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TEXT 4.

Read and translate the text: FORENSIC SCIENCE

The Oxford English Dictionary lists one of the first uses of the phrase «forensic science» to describe «a mixed science». The early days of forensic science could certainly be called mixed, when science served justice by its application to questions before the court. Forensic science has grown as a profession from the early 1880s and into a science in its own right in the early twenty-first century. Given the public’s interest in using science to solve crimes, it looks as if forensic science has an active, even hectic, future.

Forensic science describes the science of associating places, things and people, involved in criminal activities; these scientific disciplines assist in investigating and adjudicating criminal and civil cases. The discipline has two parts which divide it neatly, like the term that describes it.

Science is the collection of systematic methodologies used to increasingly understand the physical world. The word “forensic” is derived from the Latin forum meaning “public.” In ancient Rome, the Senate met the Forum, a public place where the political and policy issues of the day were discussed and debated; even today, high school or university teams that compete in debates or public speaking are called “forensics”. More technically, forensic means “as applied to public or legal concerns”. Together, “forensic science” is an appropriate term for the profession which answers scientific questions for the courts.

Forensic science is the application of scientific methods to solving crimes. Any science can be a forensic science if it has an application to the criminal justice system. The largest area of forensic science is criminalistics, which includes the physical evidence that commonly occurs at crime scenes. There are about 400 crime labs in the United States. Several departments in the federal government have forensic science labs. These include the Departments of Justice and the Treasury. Each state has its own forensic science laboratory system. These include labs run by state or local government.

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Forensic scientists analyze evidence and testify in court as expert witnesses. They may also go to some crime scenes where especially serious or notorious crimes have been committed. Crime laboratories must be secure so that evidence can be protected. There are many types of labs, but they all have an intake section, an analysis section, and a storage location for evidence.

1. Найдите английские эквиваленты в тексте.

Общественный интерес, раскрывать преступления, перспективное будущее, замешанные в уголовных преступлениях, расследование и судебное разрешение дела, четко разделенный, понять в большей степени, насущные государственные и политические вопросы, вещи (дела) общественного и правового характера, система уголовного правосудия, место преступления, управляемая государством, выступать в суде в качестве эксперта, общеизвестное преступление, отдел по сбору проб и образцов.

2.Переведите словосочетания из текста на русский

язык.

1.Forensic science

2.to solve crimes

3.to assist in investigating and adjudicating criminal and civil

cases

4.systematic methodologies

5.To compete in debates

6.Labs run by state

7.to analyze evidence

8.to testify in court as expert witnesses

9.To be secure

10.An intake section

7.Найдите в тексте синонимы английских слов, данных ниже.

public, forensics, an offence, a dispute, a corresponding word, research techniques, to be free from danger, to examine.

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Тема 23.

Расследование преступлений

CRIME INVESTIGATIONS.

VOCABULARY.

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Read and translate the text: TEXT 1.

STAGES OF INVESTIGATION

A criminal investigation is the process of discovering, collecting, identifying and presenting evidence to prove the truth or falsity of an issue in law. The word investigate is derived from a Latin word vestigare meaning to track or trace.

A criminal investigator finds out all facts associated with a crime to accomplish three aims: to identify and locate the guilty party and to provide evidence of his guilt. Therefore, the investigation is divided into three phases:

1)the criminal is identified;

2)he is traced and located;

3)sufficient evidence for proving or disapproving the suspect’s guilt is gathered for court presentation.

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Identifying the Criminal

In the first stage the criminal is identified as the perpetrator of the criminal act. Ordinarily the identity of the criminal is discovered in the following ways: confession, eyewitness testimony or circumstantial evidence.

Confession is an excellent means of identifying the criminal but it must be supported by other corroborative evidence.

Eyewitness: The ideal identification is made by several objective persons who knows the appearance of the accused and who personally witnessed the commission of the crime.

Circumstantial Evidence: The identification may be made indirectly by proving other facts or circumstances from which the identity of the perpetrator can be established. Evidence of his nature is the following:

Motive: It may be established from the circumstances of the offence and from the statements of witness.

Opportunity: It must be physically possible for the suspect to commit the crime. Thus, the search is limited to those persons who had an opportunity to commit the crime.

Associative Evidence: The physical evidence may serve to identify the suspect by means of clue materials. While committing crimes people almost always leave some type of evidence. The perpetrators may overlook some clue at the crime scene, such as a weapon, a tool, a handkerchief, a piece of paper that connects them with the crime scene. More often, however, they leave less visible evidence, such as fingerprints, blood stains, faint footprints, hairs or clothing fibers called trace evidence. They may carry from the scene a trace in the form of small particles of dirt, paint of glass. In offences of personal gain stolen property may be found in their possession. Crimes of violence will leave evidence of physical struggle.

Tracing and Locating the Criminal

The second phase of the investigation is concerned with locating the offender. Many of the steps for identifying the suspect will also lead to his location. Usually the criminal is not hiding. He is simply unknown. In those cases the problem is primarily one of identification. In many cases, however, it is necessary to trace a criminal who is hiding. Conducting interviews and getting information from various sources will be the most useful methods.

