Crime and punishment
Types of crime, criminals and crime verbs
robbery / robber / to rob a bank/a person/a tourist col
theft / thief plural thieves / to steal somebody’s wallet/purse BrE/mobile phone/cell phone AmE/ car
burglary / burglar / to break into/burgle a house/a home/an apartment col/PHR
mugging / mugger / to mug = the crime of attacking somebody violently, or threatening to do so, in order to steal their money, especially in a public place
shoplifting / shoplifter / to shoplift
smuggling / smuggler / to smuggle
kidnapping / kidnapper / to kidnap = to take somebody away illegally and keep them as a prisoner, especially in order to get money or something else for returning them
fraud / fraudster / -
bribery / - / to bribe = the giving or taking of bribes = a sum of money or something valuable that you give or offer to somebody to persuade them to help you, especially by doing something dishonest
murder / murderer / to murder
homicide = AmE the crime of murder
arson / arsonist / -
vandalism / vandal / to vandalize / (to commit) an act of mindless vandalism
looting / looter / to loot
terrorism / terrorist / (to commit) an act of terrorism
a political prisoner col/term = someone who is sent to prison by their own government because it does not approve of their beliefs or actions
a common prisoner col = ordinary, with no special status or rank; negative term
a hardened criminal col/wf = showing no regret for their crimes
a persistent offender col/wf from ‘to persist’ | ‘to offend’ = = a person who continues to commit crimes after they have been caught and punishe
a convicted criminal col
juvenile delinquency TERM/WF juvenile delinquent → juvenile delinquency
young offender col/wf = a criminal who, according to the law, is not yet an adult but no longer a child: a young offender institution
antisocial behavior wf social → antisocial = harmful or annoying to other people, or to society in general
underage drinking col/wf ager → underage
Breaking the law
to break the law col = to fail to obey a rule or law
to bend the rules idiom = to change the rules to suit a particular person or situation
to commit a crime/an offence col
offence = an illegal act
petty/serious crime
street crime
vehicle crime / vehicle theft = the crime of stealing something from a person or place
to be involved in repeated crime
(to have) a criminal record term = an official list of crimes that someone has committed: We have to check whether applicants have a criminal record.
Protesting against
to take to the streets IDIOM
to take/resort to industrial action TERM (when workers act in a way that is intended to force an employer to agree to something, especially by stopping work)
to resort to sth PHR = to make use of something, especially something bad, as a means of achieving something, often because there is no other possible solution
to protest against/about e.g. (rigid) class distinctions TERM (differences between social groups in terms of their access to power and opportunity in the society)
to boil over into sth phr SYN to explode = is a situation or feelings boil over, people cannot control their anger and start to fight or argue: Racial tension finally boiled over in the inner city riots.
inner-city unrest TERM (a political situation in which people protest or behave violently / an area near the centre of a large city where a lot of poverty and other social problems exist)
riot = a violent protest by a crowd of people
a riot erupts/breaks out col
public disorder = violent behaviour of large groups of people
an outbreak of rioting and public disorder
to incite crime/racial hatred/violence col = to encourage somebody to do something violent, illegal or unpleasant, especially by making them angry or excited: They were accused of inciting the crowd to violence.
The legal process / Sentencing and punishment
to witness a crime col
to report sth (a crime) to the police COL/PREP = to tell the police or someone in authority that an accident or crime has happened
to carry out an investigation into smth col/prep = to conduct an investigation
to collect/gather evidence col
to question a suspect/witness col
to solve the case col
to appear in court col/prep = to be present in court in order to give evidence or answer a charge
to stand/go on trial for smth col/prep =
to reach a verdict col
to receive a fair trial col
to suffer the consequences col
to be severely punished col
to deserve harsh punishment col
to deal with smb firmly PHR/col (e.g. with offenders)
to convict smb OF smth = to decide and state officially in court that somebody is guilty of a crime
OPP to acquit smb OF smth = to decide and state officially in court that somebody is not guilty of a crime
conviction FOR smth wf/prep = the act of finding somebody guilty of a crime in court; the fact of having been found guilty: She has six previous convictions for theft.
to fine sb (£500) = make sb pay money as punishment for a crime they have committed: He was fined £1,000.
to pay/face a heavy (=one that costs a lot of money) fine col = a sum of money that must be paid as punishment for breaking a law or rule
to send sb TO prison (FOR 10 years) COL/PREP
to sentence sb TO (10 years) in prison COL/PREP = when a judge decides what a person’s punishment should be after they have been convicted of a crime: The two men were sentenced to six months in prison.
to serve a sentence of 15 years in prison col
to face the death penalty col = the punishment of being killed that is used in some countries for very serious crimes
Controlling crime
crime rate col/term = a number of crimes committed in a particular area
to rise/to come down
to control the crime rate TERM/COL
crime figures col have dropped dramatically/have risen
crime wave col/term = a situation in which there is a sudden increase in the number of crimes that are committed
(to have) a spate of burglaries/killings/thefts = a large number of things, which are usually unpleasant, that happen suddenly within a short period of time
to combat/fight/reduce/tackle crime COL =to stop sth unpleasant/harmful from happening
fight against smth (e.g. crime) prep
fight FOR smth e.g. survival
to introduce new/harsher/stricter laws col
to pass a law col = to accept a law by voting
to uphold the law col = to support smth that you think is right and make sure that it continues to exist
to enforce the law col = to make sure that a law or rule is obeyed by the people
effective law enforcement → to enforce the law COL = to make sure that people obey a particular law or rule
to take (draconian) measures col = extremely cruel and severe
to focus on juvenile crime prep
to put police officers on the streets speaking to act as a deterrent col/prep = a thing that makes somebody less likely to do something (= that deters them)
to get somewhere (e.g. to school) safely
safe → safely → safety WF