Vocabulary tasks
A Match the words from columns in order to make logical word combinations. Translate them into Russian.
-
1
crime
a
to give
2
prosecution
b
to identify
3
evidence
c
to process
4
organized crime
d
to solve
5
fingerprints
e
to commit
f
to prove
g
to conduct
h
to fight against
i
to investigate
B Match these legal terms with their definitions.
-
1
police officer
a
a person who commits a crime
2
investigate
b
a weapon used by the police
3
felony
c
violent demonstration
4
riot
d
a person who tries to prevent crime and keep public order
5
burglary
e
a robbery in the street
6
mugging
f
make a careful study of something
7
truncheon
g
a serious crime such as murder
8
criminal
h
the crime of getting into a building to steal things
C Complete this TV news report about a bank robbery by using the prepositions from the box.
for to from by of
‘Now for our other news. Two men were prevented 1) _____ escaping after trying to rob the Commercial Savings Bank today. The men were arrested 2) _____ armed robbery and taken to the Boston police station 3) _____ officers who arrived quickly on the scene. The men are also accused 4) _____ carrying and using dangerous weapons. If they are found guilty, they could be sentenced 5) _____ a maximum of five years in prison.’
D Circle the best answer (a), (b), (c) or (d).
1 In a (n) …, dial 999 to call the police.
a) emergency b) duty c) chase d) patrol
2 The … was found inside the house when the owners came home.
a) shoplifter b) mugger c) burglar d) pickpocket
3 Police … with dangerous situations every day.
a) catch b) complain c) arrest d) deal
4 The shoplifter is … with a prison sentence of 9 months.
a) smuggling b) shift c) deal d) faced
5 The man was … about parking his car in front of the police station.
a) warned b) fined c) prevented d) apologized
6 Lost …is kept for two months, then it is sold.
a) handed in b) valuable c) property d) community
Over to you
Compare the functions of Scotland Yard and the FBI.
Unit 17 Law Enforcement in the Russian Federation
Before you read
Discuss these questions.
What are the aims of the law concerned with?
What does the law forbid?
What state bodies are responsible for preventing any violations of law?
Text a Law Enforcement of Today
Usefulness and necessity of law reveal themselves solely in the course of implementation of law, its embodiment. Implementation of law provisions is practical execution of instructions included in those provisions, when a rule, displayed in a law provision in general form, is embodied in people’s deeds.
A special form of law realization is its enforcement. A peculiarity of the given form is that it is executed by the competent bodies and is aimed at a restricted number of persons or one person. An act of law enforcement is an individual act of an authorized body of power that is based on norms and determines particular rights, duties or liability. Non-observance of such acts is punished.
Major requirements to such acts are as following:
Strict compliance with legal provisions
An act must be issued within the limits of powers of the law enforcement body or an official
An act must be substantiated
An act must have all the; required characteristics of an official document.
Law enforcement acts are not sources of law since they do not contain any general rules of conduct but ensure the application of certain law provisions with respect to a particular case or person. Unlike normative legal acts, acts of law enforcement are supposed to be applied once only.
The law enforcement is required in different cases, when implementation of the law is impossible without the interference of the state, its bodies or officials, such as:
• Relations in the sphere of the state management (e.g. appointment of a Federal Minister)
• Relations in the area of distribution of social benefits (e.g. pensions or state welfare payments)
•Relations arising in solving law disputes (e.g. the court decision)
• Relations arising under judicial prosecuting, imposing and executing the punishment (e.g. the ruling of the criminal investigator to initiate a criminal case).
Stages of Law Enforcement
Law enforcement is executed in a strictly set procedure and in a defined order. Main stages of law enforcement are as follows:
Ascertaining the actual circumstances of the case
Investigating and qualifying the actual circumstances (choosing the required law provision and interpreting it)
Ruling on the case.
A Gap in a Law
A law-enforcement process is also executed in case of a gap in a law. A gap in a law is the absence of a necessary provision regulating public relations that are to be regulated by law.
In case a gap in a law is discovered, it is liquidated by the means of:
Adoption of a missing law provision by the competent bodies
Eliminating the gap in the law by the law-enforcer. Principal ways to eliminate the gap in the law are:
● ● Application of analogy of law
● ● Application of analogy of legislation.
Application of Analogy of Law
In this case a gap in a law is eliminated by application of a law provision, regulating similar relations (such law provision serves as a law basis for the court decision).
Application of Analogy of Legislation
In the absence of a law provision regulating similar relations, the law-enforcer eliminates a gap in a law in accordance with general principles and the meaning of the legislation.
Analogy of law and analogy of legislation take place in the Russian civil law-enforcement practice, but are prohibited in the administrative and criminal laws.