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CRIME is an act or the commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law,

Criminology deals with crimes and criminals, Name as many crimes as you can remember. Work in teams and compare your lists with those of other teams.

Chapter П. Crime and Punishment

L aw Breakers

TASK 1. Match each word on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:

1. an arsonist

2. a shop-lifter

3. a mugger

4. an offender

5. a vandal

6. a burglar

7. a murderer

8. a kidnapper

9. a pickpocket

10. an accomplice

11. a drug dealer

12. a spy

13. a terrorist

14. an assassin

15. a hooligan

16. a stowaway IV) a thief

18. a hijacker

19. a forger

20. a robber

21. a smuggler

22. a traitor

23. a gangster

1. attacks and robs people, often in the street

2. sets fire to property illegally

3. is anyone who breaks the law

4. breaks into houses

or other buildings to steal

5. steals from shops while acting as an ordinary customer

6. kills someone

7. deliberately causes damage to property

h) steals things from people's pockets

in crowded places i) gets secret information from

another country j) buys and sells drugs illegally k) takes away people by force

and demands money for their return 1) helps a criminal in a criminal act m) uses violence for political reasons n) causes damage or disturbance

in public places o) hides on a ship or plane to get

a free journey p) takes control of a plane by force

and makes the pilot change course q) murders for political reasons

or a reward

r) is someone who steals s) makes counterfeit (false) money

or signatures

t) is a member of a criminal group u) steals money, etc. by force

from people or places v) marries illegally, being married

already w) is a soldier who runs away

from the army

38

24. a deserter

25. a bigamist

26. a drug smuggler

Just English, Английский для юристов

x ) brings goods into a country illegally

without paying tax y) illegally carries drugs

into another country z) betrays his or her country

to another state

T ASK 2. Continue the following table with the words from Task 1 where possible. The first few are done for you> Consult the dictionary when necessary:

Crime	Criminal	Criminal Act
treason	traitor	to betray
theft	thief	to steal
murder	murderer	to murder

Just for Fun

Thieves respect property; they merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.

G. K, Chesterton

K OLE-PLA У Let's Do Justice!

Work in pairs. Each pair should consist of a 'criminal* (choose your role from the list above) and a 'defence lawyer⁷. STEP 1. The lawyer questions his client (the criminal) and

finds out all the circumstances of the crime. STEP 2, The lawyer delivers a speech trying to establish his

client's innocence. STEP 3. The rest of the group — the jurors — deliberate the

evidence and bring in a verdict.

_j

Chapter II, Crime and Punishment

U NIT 3. THE CAUSES OF CRIME

TASK I- Match the following headings with the sections of the text belovx

9 Psychological and psychiatric theories

о Biological theories

* Multiple causation theory

« Social environment theories

9 Theological and ethical theories

« Climatic theory

No one knows why crime occurs. The oldest theory, based nn theology.and ethics, is that criminals are" perverse persons who deliberately commit crimes or, who do so at the instigation of the devil or other evil spirits. Although this idea has been discarded by modern criminologists, it persists among iminfonncd people and provides the rationale for the harsh punishments still meted out to criminals in many parts of the world.

2. Since the 18^th century, various scientific theories have been advanced to explain crime. One of the first efforts to explain crime on scientific, rather than theological, grounds was made at the end of the 18^th century by the German physician and anatomist Eranz Joseph Gall, who tried to establish relationships between skull structure and criminal proclivities.-This theory, popular during the 19^th century, is now discredited and has been abandoned. A more sophisticated theory — a biological one — was developed late in the 19^th century by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who asserted that crimes were committed by person;:; who are born with certain recognizable hereditary physical traits. Lombroso's theory was disproved early in the-20^th century by the British criminologist Charles Goring. Goring's comparative study ot jailed criminals and law-abiding persona established that so-called criminal types, with innate dispositions to crime, do not exist: Recent scientific studies have tended to confirm Goring's findings. Some investigators still hold, however, that specific abnormalities-of the brain and of the endocrine system contribute to a person's inclination toward criminal activity, .

3. Another approach to an explanation of crime was initiated by the French political philosopher Montesquieu, who attempted to relate criminal behavior to natural, or physical environment

40 Just English. Английский для юристов

H is successors have gathered evidence tending to show that crimes against person, such as homicide, are relatively more numerous in warm climates, whereas crimes against properly, such us theft, are more frequent in cuider regions. Other studies seem to indicate that the incidence uf crime declines in direct ratio to ct.rops in barometric pressure, to increased humidity, and to higher temperature.

