English fo MP student book

UNIT 13 – Combatting Organised Crime

'80 în Germania, pentru trafic cu heroină albă. Practic, sentinţa de ieri a judecătorului Jivan (10) anulează toată munca depusă de procurori şi poliţişti timp de câteva luni de zile. Vicepreşedintele Tribunalului Timiş nu este la prima sentinţă cel putin dubioasă. În urmă cu câteva luni, cotidianul Adevărul a dezvăluit faptul că judecatorul Ioan Jivan a dispus punerea în libertate a lui Cornel Urcan, fostul director al hotelului "Continental" din Timişoara, arestat într-un dosar cu prejudicii de miliarde de lei. Ulterior punerii în libertate, (11) Urcan a fost reîncarcerat în urma deciziei Curţii de Apel, Timişoara. Sentinţa de ieri a Tribunalului Timiş, continuă seria achitărilor dubioase în cazul traficanţilor de droguri. În urmă cu câţiva ani, Albu Elena, coordonatoarea unei reţele internaţionale de heroină, a fost pusă în libertate, dispărând fără urmă. Când a fost condamnată la ani grei de închisoare, femeia era departe. Surse din lumea interlopă susţin că traficanţii de droguri vor repurta o nouă victorie (12) împotriva celor care încearcă să stopeze flagelul morţii albe la Sibiu. Acolo se pregăteşte achitarea membrilor unei alte reţele de traficanţi de cocaină, condusăde Dan Emil.

# Exercise 9

Complete the list based on vocabulary items from the listening text. Use a dictionary if you are unsure.

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# Exercise 10

Put in the best form of the passive to complete the text below.

National Crime Squad and NCIS Uncover Multi-million Pound Drugs Factory on East Sussex Farm

National Crime Squad detectives today (18 July 2002) discovered one of the UK's biggest ever illicit amphetamine factories at an isolated farm in East Sussex. National Criminal Intelligence Service experts from the Synthetic Drugs Unit are now debriefing the site*, and believe it gives new intelligence on current techniques in amphetamine production.

It (1) (believe) _____________that in the factory, which was in production at the time of the raid, up to 20kg. of heroin (2) (produce) _______________ drug each week for some time, with a potential street value profit of up to £1 million a week.

Three people (two men in their forties and a woman in her thirties) all British, (3) (arrest) ____________________at 1.30 p.m. today. The men (4) (arrest) ___________ in Streatham, South London - one in a car in Grayswood Road, the other at a house in the same street. The woman was arrested simultaneously in the factory in a specially converted building on a farm property at Hurst Green, East Sussex, which was actually producing amphetamine as detectives entered.

The building (5) (make) __________________ safe. Due to the isolated location, there had never been any actual danger to local residents or passers-by over the past months. Noxious fumes, waste deposits (A) in and immediately outside the building, and the ever-present danger of explosion, made it a hazardous place for anyone working there or entering.

A spokesman for the NCIS Synthetic Drugs Unit said: "This is a significant discovery for NCIS, and will tell us much more about production methods in the UK, which is still the highest consumer of amphetamines in Europe. (B) NCIS was aware of the individuals involved and are delighted that they (6) (catch) ____________________.

"There is much to learn from the factory site about illicit laboratories, the way that manufacturing equipment (7) (use) _____________ and the methods utilised by the chemists (C) behind this sort of major drugs conspiracy."

Experts from the Forensic Science Service (FSS) who helped examine the building, described it as one of the most sophisticated and productive (D) such plants they have seen.

The operation (8) (carry out) _____________ by detectives from the Slough Branch office of the National Crime Squad with assistance from NCIS, the FSS, the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police. The three people arrested (9) (interview) ___________________by National Crime Squad officers at police stations in South London and Sussex.

•debriefing the site (!) Usually “to debrief” has persons as direct object. e.g. The officer debriefed his men after the incident.

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¾ Activity 5 Grammar Comments

Homework task!

Now look at the grammar points in bold type (A) to (D)

A)What do you notice about the use of the prepositions?

Can you make similar phrases with other modifiers such as “occasionally” “frequently” “generally” “especially”?

e.g. These films are made for and occasionally with members of the public (rather than with professional actors).

B)What do you notice about the verb agreement (i.e. use of singular/plural)? Is it incorrect to say or write sentences like this…?

The government has announced its programme of reforms for the police service. They will present the main proposals to the House of Commons next week.

C)With which other prepositional phrases might you replace “behind”?

D)This is a rather unusual use of “such”.

…one of the most sophisticated and productive such plants What phrase does it replace?

Complete in the same way …

…one of the most dangerous and foolish …./ one of the most famous and prestigious ….

