Text 10

There was a firm knock on the door. Two special agents entered. Barry Colvert was big by anybody’s standards, six-feet-six in his stocking feet. At thirty-two, he was thought to be one of the most ambitious young men in the Criminal Section. He was wearing a dark green jacket, dark pants, and clumsy black leather shoes. His brown hair was cut short and parted neatly on the right. He was always on duty long after the official checkout time of 5:30 and not just because he was fighting his way up the ladder. He loved the job. Colvert was a Midwesterner and he had entered the FBI after leaving college with a B.A. in sociology from Indiana University and then took the fifteen-week course at Quantico, the FBI Academy. From every angle, he was the archetype of an FBI man.

By contrast, Marc Andrews had been one of the more unusual FBI entrants. He got his education at Yale Law School, and then decided he wanted some adventure for a few years before he joined a law firm. He felt it would be useful to learn about criminals and the police from the inside. At six feet Marc Andrews looked small next to Colvert. He had a fresh, handsome face with clear blue eyes and a mop of curly hair long enough to skim his shirt collar. At twenty- eight he was one of the youngest agents in the department. His clothes were always smartly fashionable and sometimes not quite regulation. He was self-confident, but never pushy or concerned about his own advancement. He didn’t let anyone in on his career plan.

(After J. Archer)

Unit 6 text 11. Traffic

Traffic is perhaps the biggest single operation of law enforcement. Intelligent and efficient regulation and control of motor vehicle traffic is one of the major responsibilities of every police department in the USA.

The Department of Motor Vehicles publishes annually the complete text of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and a driver’s manual. Every officer should have copies of them for careful study and ready reference.

Violation of any provision of the Vehicle and Traffic Law or of any law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation regulating traffic is a traffic infraction if the offence is not declared to be a misdemeanor or felony. A traffic infraction is not a crime. For court and arrest purpose traffic infractions are handled like misdemeanors, except that there can be no jury trial for a traffic infraction and an offender may waive court appearance and ask for disposal of the case by mail in traffic infraction cases.

For purposes of arrest without warrant, a traffic infraction may be handled the same as a misdemeanor. Any officer may, without a warrant, arrest and take into custody a driver who has committed a traffic infraction in his presence.