English_for_Police_Officers

Lesson 1

Text: Classification of Crimes

Grammar: Participle II.

The Passive Voice Indefinite

I. Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to the predicate.

l. The problem of fighting crime will be discussed by all the lawyers of this country.

2.These circumstances were considered at the trial.

3.The offence was committed by a group of juveniles.

4.Every crime must be thoroughly investigated.

5.Justice is aimed at the prevention of crime.

6.Justice in our country is administered on the basis of equality of all the citizens before the law.

7.It must be said that examination in court is conducted with great thoroughness.

8.The interests of the entire people will be always protected by our law.

9.As soon as the suspect is found, he is interviewed by the police investigators.

10.Some trace materials will be discovered during the search, others will be noted down by crime laboratory examiners.

11.All the evidence found at the crime scene was examined, photographed, recorded and collected.

12.The best physical evidence is normally found at or near the crime scene.

13.The crime scene was searched for physical evidence bу a well-trained police officer.

14.Every crime scene must be examined thoroughly.

15.A thorough and careful search should be made for impressions and any such impressions discovered should be photographed.

16.Immediate measures should be taken to protect the crime scene as some physical evidence can be easily changed.

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II. Translate the words without a dictionary.

group [v,n); class (v,n); classification, technical, criminal (a,n), physical, method, personal, presumption, justice, interest (v,n); police, religion, morality, reputation, criminal procedure.

III. Read and translate the text.

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

English lawyers often group crimes into three classes: treasons, felonies and misdemeanours. Petty offences (non-indictable), i.e. those which can only be tried summarily by justices of the peace, sitting without a jury.

The two groups, indictable and non-indictable offences now overlap to some extent. Some indictable offences may under certain circumstances be tried summarily. Familiar instances of felonies are murder, manslaughter, burglary, house breaking, larceny, rape; the most соnsрісuоus instances of misdemeanours are less heinous crimes like perjury, conspiracy, fraud, libel, riot, assault. The differences between felonies and misdemeanours are no longer so numerous as they once wеге.

Of all parts of the British Criminal Law none is in greater need of a thorough reconstruction than that which concerns the classification into felonies and misdemeanours.

In accordance with the modern classification crimes are divided into arrestable and non-arrestable ones.

Active words

lawyer, treason, felony, misdemeanour, offence, indictable crime, non-indictable crime, to try a case, jury, petty offences, summarily, justice of the peace, circumstances, murder, manslaughter, burglary, housebreaking, rape, conspicuous, heinous crime, perjury, fraud, libel, riot, assault, thorough, reconstruction, to concern, arrestable crime, non-arrestable crime.

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IV. Read and translate the words, paying attention to affixes.

law – lawyer; summary – summarily; tо construct – to reconstruct – reconstruction; indictable – non-indictable.

V. Answer the questions.

1.In what way do English lawyers group crimes?

2.In what way are non-indictable offences tried?

3.What are the most conspicuous instances of misdemeanours?

4.What are the instances of felonies?

VI. Read and translate the sentences. Find the true sentences and correct the false ones.

1.Crimes are classed into treasons and felonies.

2.Crimes can be classed into indictable and non-indictable (petty) offences.

3.Non-indictable offences are tried by jury.

4.Petty offences are tried summarily, by justices of the peace.

5.Indictable offences are murder, manslaughter, burglary, rape, housebreaking and larceny.

6.Petty (non-indictable) offences may be perjury, conspiracy, fraud, libel, riot and assault.

7The differences between felonies and misdemeanours are always great.

8.The differences between felonies and misdemeanours are sometimes not so numerous.

9.That part of the English Criminal Law, which concerns classification into felonies and misdemeanours, needs a thorough reconstruction.

VII. Read and translate the groups of words.

to group crimes into treasons, felonies and misdemeanours; indictable offences; non-indictable offences, justice of the peace, to try an offence summarily without а juгу, under certain circumstances; familiar instances of felonies; the most conspicuous instances of

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misdemeanours; to be in need of a thorough reconstruction; to concern the problem (question).

