At the police station

A: Good afternoon, madam. What can I do for you?

B: I want to report a theft. My bicycle has been stolen.

A: Right. I’ll just take some details. What is your name?

B: Mary Jones.

A: When and where did the theft take place?

B: About half an hour ago at the greengrocer’s on Main Street.

A: Now, can you tell me exactly what happened?

B: I was buying some fruit. My bicycle was outside. When I went outside again, my bicycle was gone.

A: Did anyone witness the theft, madam?

B: I am not sure. There were some people passing by. But I can hardly give their descriptions.

A: Please fill in this form with your details and a description of your bicycle.

B: Certainly.

Task 25. Complete the dialogue.

A: …

B: I want to report a theft. My wallet has been stolen.

A: …

B: Michael Crawford.

A: …

B: About 15 minutes ago at the Cornmill Café on Chapel Street.

A: …

B: Well… I was drinking a cup of coffee. My wallet was on the table. I left the table for a moment and when I returned, my wallet was gone.

A: …

B: I don’t think so.

A: ...

B: Certainly.

Task 26. Take roles and make up similar dialogues about the stolen objects: a camera, a handbag, a car.

Task 27. Practise the following for pronunciation.

entirely /In'taIqli/ persistently /pq'sIstqntli/

dispatcher /dI'spxCq/ slightly /'slaItli/

emergency /I'mE:Gqnsi/ although /Ll'DqV/

generate /'GenqreIt/ reassure /"rIq'SVq/

self-initiated /"selfI'nISieItId/ psychologically /"saIkq'lPGIkqli/

frequently /'frJkwqntli/ satisfaction /"sxtIs'fxkSn/

disruptive /dIs'rAptIv/ request /rI'kwest/

Task 28. Read and translate the text.

Patrol work

Patrol work is determined almost entirely by what the public asks the police to do. Driving slowly around their assigned beats, patrol officers wait for radio dispatchers to relay calls that have come over the well known police emergency telephone numbers (911 in the United States and Canada; 999 in Britain; 000 in Australia)

In cities over 90% of the work of patrol officers is generated by dispatch. Self-initiated work occurs more frequently in less developed and rural areas. Stopping motor vehicles that have violated traffic laws accounts for the largest portion of self-generated work, at least in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Patrol officers spend the rest of their time discouraging behavior that officers view as disruptive or unseemly. Typical instances are drunks sleeping in front of doorways, young men drinking beer on a street corner and making rude remarks, people playing rock music at a high volume late at night in an apartment, homeless people begging, a dog barking persistently late at night.

Patrolling on foot by uniformed officers appears to be slightly more useful. Although it does not affect the amount of crime, it does reassure the public psychologically, reducing their fear of crime and increasing their satisfaction with police service. In other words, police foot patrols make people feel better.

Very little of the work patrol officers do has to do with crime. British and US studies have shown that not more than 25% of all calls to the police are about crime. 85% of these reports have to do with property crime, such as burglary or theft. Moreover, what is initially reported by the public as crime is often found not to be crime by the police who respond. Residents of a low-income apartment building may tell the police dispatcher that there is “a man with a gun on the fourth floor” – when in fact, a child has been trapped in an elevator that is stuck between the floors. Lonely elderly people may report burglaries in progress so that police will come and talk with them for a while. Thus the real proportion of requests to the police that involve crime may be more like 7-10%.

Task 29. Find the English equivalents for the following word combinations; memorize them.

1. объезжать закрепленный для патрулирования район

2. работа, выполняемая по собственной инициативе

3. влиять на количество преступлений

4. психологически успокаивать кого-либо

5. снижать чувство страха, вызываемого преступностью

6. касаться, иметь отношение к чему-то

7. имущественные преступления

8. сообщить о происходящей краже со взломом

9. обращение в полицию

Task 30. Answer the questions.

1. What is patrol work determined by?

2. What calls do radio dispatchers relay to patrol officers?

3. What part of the work of patrol officers in cities is generated by dispatch?

4. Who initiates the work of the police in rural areas?

5. What kind of behaviour do patrol officers try to discourage?

6. Why do police foot patrols make people feel better?

7. What amount of calls to the police is connected with the crimes?

8. What crimes are most frequently reported to the police?

Task 31. Match the parts of the sentences; translate them into Russian.

1. Police assigned beats are a) some activity you do without

` other people telling you what to

do.

2. Emergency telephone numbers b) something done to cause noise,

are problems, interruptions, etc.

3. Self-initiated work is c) areas for which the police officers

are responsible and around which

they regularly walk or drive during their duty hours.

4. To violate traffic laws means d) an offence against somebody’s

possession or possessions.

5. Disruptive behavior is e) to break the rules according to

which vehicles move along the road.

6. Property crime is f) the ones people dial in situations requiring immediate actions.

Task 32. Look through the text and render its contents in Russian.