…one of the fastest and most efficient …./ one of the wealthiest and most influential ….

Make sentences using one of the points above.

1.(B) The American DEA, Drug Enforcement Agency, (has/have) had a lot of success in (its/their) fight against heroin production in Afghanistan.

2.(D) Heroin, as a category A drug, is considered the (dangerous) and (deadly)

Put the sentences into an appropriate sequence to read about chemical precursors.

X

X Chemicals are used every day by ordinary people.

A.The answer is simple. No chemicals = no illicit drugs.

B.Industrial processes and production of pharmaceuticals involve large quantities of often common chemicals.

C.In the case of semi-synthetic drugs such as heroin and cocaine, chemicals are required to convert the raw material into a useable drug.

D.Synthetic drugs such as LSD, amphetamines or ecstasy are wholly manufactured from chemicals.

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E.So why do we need to control them?

F.Illicit drug manufacturing processes are, by nature, clandestine activities, but there is a point where they intersect with legitimate, legal trade.

G.Every aspect of modern life relies on chemicals in one way or anotheroffice materials, clothes, food products, household items and many more.

H.With the exception of naturally occurring substances such as cannabis, all drugs require chemicals for their extraction or synthesis.

¾ Activity 7 Which Chemicals are Controlled?

Listen to the text and complete the notes.

In deciding which chemicals to control a balance has to be struck between

_______________________________________________________________

Many substances used in illicit drug production are also used in the chemical industry. The ____________________________________ are commonly used in illicit drug production as ____________________________________________ . They are controlled at both the international level and _______________________________ .

The chemicals are placed in ____________________________ , attracting different levels of control. For instance, category 1 contains chemicals with

_____________________________________ such as 1-phenyl-2-propanone which is rarely used for licit purposes, and Ephedrine, which ________________________

__________________________. These substances are used in the illicit manufacturing of drugs and have _________________________________ .

Categories 2 and 3 contain chemicals which are in much more common use, such as

_______________________________________ . The chemicals are often traded in large quantities and controls are correspondingly lighter. Full details of the chemicals and controls can be found in the _________________________________ produced by the European Commission.

¾ Activity 8 Read the text that you heard earlier

National Criminal Intelligence Service intelligence today (3 October) helped jail four Lincolnshire men and a Leeds man for a total of 55.5 years for their part in the supply of £2.5 million worth of heroin and cannabis which was seized in a joint operation between the National Crime Squad and Lincolnshire Police.The men were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court after three had pleaded guilty and two were found guilty after trial. The arrests followed a protracted surveillance operation which originated in March 2001 in work carried out by NCIS in their North East and South East regions. The package was then passed to the National Crime Squad for action. On 19 May 2001 the men were arrested when two articulated lorries were stopped in Spalding and Leeds. Searches revealed 18 kilos of heroin in the lorry in Spalding and 110 kilos of cannabis in one in Leeds - the total estimated street value of the drugs was £2.5 million. Three men were arrested on the A52 at the Roman Café near Grantham, and the other two were

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arrested in Leeds. Both vehicles had recently arrived in the UK from mainland Europe. The operation to seize the drugs and make the arrests was carried out by the National Crime Squad's Calder branch and Lincolnshire Police, with assistance from NCIS. Armed National Crime Squad officers were present when the lorry was stopped in Spalding, but no shots were fired.

Details of the defendants are as follows:

Nicholas HOWARTH, aged 34, of Queens Road, Spalding, Lincs. - Possession with Intent to Supply Heroin - pleaded guilty - sentenced to 19 years.

Martin WILKINSON, aged 35, also of Queens Road, Spalding - Possession with Intent to Supply Heroin - was found guilty - sentenced to 8 years.

Richard THORNLEY, aged 29, of Main Road, Wigtoft, Lincs - Possession with Intent to Supply Heroin - was found guilty - sentenced to 18 years.

Simon FAGG, aged 34, of Amberton Crescent, Gipton, Leeds - Possession with Intent to Supply Cannabis - pleaded guilty - sentenced to 6 years.

William LAMBERT, aged 30, of Neville Avenue, Spalding, - Possession with intent to Supply Heroin - pleaded guilty part way through the trial - sentenced to 4 years.

Detective Superintendent Graham WHITE, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "We work closely with the National Crime Squad and other agencies to target and arrest offenders like these. People like them are a high priority for Lincolnshire Police. They peddle misery and grief and we are proud to be part of this operation which has taken them off the streets.

