatened to send the love letters to her husband unless she gave him 500 pounds.

2. The telephone box had been smashed, the young trees broken.

3. An old man has been attacked and robbed in a city street. He is recovering in hospital.

4. Department stores lose millions of pounds each year through goods being stolen off the shelves.

5. Thieves broke into the house while the family was away on holiday.

6. The young woman was sexually attacked as she walked across the dark park late at night.

7. He watched with satisfaction as the fire he lit burnt down the factory. “That’ll make them wish they’d never given me the sack,” he thought.

8. It was a perfect copy. It was so good, in fact, that it could even fool an expert.

9. The bank believed her to be trustworthy. They had no reason to suspect that she had transferred thousands of pounds to false accounts.

10. If you want to see your child again, put $50.000 in an old suitcase and wait for further instructions.

11. George gave the man 50 pounds in return for a small packet of heroin.

12. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and people were sitting outside the cafe enjoying the sunshine. Then the bomb went off.

13. “If only I hadn’t brought these watches through customs,” she thought as she sat crying in the police station.

Task 12. What do you call the criminals who commit these crimes? Choose the words from the box to complete the sentences.

a burglar a smuggler a shoplifter an arsonist

a kidnapper a hijacker a thief a forger

a mugger a fraudster a robber a murderer

1. … sets fire to buildings/forests on purpose.

2. … takes someone by force and doesn’t release them.

3. … gains money or financial benefits by a trick or by lying.

4. … breaks into a building in order to steal things.

5. … copies works of art/documents/signatures/etc to deceive people.

6. … takes things into or out of a country illegally.

7. … intentionally kills another person.

8. … steals things from a shop while pretending to be a customer.

9. … steals money or property from a bank/shop/vehicle/etc using force or threats.

10. … illegally takes control of a plane or other vehicle using force.

11. … steals another person’s property.

12. … attacks someone violently in a street in order to steal money from them.

Task 13. Fill the gaps with the right form of either “rob” or “steal”.

1. Last night an armed gang … the post office. They … 2000 pounds.

2. My handbag … at the theatre yesterday.

3. Every year large numbers of banks …

4. My first offence was … a pair of binoculars.

5. The only way he could get the money was … a shop.

6. A masked man … a bank last night.

7. A large sum of money … from the bank in High Street.

Task 14. Read the case history and decide which offences Jack Thatcher has committed.

Like his father, Jack Thatcher was a jailbird¹ – at the age of 40 he has spent most of his life in prison for various offences of violence and theft. He comes from a broken home, has had no real education and has never had a job. The only way he knows how to make money is by stealing it. When he came out of prison last week, he decided to rob a village post office. During the robbery, the postmaster tried to ring the alarm, so Jack hit him on the head with his gun. At that moment a customer came into the post office. She screamed². In panic, Jack shouted at her to keep quiet. When she continued to scream, he shot her. Jack thought quickly. He took a box of matches from his pocket and set fire to the building, then escaped³ with the money.

____________

¹jailbird /'GeIlbE:d/ - уголовник, закоренелый преступник

²to scream /skrJm/ - пронзительно кричать

³to escape /I'skeIp/ - бежать, совершать побег

Task 15. Arrange the following crimes into two groups: a) crimes against people, b) crimes involving things or property.

Murder, rape, assault causing grievous bodily harm, mugging, robbery, burglary, car theft, homicide, arson, blackmail, embezzlement, fraud, pickpocketing, shoplifting, stealing.

Task 16. Match the beginnings and the endings of the sentences; translate the sentences.

1. Harold Jones was sent a. before he was arrested.

2. The rapist had committed b. several previous attacks.

3. The hijacker demanded c. broken the law in my life!

4. He had mugged d. you may have to pay a fine.

5. If you break the law e. to prison for twelve years.

6. The thief stole f. two people before.

7. I’m innocent! I’ve never g.to be flown to another country.

8. He has committed two murders h. diamonds worth £ 200,000.

Task 17. Complete the chart.

crime	criminal	verb
blackmail drug-trafficking robbery burglary shoplifting	terrorist pickpocket arsonist smuggler kidnapper	to forge to mug to hijack to murder to steal

Task 18. Practise the following for pronunciation.

regulate /'regjVleIt/ distribution /"dIstrI'bjHSn/

corporate /'kLpqrqt/ monopoly /mq'nPpqli/

health /helT/ guarding /'gRdIN/

welfare /'welfeq/ gambling /'gxmblIN/

impure /Im'pjVq/ legalized /'lJgqlaIzd/

politician /"pPlI'tISn/ narcotics /nR'kPtIks/

racketeer /"rxkI'tIq/ trafficking /'trxfIkIN/

merchant /'mE:Cqnt/ supplier /sq'plaIq/

Task 19. Read and translate the text.