Proving the Guilt

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The third and often the most difficult phase of the investigation is collecting the facts necessary in the trial to prove the guilt of the accused. The final stage of a criminal investigation is the presentation of evidence in court. The fact of the existence of the crime must be established; the defendant must be identified and interviewed: the evidence must be collected and preserved; its connection to the case must be shown and the report must thoroughly document all the facts and information known about the case.

After you read Understanding the text

Choose the best variant to complete the sentences below:

1. Criminal investigation is the process of:

–discovering and collecting evidence;

–establishing the facts of the crime;

–collecting and presenting evidence to prove the truth or falsity of an issue in law.

2. A criminal investigator finds out all facts associated with a crime to accomplish three aims:

–to identify and locate the person responsible for the crime;

–to identify the perpetrator of the crime obtain his confession and establish corroborative evidence;

–to identify and locate the guilty party and provide evidence of his guilt.

3. The identity of the criminal can be discovered:

–by his confession;

–by confession, eyewitness testimony and other corroborative evidence;

–by providing his motive and opportunity to commit the crime. 4. Circumstantial evidence can be used to identify the perpetra-

tor:

–by proving the motive of the crime;

–by connecting the criminal with the crime scene where he has left clues;

–by establishing the perpetrator’s motive and opportunity to commit the crime and providing associative evidence.

5. The third stage of crime investigation is concerned with:

–proving the guilt of the accused in court;

–tracing and locating the criminal;

–detecting and apprehending the criminal.

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TEXT 2.

Read the text and be ready to speak about:

a)the methods of crime detection;

b)the duties of the members of the operative group at the crime scene.

Crime Detection

The responsibility of law enforcement agencies is to detect crimes, apprehend the perpetrators and provide evidence that will convince judges and juries that the perpetrators are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. To accomplish these aims a variety of methods are used, including reconstructing the crime, collecting physical clues and interrogating suspects and witnesses. The methods of detection employed are dictated by the nature of the crime and the procedures permitted by the legal system.

The investigating process very often depends on the discovery of physical evidence found at the crime scene. Physical evidence is something that is concrete, something that can generally be measured, photographed, analyzed, and presented as a physical object in court. The correct handling of any criminal evidence involves the vital need for proper collection, identification and preservation of all articles of interest.

Collecting information is the key investigative task of police work. Roughly 90 percent of an investigator’s activity involves gathering, sorting, and evaluating information. Witnesses or victims are interviewed, and suspects and criminals are interrogated. Interrogation is used when the information sought is not readily forthcoming (ожидаемый), perhaps because of hostility (враждебность)or guilt. Often, some key to the solution of a crime, such as the location of the weapon in a murder case, is known only to the perpetrator. Without information provided by the suspect, a crime may go unsolved. Besides interrogations, detectives may rely on a network of informants they have cultivated over the years. Informants often have connections with persons a detective would not be able to approach formally.

In most cases, crime detection begins with crime scene examination. In Russia, an operative group often goes out to a crime scene. It consists of an investigator (who is usually a search-commander), a de-

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tective (detectives), a divisional inspector, a crime scene technician, a dog handler and a medical expert.

The investigator directs primary crime scene examination and detection. He instructs the members of the operative group about their duties at the crime scene. The crime scene technician finds, collects and protects evidence - searches for bloodstains on the objects, develops and takes fingerprints, makes plaster casts of footprints, etc. He also takes pictures of the objects of the crime scene. The detective finds, interviews and interrogates witnesses, a victim and a suspect.

It’s necessary to do that to analyze the happening and to take measures a detect the criminal, that is to identify, locate and apprehend him. He also takes measures for search, discovery and seizure of stolen property.

The divisional inspector ensures crime scene protection, helps the detective to find witnesses and apprehend a suspect. The dog handler handles a dog during the search. The medical expert gives first aid to a victim, conducts external (внешний) examination of the corpse and states the time and the cause of his or her death.

1. Answer the questions.

1.What is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies?

2.What methods are used in crime detection?

3.What is physical evidence?

4.What is the key investigative task of police work? Why?

5.Why do the detectives use the informants?

6.What does crime detection usually begin with?

7.What specialists does an operative group consist of?

8.Name the functions of each specialist of an operative group.

2. Agree or disagree.

1.The responsibility of law enforcement agencies is to conduct a trial and decide whether the accused is guilty or not.

2.A variety of methods are used to detect crimes.

3.The methods of detection employed are dictated by the likes and dishes of the investigator.

4.The correct handling of any criminal evidence involves the vital need for proper collection, identification and preservation of all articles of interest.

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5.A crime may be easily solved without information provided by the suspect.

6.While investigating a crime, detectives may rely on the informants they have cultivated over the years.

7.The crime scene technician gives first aid to a victim.

8.The divisional inspector collects and protects evidence - bloodstains, fingerprints and footprints.

9.The search-commander directs primary crime scene examination and detection.

Тема 24.

Осмотр места происшествия.

THE CRIME SCENE SEARCH.

VOCABULARY

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