Safeguard the public

track down/keep tab on the criminals

installing police/electronic surveillance systems

implement face recognition devices to match faces of active criminals to a watch list

introduction of prison penalties

decreasing unemployment

parents should be legally responsible

increase police presence

tougher sentencing

rehabilitation

improve social services

community involvement

exemplary penalty

Elimination of poverty/homelessness

Find English equivalents in Text 1 for the suggested phrases:

внимательно следить за чем-либо, кем-либо; выслеживать; снизить уровень преступности; наблюдение; список разыскиваемых преступников; табличка с номером автомобиля; база данных; вызывать полицию; вдали от дома; следить за; ставить вопрос на обсуждение; вводить схему.

1) Answer the teacher’s questions on the text using the Active Vocabulary and Vocabulary of the Unit.

2) Hold a discussion/debate on the following issue based on the information from the text and on your background knowledge and experience:

Are surveillance systems a blessing in disguise or a menace to society?

Make use of the relevant communication strategies and vocabulary.

Pre-reading task. Text 2: Study some information about the legal system of the UK.

Background and Constitution

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four countries forming three distinct jurisdictions each having its own court system and legal profession: England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom was established in 1801 with the union of Great Britain and Ireland, but only achieved its present form in 1922.

There is no written constitution. The Queen is the Head of State, although in practice the supreme authority of the Crown is carried by the government. The legislature is a bicameral Parliament. The House of Commons consists of 659 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by simple majority vote in a general election every five years, although the Government has the right to call an election at any time before then. The House of Lords until recently consisted of life peers, awarded peerages for public service, and a large number of hereditary peers whose membership of the House of Lords depended on their aristocratic birth.

The Government is made up of the Prime Minister, formally appointed by the Queen, and who is normally the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, and ministers with departmental responsibilities, of whom the Ministers of State form the Cabinet. The ministerial posts are the choice of the Prime Minister.

The constitutional law of the UK is regarded as consisting of statute law on the one hand and case law on the other, whereby judicial precedent is applied in the courts by judges interpreting statute law. A third element consists of constitutional conventions which do not have statutory authority but nevertheless have binding force.

Civil justice in England and Wales

Civil justice in England and Wales is administered mainly by the county courts and the High Court, the latter handling the more substantial and complex cases. County courts handle family proceedings, such as divorce, domestic violence and matters affecting children.

Magistrates' courts (the lowest criminal courts) deal with minor offences and have limited civil jurisdiction: in family matters (when they sit as a Family Proceedings Court) and in miscellaneous civil orders.

The High Court has three divisions:

• the Queen's Bench Division, which deals with disputes relating to contracts, general commercial matters and breaches of duty. The Administrative Court deals with applications for judicial review of the actions of public bodies, and has the power to declare the action of an individual, department or public body unlawful

• the Chancery Division, which deals with disputes relating to land, wills, companies and insolvency

• the Family Division, which deals with matrimonial matters, including divorce, and the welfare of children

As in criminal cases, appeals from magistrates' courts in civil matters go to the High Court, on matters of law, or to the Crown Court, if the case is to be re-heard. A further appeal on points of law of public importance would go to the House of Lords.

Find English equivalents in Text 2 for the suggested phrases:

незначительные правонарушения; мелкие кражи; рассматривать дело; признавать себя виновным; на скамье подсудимых; смягчение наказания; выплатить штраф; скандалист; нарушитель дорожных правил; подсудимый; оправдывать; признание себя виновным; рассмотрение дела с участием присяжных; вид грабежа или разбоя на улице (хулиганство).