VIII. Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to the words in bold.

1.This offence is punishable summarily.

2.Murder, manslaughter, burglary, housebreaking, larceny and rape are the most conspicuous instances of heinous crimes.

3.Crimes like perjury, conspiracy, libel, riot, fraud and assault are tried by justices of the peace sitting without a jury.

4.Treason is the most serious crime known to the English Law.

5.Under certain circumstances it is difficult to distinguish between felonies and misdemeanours.

6.English lawyers classify crimes into indictable and nonin- dictable (petty) offences.

7.The investigator should conduct a preliminary survey with great thoroughness.

8.One of the tasks of an investigator is to reconstruct the

crime.

IX. Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to the predicate.

1.They are charged with a riot.

2.Much attention is paid to the problems of educating younger generation.

3.Тhеsе circumstances were spoken about at the trial when the саsе of a larceny was heard.

4.We were told that the crime needed a thorough examination.

5.Some new important evidence proving the burglary was presented in court.

X.Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to “it”.

1.It is important to remember that investigation must be conducted thoroughly.

2. Evidence is of value only if it helps to prove a case or to clear a suspect.

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3.It is well known that criminal procedure is based on the presumption of innocence.

4.Justice protects the interests of people. It also ensures strict observance of laws

5.The lawyers consider it one of their main concerns to find the reasons of tie existence of juvenile delinquency and the means of successfully fighting it.

6.According to the English Law assault may be a simple crime if a person does not use a dangerous weapon. And it is an indictable offence if the criminal uses any kind of weapon endangering the life of a person.

7.According to the English Law riot is tried summarily by justices of the peace. It is a petty offence.

XI. Read and translate the text without a dictionary. Answer the questions.

1.How many classifications of crimes do you know?

2.In what way are crimes classed historically?

3.In what ways are crimes classed according to the immediate objects of the offence?

4.What must a police officer know when a man has committed a violation of the law?

CLASSES OF CRIMES IN GREAT BRITAIN

According to the English Criminal Law crimes are classed as treasonous, felonies and misdemeanours. This is a historical classification.

The second classification of crimes is into indictable offences and offences punishable on summary conviction. But ассоrdіng to the classification which is based on the immediate objects of the сrіmеs the latter may be against bodily security; crimes against property, against religion and morality, reputation, and crimes against the state and public order. Knowing exactly when a man has committed a violation of the law is almost a science and any police officer must know it well to produce the exact charge which is provided by the law.

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XII. Read and translate the text with the help of a dictionary.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF CRIMES

All violations of the law have their special features. There are two main classes: simple and complex crimes. Drunk in public is a good illustration of a simple crime, and committing an assault upon another person with a dangerous weapon is punishable as a misdemeanour. If an ordinary person uses any kinds of weapons he is guilty of а felony. If the weapon used is capable of inflicting bodily harm, an attempt to commit a crime deserves the same punishment аs the crime itself.

Lesson 2

Text: Elements of the Offence

Grammar: Active and Passive Perfect.

I. Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to the predicate.

1.The suspect confessed that he had committed the offence.

2.If а man has broken the law he must be punished.

3.The investigation of that case will have been finished by the next week.

4.Fingerprints have been used for establishing identity since the earliest times.

5.When the presentation of evidence had been completed, the lawyers made speeches in which they summed up the proof.

6.The police records showed that the prisoner had served three terms of imprisonment for robbery.

7.It is assumed that the criminal has been identified, but the investigation is not completed. It has entered the third and often the most difficult phase, namely collecting the facts to prove the guilt of the accused at the trial.

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8.A confession of a suspect may be denied if it has not been supported by other corroborative evidence.

9.The English Law has been made by judges and Parliament .

II. Translate the following words. Don’t use a dictionary.

element, penalty, sabotage, legal, examination, motive.

