Thematic Vocabulary Unit Nº 11 Version 20
Main Definitions
- crime 1 |n| an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act.
- “The police need the public’s help to solve crimes.”
- crime 2 |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. |verb: “commit” a crime|.
- “Crime is on increase.”
- law-breaking |n| is any kind of illegal activity.
- criminal / offender |n| guilty of crime or serious offense.
- "She was treated like a common criminal."
Level
- offence 1 |n| |US| a minor offense, one that is not serious.
- “It is an offence to drive while using a mobile phone.”
- offence 2 |n| |US| a crime, especially one that has a particular description and name in law.
- “A parking offence.”
- misdemeanour |n| |US| a crime that is not very serious.
- “They pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and were fined.”
- felony |n| |pl felonies| a crime regarded in the US and many other judicial systems as more serious than a misdemeanour.
- “Fewer than 25 percent of the people arrested on felony charges are convicted.”
- “He committed a series of violent felonies.”
Classification
- blackmail |n| extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information.
- “She blackmailed him for years by threatening to tell the newspapers about their affair.”
- bribery |n| the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage.
- “She was arrested on bribery charges.”
- cybercrime |n| criminal activity that involves the use of computers or the internet.
- "The situation with respect to the fighting of cybercrime was unsatisfactory, especially where the coordination of police action was concerned."
- domestic-dispute |n| a situation where two or more people living in the same household are involved in a verbal or physical altercation and police intervention is requested.
- drug trafficking |n| traffic in illegal drugs.
- "Drug trafficking and related crime were the primary obstacles to be overcome, and citizen participation was essential in combat them."
- driving under the influence / DUI / DWI |n| the act or crime of driving a vehicle while affected by alcohol or drugs.
- "He was arrested for DUI a DUI case."
- parking violation |n| an act of parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or for parking in an unauthorized manner.
- speeding ticket / traffic ticket |n| a piece of paper that a police officer gives to someone who was driving too fast and that indicates a fine that the driver will have to pay.
- espionage |n| the systematic use of spies to get military or political secrets.
- "She may call it research; I call it industrial espionage."
- fraud |n| something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage.
- “The property had been obtained by fraud.”
- invasion of privacy / privacy violation|n| offensive or unjustifiable access obtained to someone's personality or personal affairs without his or her permission and/or knowledge.
- kidnapping |n| taking a person by using violence, often in order to get money for returning them.
- “The kidnapping of 12 US citizens.”
- money laundering |n| when money that has been obtained illegally is put into legal businesses or bank accounts in different countries, so that it is difficult for people to discover where it came from.
- “The country is a major centre for money laundering.”
- murder |n| unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being.
- “The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered.”
- property crime |n| a category of crime that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft. arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime only involves the taking of money or property, and does not involve force or threat of force against a victim.
- "Vehicles engaged in export trade are an easy target for property crime in the eyes of many criminal organizations owing to the high-value goods which they often carry and the low level of manning and protection which they usually enjoy."
- robbery |n| the action of robbing a person or place.
- “A number of robberies have been reported recently.”
- sex crime |n| a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat.
- “Most states have replaced the common law definition of rape with statutes defining sexual assault.”
- smuggling |n| move goods illegally into or out of a country.
- "The murdered man is thought to have been involved in drug smuggling."
- street carime |n| criminal activity that happens in a public place, usually in a town or city, for example stealing people’s personal possessions or drug dealing.
- terrorism |n| the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.
- "An act of terrorism."
- "The fight against terrorism."
- "The government has sworn to do everything in its power to combat terrorism."
