Interlinked Thematic Vocabulary Unit NÂș 20 v.18.
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Main Definitions
- investigation 1 |n| an act or process of investigating or the condition of being investigated.
- investigation 2 |n| a searching inquiry for ascertaining facts; detailed or careful examination.
- investigation 3 |n| is a systematic, minute, and thorough attempt to learn the facts about something complex or hidden; it is often formal and official.
- "An investigation of a bank failure."
- "The war crimes tribunal and the families of victims are anxiously awaiting the results of the investigation."
- "None of this matters, however: the results of the federal prosecutionors investigation matters."
- "The distortion that lobbyists have on the government is certainly fairgame for public scrutiny and even official investigation."
- examination |n| is an orderly attempt to obtain information about or to make a test of something, often something presented for observation
- "A physical examination."
- inquiry 1 |n| official investigation.
- inquiry 2 |n| is an investigation made by asking questions rather than by inspection, or by study of available evidence.
- "The police are making inquiries."
- "A man is helping police with their inquiries."
- research 1 |n| a careful and sustained investigation.
- research 2 |n| express the idea of an active effort to find out something.
- scrutiny 1 |n| |pl: scrutinies| a searching examination or investigation; minute inquiry.
- scrutiny 2 |n| surveillance; close and continuous watching or guarding.
- scrutiny 3 |n| a close and searching look.
- "Many cases, when subjected to close scrutiny, prove not to have been remissions at all.".
- "To follow in somebody footsteps."
Investigation Elements
- alibi |n| a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question.
- arrest |n| take into legal custody.
- "A man has been arrested in connection with the robbery."
- background check / background investigation |n| a process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual or an organization.
- "Do I have a right to see my criminal background check?"
- "Police obtain personal information about the suspect, notes the alleged crime, and does a criminal background check."
- clue |n| a piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime.
- "Police officers are still searching for clues."
- crime scene |n| a place that is being investigated by the police because a crime has taken place there.
- evidence |n| information drawn from personal testimony, a document, or material object, used to establish facts in a legal investigation or admissible as testimony in a law court.
- "He was acquitted owing to a lack of evidence."
- lie detector |n| an instrument for determining whether a person is telling the truth by testing for physiological changes considered to be associated with lying. The results of lie-detector tests are generally not accepted for judicial purposes.
- proof |n| any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something.
- reward |n| a sum of money offered to anyone who can give information about lost or stolen property or about someone who is wanted by the police.
- "The firm offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the robbers."
- "The police offered a reward for any information about the robbery."
- sting operation |n| a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather evidence of the suspect's wrongdoing.
- track |n| a line or route along which something travels or moves.
Terms Related to Crime
- arrest |v| take into legal custody.
- "Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving."
- "The police arrested him and charged him with murder."
- crime |n| an act or the commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law esp a gross violation of law.
- “Commit” a crime."
- “Crime is on increase.”
- criminal |n| person guilty of a crime, breaking the law.
- "He is one of the most wanted criminals in the United States."
- "She was treated like a common criminal."
- forensic |adj| relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime.
- "A medical-forensic expert concluded that the death of Ms. Khairulina occurred as a consequence of "mechanical asphyxia".
- police |n| force responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.
- "Since the police force was set up in 1997, there have been four missions mandated to train and professionalise it."
- "Bermuda has a police force of approximately 450 full-time officers and several hundred part-time police reserves."
- prison |n| a building (or vessel) in which people are legally held as a punishment for crimes they have committed or while awaiting trial.
- "He died in prison."
- weapon / arm / armament |n| a device used with intent to inflict damage or harm to living beings, structures, or systems.
- "These companies fuel demand for legal firearms, as they must purchase weapons for their agents."
- "The primary destination of these weapons is bands specialised in robbing banks, armoured cars and land cargo transport (highway robbery)."
People
- police officer / officer |n| a member of the police.
- detective |n| a person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate crimes.
- investigator / research worker / researcher |n| a scientist who devotes himself to doing research.
- forensic scientist / forensic |n| a professional who conducts forensic examinations in any of the forensic science fields.
- pathologist / coroner |n| a doctor who studies dead bodies to find out the cause of death.
- offender |n| a person who commits a crime.
- "The report on sexual discrimination at work shows that some of the worst offenders are women."
- victim |n| a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime.
- "To be the victim."
- witness / eyewitness 1 |n| a person who sees something happen and is able to describe it to other people.
- "Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident."
- "A witness to the killing."
- witness / eyewitness 2 |n| (in court) a person who gives evidence in court.
- "A defence/prosecution witness."
- "To appear as (a) witness for the defence/prosecution."
- "Several witnesses testified that there had been two gunmen."
- "To be witness to something."