{4} Many prominent criminologists of the.X3^lh century, particularly those associated with the Socialist movement, aU neuter! crime mainly to the influence of poverty; They pointed out that persons who are .unable to provide adequately for themselves and their families through normal legal channels are frequently driven to theft, burglary, prostitution, and.other offences. The incidence nf crime especially tends to¹ rise in times of widespread unemployment. Present-day criminologists take a broader and deeper view; they place the blame for most crimes on the whole range of environmental conditions associated with poverty. The living conditions of the poor, particularly of those in slumtj, are characterized by overcrowding, lack of privacy» inadequate play space and recreational facilities, and poor sanitation. Such conditions engender feelings of deprivation and hopelessness and are conducive to crime as a* means of escape. The feeling is encouraged by the example .set by those who have escaped to what appears to be the better way of hie made possible by crime.

Some theorists relate the incidence of crime to the general state of a culture, especially the impact of economic crises, wars, and revolutions and the general sense of insecurity and uprootedness to which these forces give rise. As-a society becomes more unsettled and its people more restless and fearful of the future, the crime rate tends to rise. This is particularly true of juvenile crime, as the experience of the United States since World War II has made evident.

(5) The final major group of theories are psychological and psychiatric. Studies by such 20^th century investigators as the American criminologist Bernard Glueck and the British psychiatrist William Healy have indicated that about one-fourth of a typical convict population is psychotic, neurotic, or emotionally unstable and another one-fourth is mentally deficient. 'These emotional and mental conditions do not automatically make people criminals, but do, it is believed, make them more prone to criminality, Recent studies of criminals have thrown further light on the kinds oi emotional disturbances that may lead to criminal behavior.

Chapter IL Crime and Punishment 41

( 6) Since the mid-2O^th century, the notion that crime can be explained by any single theory has fallen into disfavour among investigators. Instead, experts incline to so-called multiple factor, or multiple causation theories. They reason that crime springs from a multiplicity of conflicting and converging influences — biological, psychological, cultural, economic and political. The multiple causation explanations seem more credible than the earlier, simpler theories. An understanding of the causes of crime is still elusive, however, because the interrelationship of causes is difficult to determine.

TASK 2. Write down Russian equivalents for the words and expressions in hold type, given in the text above.

TASK 3. Find in the texts above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions and reproduce the context in which they were used:

1, мошенничество

2. кража

,1 убийство 4. кража со взломом

Г), сравнительный анализ преступников и законопослушных граждан

6. соотнести преступное поведение с факторами окружаю­ щей среды

7. преступления против человека

8. преступления против собственности 0. совершать преступления умышленно

10. некоторые узнаваемые наследуемые черты П. выдающиеся ученые-криминологи

12. ряд условий

13. уровень преступности

14. быть склонным к преступной деятельности

15. пролить свет на проблему

16. теория многообразия факторов

17. достоверная теория

TASK 4. Find in the text all word combinations with the following words:

<» research • study ♦ theory

42 Just English. Английский для юристов

R eproduce the contexts in which they were used. Make up your own sentences with these words.

TASK 5. Answer the following questions:

1. What concepts formed the basis of the earliest crirainological theories?

2. How did the biological theories develop?

3. What was Montesquieu's approach to causes of crime?

4. What views on crime predominated in the 19^Lh century?

5. How did criminological theories develop in the 20^Lh century?

6. What is the relationship between the mental and emotional state of a person and his or her inclinations to crime?

7. What are the latest views on the causes of crime?

TASK 6\ Render the following passage into English paying special attention to the words and expressions in bold type:

Преступность и ее причины

Преступность и ее причины могут быть изучены на индиви­дуальном, групповом и социальном уровнях. Им, следовательно, могут быть даны психологическое, социологическое п философ­ское объяснения. Эти объяснения не противоречат друг другу, а дополняют одно другое, позволяя проанализировать причины преступности с различных сторон.

Рассматривая эту проблему на индивидуальном уровне, можно обозначить причины преступности как конфликт поведе­ния человека с социальной средой-

Когда человек попадает в проблемную ситуацию, он часто не находит решения возникших сложностей и выбирает преступ­ный путь.

Ио возникает естественный вопрос: а почему личность фор­мируется таким образом? И почему возникают проблемные ситу­ации, ставящие человека перед трудным выбором? Ответить на эти вопросы невозможно, если не обратиться к изучению совре­менного общества. При этом очевидно, что в качестве причин преступности выступают и социально-экономические, и полити­ческие , и духовные факторы, тесно связанные друг с другом.

Обстоятельствами, ведущими к преступному поведению, считаются; антиобщественное поведение родителей; алкоголизм

C hapter II. Crime and Punishment 43

и нервно-психические заболевания родителей; низкий уровень культуры в семье.

Негативными особенностями личности и поведения считают­ся; прежняя судимость; совершение иных противоправных пос­тупков; негативное отношение к нравственным ценностям; злоб­ность, грубость и мстительность; пьянство, употребление нарко­тиков, азартные игры.

Итак, после того, как мы узнали о криминологии достаточно многое, нетрудно заключить, что преступность может возникнуть на основе взаимодействия личности м социальной среды.