35   I can talk about crime

A    What is crime?

Crime is activity which is against the law: for example, if you steal someone’s property, you are committing a crime and breaking the law. Some offences are only minor, e.g. illegal parking; but for more serious and especially violent crimes, e.g. killing or attacking someone, a person could go to prison for a long time.

 

spotlight  crime

The noun crime can be countable and uncountable.

There are many victims of violent crime (U).

It is a crime (C) to avoid paying tax.

 

Glossary

against the law  against the rules of a country. SYN illegal. OPP legal.

steal sth PT stole PP stolen  take sth belonging to sb else without permission.

property  sth that belongs to you (e.g. a computer, jewellery).

commit a crime  do sth illegal.

break the law  do sth illegal/against the law. OPP obey the law.

offence  an illegal activity. SYN crime. (The person is an offender / a criminal.)

minor  not important. OPP serious.

violent  using force to hurt sb physically. violence N.

kill sb  make sb die.

attack sb  start fighting or hurting sb.

go to prison  go to a place where criminals have to stay after committing a crime. SYN go to jail. 

4     Test yourself. Look at the glossary words and cover the meanings. Can you remember the meanings?

B    Types of crime

Crime  The crime of…  Verb   Criminal

theft  ... taking something which belongs to someone else without permission.  He steals cars and sells them.    thief

robbery  ... stealing from a person or place, often using violence.  They were planning to rob the bank.  robber

burglar  ... entering a building illegally and stealing things from it.  They broke into the house and stole some jewellery.  burglar

shoplifting  ... stealing things from a shop.  She stole a skirt from the supermarket.  shoplifter

mugging  ... attacking someone in a public place in order to steal from them.   He mugged people for their money late at night.  mugger

assault   ... hurting someone physically.  He assaulted/attacked a man. He stabbed him.  attacker

murder  ... killing someone deliberately (= you wanted or planned to do it)  He murdered his neighbour.  Why did he shoot him?  murderer

 

spotlight  steal and rob

You steal money or things, but you rob a person or place.

Someone has stolen my bike. Thieves stole €2000 from the shop.

I was robbed at the football match. They robbed the museum last night.

6     Complete the sentences.

►   The thief stole $1000.

1     Two robbers ____ into the museum and ____ three paintings. A guard tried to stop them, but one robber had a knife and ___ him in the chest.

2     The driver killed a man, but it wasn't murder, because he didn’t do it ____.

3     Someone ____ me on the way home last night. He had a gun and said he would ____ me if I didn’t give him money and my mobile phone. It was horrible.

4     He will be in prison for the rest of his life for ____ his wife. He bought a gun and ____ her while she was asleep.

5     A ____ broke into our house and took our jewellery and cameras.

6     The three men ____ that bank because it was in a very quiet area. 

1     broke, stole, stabbed; 

2     deliberately

3     mugged, shoot; mugged, kill 

4     murdering, shot; killing, shot

5     thief; burglar

6     robbed; burgled

7     Test yourself. Look at the crimes, and cover the other three columns. Can you remember the meanings and verbs?