A Detective

In Britain a detective is a police officer who, like other police officers, tries to prevent crime where possible. But when a crime has been committed his job is to investigate, to discover what has happened, to identify and arrest the culprit. Unlike other police officers, the detectives do not wear a uniform; they usually work in civilian clothes. Within the police organization the detectives enjoy a higher standing than other officers.

There are also private detectives, who are independent of the police and are hired by the public or companies to investigate particular cases.

The detective is greatly helped in his work by forensic science – the scientific investigation of crime – which can reveal clues invisible to the naked eye. Fingerprint evidence is vitally important, but many suspects are now convicted as a result of DNA profiling, a recent development that can identify a person from a single body cell – for example, from hair or blood – left at the scene of a crime. However, much of a detective’s work still involves asking people questions to get as much information as possible about a crime.

Typically, a detective works in a small team of about three or four officers based at a police station. Their job is to investigate crimes that take place in the local area. These crimes include burglaries, assaults on people and robberies.

The victim of a crime can be the most useful source of information leading to solving a case. If the victim is not present when the crime takes place, the search for other witnesses becomes vitally important. The detective needs also to consider the care and support of the victim, as he or she may be distressed or injured. An investigation also involves visiting the scene, where preserving the clues present is among the detective’s top priorities. A successful investigation will result in the arrest of the person who committed the offence. The evidence gathered will be collated by the detective and passed on to the public official responsible for prosecuting the case in court.

Task 35. Find the English equivalents for the following word combinations; memorize them.

1. арестовать преступника

2. работать в гражданской одежде

3. не зависеть от кого-либо

4. обнаружить улики, невидимые невооруженным глазом

5. сопоставление результатов проверки по ДНК

6. поиск свидетелей

7. сохранение улик

8. дело первостепенной важности

9. изучить, сравнить, сопоставить вещественные доказательства

Task 36. Match the words with similar meanings.

A: B:

to discover to arrest

a culprit to clear up

a crime to disclose

clues an offence

to apprehend to find

to reveal a criminal

to convict evidence

to solve to find guilty

Task 37. Complete the following word combinations that name the actions of a detective; use them in sentences of your own.

1. to prevent … 6. to get …

2. to investigate … 7. to visit …

3. to identify … 8. to preserve …

4. to arrest … 9. to collate …

5. to ask … 10. to search for …

Task 38. Practise the following for pronunciation.

internal /In'tE:nl/ apprehend /"xprI'hend/

operative /'PpqrqtIv/ suspect /'sAspekt/

vital /vaItl/ eyewitness /'aI"wItnIs/

guardian /'gRdIqn/ reconstruct /"rJkqn'strAkt/

resourcefulness /rI'zLsfqlnIs/ psychology /saI'kPlqGi/

initiative /I'nISqtIv/ inspire /In'spaIq/

patience /'peISns/ law-abiding /'lL q"baIdIN/

Task 39. Read and translate the text.