Detective Chief Inspector Gerry SMYTH, of the National Crime Squad, said: "This operation was a good example of how partnership working within the police service can have a real impact on serious and organised crime. The drugs seized were on their way to dealers who would have fuelled the miserable trade in drugs to the tune of £2.5 million worth of heroin and cannabis. Putting this network in prison disrupted the supply of those drugs and sent a clear warning to others."

# Exercise 11

Match the word with its definition

This area of criminal sub-culture has produced a lot of slang expressions, some dating back to the early years of the 20th Century.

Unscramble the letters to get the right answers

amphetamines: "Uppers and OWDSNER"

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taking LSD: (go on a RPIT / take a RPIT)

to be addicted: to have a NOMEKY on your back to come off drugs: to go LDOC RKEYUT

no longer using drugs: LECAN

to be under the influence of drugs at that moment: HGIH or TONESD

You may know songs which warn of the danger of drugs – a well-known “old” song is “Needle of Death” by Bert Jansch or a song “Sam Stone” about an American Vietnam veteran who became addicted during the war. Other songs may seem to “glorify” the use of drugs and most people say that, for example, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles is a song about the “pleasant” side of L.S.D. Other songs came from the “hippy” period, such as “Eight Miles High” by the Byrds or “Mr Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan, but more modern groups like Alice Cooper, Nirvana or Marilyn Manson have allusions to drug use. Perhaps it would be interesting to look at the words of some songs to identify the references.

CRACK COCAINE

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UNIT 14

CRIMINOLOGY

Read about this case from October 2002 and consider the questions that follow.

Man Jailed For Killing Burglar

A man who stabbed a burglar 12 times has been jailed for five years for manslaughter. Barry-Lee Hastings, 25, knifed Roger Williams after finding him inside his home. He mistook a crowbar in Williams's hand for a machete, but the judge said Hastings had gone too far and his actions were not justified. Hastings, of Wood Green, North London, was found guilty of manslaughter last month and remanded for reports.

His family shouted "This country stinks" as he was led away and said later they would appeal. His mother Patricia said outside court: "I am shocked. This is not justice." Hastings had told the court he picked up a knife from the kitchen to scare the intruder after finding the front door had been forced.

He said Mr Williams came running down the stairs and attacked him with what he took to be a machete and the fight spilled outside. The court heard that Mr Williams had many previous convictions for burglary and was on the run from police. After sentencing, Hastings' solicitor Anthony Branley said: "Mr Hastings feels it is unjust and it does not reflect the terrifyingly impossible position in which he found himself." His comments were backed by supporters of farmer Tony Martin who was jailed for shooting dead a burglar in his home. Terence Ewing said the fiveyear sentence which the farmer was now serving had set a precedent.

Martin was initially jailed for life in 1999 for shooting 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras at his farm in Norfolk. The sentence was later cut to five years when the conviction was reduced to manslaughter.

¾ Activity 1

1.Which of these are the main issues? reasonable self-defence

criminal activities as a way of life preventing violent crime miscarriages of justice

control of firearms

2.Who is the criminal in these cases? Who is the victim?

3.If someone is confronted by a criminal act what are reasonable responses?

Why is it necessary to criminalize certain types of behaviour?

Law is a form of social control, a coercive, governmental solution. What are the factors which make governments "manufacture" crimes and the necessary legislation?

How would you comment on the utterance: “Deviance is in the eye of the beholder”? Some people regard the definitional problem as one of the most important tasks in criminology. Which would be your off-hand definition of crime?

Can you account for the variety of criteria (i.e. biological, social, psychological, even nutritionist or allergy-related etc.) in establishing a person’s guilt?

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Blunkett Orders Increase in Tagging - Prisoners to be Released Early to Ease Overcrowding

Jeevan Vasagar “The Guardian” March 2002

Hundreds of prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes will be released up to two months early in an attempt to ease overcrowding which has pushed the jail population close to crisis levels. David Blunkett yesterday referred to the Strangeways prison riot as a warning of what can happen when jails reach bursting point as he announced a big extension of the electronic tagging scheme. The home secretary said one of the reasons for the measure was to "help us manage the prison population by reducing overcrowding".

The prison population of England and Wales has reached 70,197, close to the maximum capacity of 71,800. More space in prisons is urgently needed as a crackdown on street crime is launched next month. Some prison governors have been reluctant to free inmates early, under what is officially known as home detention curfew, because of fears they would be blamed if the prisoner reoffended.

