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Here are some words for different types of crimes. There are
some words for crimes which are violent, those which involve money, and the
words for minor crimes. There are also the words for the criminals who
commit these crimes.
Crime and criminals.
A crime is an action which is against the law. There are
many different types of crimes and here are some of the most common.
1. Violent crimes.
These are all violent crimes which usually involve people
being hurt.
A murder
happens when someone kills another person.
An
assault happens when a person attacks and
hurts another person.
If there is a
stabbing,
someone is attacked with a knife.
An act of
terrorism happens when people use bombs
and murder for political reasons.
If a person is captured and held by other people, this is a
kidnap.
The kidnappers ask for money to return the captured person.
To take someone's wallet in the street by attacking them is
called mugging.
When sex takes place against someone's will, this is called
rape.
If a building is set on fire, this is an act of
arson.
When a plane or a coach is taken over by people, it is a
hi-jack.
A
hit-and-run happens when a car crashes
into a person and then does not stop.
2. Crimes committed for money.
These types of crime are committed for money or to gain
things. They are all nouns.
Stealing occurs when
someone takes things which do not belong to him / her.
The crime of
drug dealing
involves selling of illegal drugs such as heroin.
A forgery
is produced when a criminal copies something of value such as a painting.
Blackmail happens when a
person asks for money and in return offers not to tell other people about
inappropriate behaviour.
When people have their wallets taken from their pockets or
handbags, it is called
pickpocketing.
Fraud happens when people
get money from others by illegal means which involves deceiving them.
Fraud is an example of
white-collar crime,
meaning it is committed by middle class people.
Shoplifting is the act of
stealing from a shop.
If drugs, alcohol or cigarettes are taken from one country
to another, this is
smuggling.
When a person goes into a house and takes things it is a
burglary.
Burglary is also called a
break-in.
3. Minor crimes.
These are types of crime which are considered minor.
An act of
vandalism
occurs when public places are damaged.
Graffiti is writing on
places which are public such as walls.
Dangerous driving is
driving without using the rules of the road.
To drive after drinking alcohol is called
drunk driving.
If you are caught for
speeding,
you are driving faster than the speed limit.
Petty crime is the name
given to all the crimes which are minor.
Football hooliganism
involves many problems connected to football fans.
If you infringe
copyright,
you make money from copying other peoples' pictures or writing.
4. The criminals.
People who have committed crimes are called criminals. Here
is a table of the crimes described above with the word for the person who
commits each type of crime.
Type of crime The criminal who
commits the crime
murder murderer
assault assailant
act of terrorism terrorist
kidnap kidnapper
mugging mugger
rape rapist
arson arsonist
hi-jack hi-jacker
stealing thief
drug dealing drug dealer
forgery forger
drunk driving drunk driver
blackmail blackmailer
pick pocketing pick pocket
fraud fraudster
shoplifting shoplifter
smuggling smuggler
vandalism vandal
burglary burglar
petty crime petty criminal
hooliganism hooligan
Look at the different crimes below. Put them into the
correct group. One of these crimes goes in two groups! There are three
groups to choose from.
Does someone get hurt?
murder, stabbing, terrorism, kidnap, hit-and-run, assault,
rape
Is something stolen?
theft, shoplifting, pickpocketing, fraud, burglary
Does the crime involve cars?
speeding, drunk driving,
hit-and-run
Which types of criminals are responsible for these types of
crimes? Read about the crime which has been committed and click on the name
of the criminal who has done this.
A woman is held by one man while another steals her handbag.
shoplifters
muggers
rapists
A factory has been set on fire.
arsonist terrorist
burglar
A man leaves a clothes shop without paying for a pair of
jeans.
vandal shoplifter mugger
A man has been caught selling cocaine.
blackmailer thief drug dealer
Your wallet is taken out of your back pocket when you are
walking along the street.
pickpocket terrorist mugger
Five men with guns tell the pilot of an aeroplane to fly to
a different city.
hi-jackers murderers arsonists
There are $20 notes which are not genuine.
rapist forger fraudster
Someone asks you for money in return not to tell your wife
you have a girlfriend.
blackmailer vandal mugger
A lorry full of illegal drugs travels from France to
England.
smuggler mugger petty criminal
Three boys draw large paintings over the side of a block of
flats.
white-collar crime graffiti break-in
Read this section of a report on British crime. Type in the
missing words. The first letter of each word is given to you.
Results from the 2002 British Crime Survey
Earlier this year we carried out a survey of British crime.
We asked people for their opinion about how much crime was committed. The
most important results are shown below. However, people seemed to
overestimate the problem of crime, despite the overall fall in the amount of
crime. One third of people believed that the national crime rate had
increased "a lot" between 2001 and 2002 - an idea which is opposite to what
has actually happened. Here are the most important points from this crime
survey:
There were 152 murders last year;
· Less houses were broken
into, burglary was down 11%
from 2000 to its lowest level since 1996;
· Less street crime, for
example 32% less muggings;
· The number of cars
which were stolen was down by 11% from its 1997 level;
· Stealing from vehicles
was down by 16%;
· Supermarkets reported
that shoplifting had fallen;
· Violence was down by
4%, including stabbing which was down by 11%;
· The numbers of people
who were the victims of some type of crime during 2001 fell from 14% to 13%.
This was the lowest rate since 1997.
The few exceptions to the downward trend, however, were
armed robbery (+ 11%) and computer fraud (+ 14%).
bombs (n)
are things which make explosions.
captured (v)
if you are captured, a person holds you against your will.
carried out (phrasal
verb)
means done.
cocaine (n)
is an illegal drug from South America.
copies (v)
to copy something is to make something which is exactly the
same.
damaged (v)
to damage something is to change it for the worst.
deceiving (v)
if you deceive someone, you trick them.
downward (adv)
if something goes downward, it goes down.
exceptions (n)
an exception is something which does not fit the normal
pattern.
factory (n)
a factory is a building where things like cars are made.
gain (v)
if you gain something, you get it.
genuine (adj)
a thing which is genuine is real and not fake.
held (v)
here, if you are held you are kept prisoner.
heroin (n)
is an illegal drug made from poppies.
hurt (adj)
if you are hurt, you feel pain.
inappropriate (adj)
if something is inappropriate, it is not used for its
intended purpose.
increased (adj)
to increase something means produce more of it.
infringe (v)
when you infringe you go against the law.
law (n)
the law is the word for the legal system of a country.
level (n)
here, is an amount.
middle class (n)
middle class people have salaries which are not high and not
low, for example teachers are middle class.
minor (adj)
if a crime is minor, it is not very important.
national (adj)
if something is national it applies to all the country.
overall (adj)
the total.
overestimate (v)
if you estimate, you make a guess and so if you
overestimate, your guess is too high.
pilot (n)
is a person who flies a plane.
rate (n)
the rate at which something happens is the amount of it.
reasons (n)
a reason for doing something is why it is being done.
rests (n)
the rests of an action are what you see or have at the end
of it.
seemed (v)
if something seems like something, it appears to be it.
set on fire (phrase)
to cause a fire.
speed limit (phrase)
the speed limit is how fast you can drive on certain roads.
For example, the speed limit on UK motorways is 70 mph.
survey (n)
a survey is a large piece of research which collects
information and presents the results.
trend (n)
a trend is a pattern.
vehicles (n)
this is the word for all forms of transport.
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