III. Read and translate the text.

ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENCE (ACCORDING TO THE ENGLISH LAW)

Corpus delicti and certain facts concerning the accused, such as his identity as the malefactor compose the elements of the offence. They are necessary and sufficient conditions, which must be fulfilled by the evidence before the guilt of the accused has been proved.

For example, the elements of burglary are: (1) the accused broke into (2) a dwelling (3) in the night-time (4) in order to commit a crime there. A charge of burglary can be supported if the proof of these four elements of burglary is presented. Normally the organisation of the evidence in this form is the responsibility of the prosecuting attorney but it helps the investigator in the development of the case. The elements should be kept in mind, so that no evidence essential for the establishment of an element is lost and no necessary lead is neglected. To know the elements of the criminal offences the investigator must study the penal law of the jurisdiction under which he is operating. In their most general form the elements of an offence will consist of the following: 1) that the accused did or omitted to do the acts as alleged and 2) the circumstances as specified.

II. In the first degree the identity of the accused as the perpetrator of the criminal act must be established and his connection with the acts must be clearly shown. To satisfy this element, however, a close causal connection must be established between the accused and the offence. It is sufficient to show that the objective in acting was the one, which could not have been accomplished without violating the law. The accused must be shown as a responsible agent either by physical or moral causation or by omitting to perform a legal duty.

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The investigation must be planned to develop facts, which give evidence of intentions of the accused. It must be shown that the malefactor knew what he was doing. In some crimes intent is an essential element. In others it is merely necessary to show that the accused knew the consequences of his acts. Some crimes include the additional element of malice, the intent to do injury to another. Motive or what induces the criminal to act must be distinguished from intent. In cases which depend upon circumstantial evidence, proof of motive is especially important.

In robbery, burglary and larceny motive is of little or no value as the desire for mоnеу is almost universal and need for it is quite common.

Active words

corpus delicti, malefactor, perpetrator, proof, to break, to charge, responsible, prosecuting attorney, lead (n,v.), penal, to allege, violence, to violate, malice, intent, injury, consequence, homicide, arson, sabotage, robbery.

IV. Read and translate the following words, paying attention to the affixes.

to accuse – accused – accusation; to develop – development; to establish – establishment; to identify – identification – identity; responsible – responsibility; cause – causation; to prove – proof – to disprove; to perpetrate – perpetrator – perpetration; to prosecute – prosecution – prosecutor; to connect – connection; to violate – violation – violence; to accomplish – accomplishment; to intend – intent – intention.

V. Answer the questions.

1.What composes the elements of the offence?

2.What are the elements of burglary?

3.Whose responsibility is to organise evidence according to the elements of the crime?

4.Why should the elements be kept in mind?

5.What must the investigator study to know the elements of the offence?

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6.Which acts and circumstances form the elements of the of-

fence?

7.What must be established in the first degree of investigation?

8.What connection must be established between the accused and the offence?

9.Is it sufficient to show the objective in acting?

10.Must the accused only be shown as a responsible agent by physical or moral causation ?

11.Which facts must be developed in the investigation?

12.In which cases is proof of motive very important?

13.Why is motive of little or no value in robbery, burglary and

larceny?

VI. Read and translate the following sentences. Find the true sentences and correct the false ones.

1.Corpus delicti and the identity of the accused compose the elements of the offence. These conditions are insufficient and must be fulfilled after the guilt of the accused has been proved.

2.The elements of burglary are: the accused broke into; a storehouse; in the night-time; in order to commit a crime there.

3.Normally the organisation of the evidence in this form is the responsibility of the attorney.

4.To know the elements of criminal offences the investigator must study the penal law of the jurisdiction under which he is operating.

5.In the first degree the identity of the accused as a perpetrator of the criminal act must be established.

6.Any causal connection must be established between the accused and the offence.

7.It is sufficient to show that the objective in acting could have been accomplished without violating the law.

8.The accused must be shown as a responsible agent by physical and not moral causation.

9.Facts giving evidence of intentions of the accused are of little

value.

10.In robbery, burglary and larceny motive is important.

11.Some crimes include malice, the intent to do injury to an-

other.

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