From May, governors will be expected to release prisoners serving between three and 12 months for the last 60 days of their sentence. There would have to be "compelling reasons" not to release them on the tagging programme, Mr Blunkett said. Up to 1,350 prisoners, including burglars, fraudsters and minor drug offenders, are expected to be tagged and released on top of the 1,800 already on curfew. More than 44,000 prisoners have been released wearing tags in the last three years and less than 2% have reoffended during the remainder of their sentence, Mr Blunkett said. Prisoners convicted of violent, sexual or serious drugs crimes will not be eligible for tagging. "If anyone watching, reporting or listening today seriously believes that a further exponential rise in the prison population for short-term prison sentences and first time offenders is the way to ensure our safety then they are sorely deluded," Mr Blunkett said.

He hinted at the possible consequences of allowing jail overcrowding to get worse, by alluding to the riot at Strangeways prison in Manchester in 1990. Mr Blunkett's announcement came the day after a Downing Street summit to address the crisis in street crime, and on the day that a Guardian/ICM poll showed that voters' fear of crime had triggered a Tory revival. After a week in which tabloid front pages have been dominated by pictures of teenage criminals in "lawless Britain", the home secretary's speech was littered with irritable attacks on national newspapers. Mr Blunkett said he felt "bewilderment" on the debate going on around him. He added: "It's time people grew up in this country and helped me." Speaking to a London conference on prisons and probation, the home secretary also announced that he would appoint a commissioner for victims in order to "give victims a voice".

“For years the public has seen the entire system as being on the side of offenders, not victims. Victims of crime are still, too often, treated with indifference or with disrespect. I am not having that", he concluded.

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¾ Activity 4

Discuss with a partner the merits and demerits of a tagging system. What political aspects are evident in the text?

¾ Activity 5

Read the text carefully and think about how the concept of crime has developed.

The Relativity of “Crime”

The concept of “crime” varies with time and place. At the beginning of recorded history when there was no official definition, criminal acts were reciprocated by acts of private vengeance. Justice was left to the concerned individuals with no third party acting as a mediator. In time, individual justice making evolved into the more generic blood revenge.

Family feuds involved the administration of unspecified punishments by the victim’s family/tribe against the offender’s kinship. Under that system, crime and punishment were not typically codified. The concepts of crime and criminal law developed with the beginning of the state or monarchy.

At an early stage, only crimes directed against the monarch were criminalized. In the due course of events, the notion of collective state responsibility and financial compensation acted to eliminate blood feuds. As a consequence, the state through the ruler’s authority assumed the administration of justice by defining crimes, codifying laws, establishing fines, and implementing the jury system.

adapted from Mannle, Henry W. and Hirshel, J.David -”Fundamentals of Criminology” (Prentice Hall NJ, 2nd edition, 1988)

What is Criminology?

Try to explain the diagram to your partner

CRIMINOLOGY

penology

(methods of correcting/treating criminal behaviour)

Relate the cases at the beginning of the unit to these conceptual areas.

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# Exercise 1

Give the appropriate ending to each sentence.

1.All too often, the layperson thinks of a criminologist as one who …

2.What constitutes crime varies …

3.Anyone with an interest in studying the criminal mind …

4.Sociology …

5.Criminologists are often indistinguishable from criminal justice specialists (a separate, but related discipline) …

6.Social reaction theorists study things like …

a."adopted" or dominated criminology for most of the latter part of the twentieth century.

b.in that they both study characteristics of society's capacity for criminal behaviour.

c.media glamorization of crime or the moral boundaries by which communities tolerate or do not tolerate deviance in their midst.

d.from culture to culture, and from time to time.

e.appears at the scene of the crime with a magnifying glass and a substance that picks up latent fingerprints.

f.may be involved, regardless of whether their speciality is in anthropology, economics, political science, psychology or sociology.

¾ Activity 6 Comment on the following assertion:

“Physique does not cause crime”

The following sentences exemplify empirical ways of putting people “into a box”. Find out which they were by inserting the correct verb (and verb form).

Use: to accuse, to mistrust, to incline, to reflect, to consider, to view

a.Disfigurements have often been ….. to characterize people of an evil disposition.

b.A Greek scientist found Socrates’ skull and facial features to be typical of a person ….. towards alcoholism and brutality.

c.Through the ages, disabilities or distinguishing physical characteristics, i.e. a hunchback or an infirmity or even long hair, were ….. with ill-will and suspicion.

d.Ancient Greeks and Romans ….. redheads to such an extent that actors impersonating negative characters wore red wigs.

e.In the Middle Ages, if two people were ….. of the same criminal act, the law indicated that the uglier was the more likely to be guilty.

f.The belief that criminality is inborn, not made, is ….. in many types of writings, from scientific studies to literature.

Although criminology today takes an integrated approach to crime, it is useful to include a section devoted to the classical school of criminology.

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