B. Politicians on crime

Politicians often make speeches about crime. Here are some extracts from recent ones.

"In the fight against crime we will not just target serious crime, but all crime, including street crime and vehicle crime, so that the streets will be safer for everyone."

"If someone breaks into your house, steals your car, or robs you in the street, then of course you feel society has let you down. That's why we're determined to tackle crime. "

"We are doing everything in our power to combat crime. The crime rate has come down, and that is because we have put 10,000 more police officers on the streets and focused on juvenile crime ¹, because that is where the problem begins."

¹ crime relating to young persons not yet old enough to be considered adults

"This government is doing very little to fight crime. We have all had some experience of the recent crime wave in our cities, whether it is petty crime ² or more serious offences."

² crime not considered serious when compared with some other crimes

"The crime figures are the worst since 1995. We have had a spate³ of burglaries in this part of the city, vehicle theft, drug abuse and so on, and police have reported a staggering increase in the number of acts of mindless vandalism. It is time the party in power did something."

³ large number of events, especially unwanted ones, happening at about the same time

Don't forget the difference between steal and rob. A person steals something, e.g. He stole a car / some money, but robs someone or an institution, e.g. She robbed an elderly person / a bank. Steal is often used in the passive, e.g. My car was stolen.

 

Task 2. Find a collocation in A (Task 1) that matches each definition.

1. a schoolchild who commits a crime;

2. someone who has been found guilty of a crime in a court of law;

3. someone who has committed a lot of crimes;

4. to spend time in prison as punishment;

5. to do something that is against the law;

6. someone who is imprisoned for what they believe;

7. someone who has committed a crime (a disapproving term);

8. a document stating that someone has been found guilty in a court of law.

 

Task 3. Match the headlines from a local newspaper with the first lines of their stories.

¹ JUVENILE СRIМЕ RISING

² DRUG ABUSE SCANDAL

³ PETTY CRIME CONTINUES

⁴ POLICE TARGET VEHICLE THEFT

⁵ PENSIONER ROBBED

⁶ CRIME FIGURES OUT TODAY

a) 80-year-old Marianne Roberts had her house broken into and some money and jewellery stolen while she was asleep in front of the TV last night.

b) An increasing number of young people are getting involved in criminal activity according to a report published yesterday.

c) So many cars have recently been stolen in the city that the police are launching a special campaign to tackle the problem.

d) A detailed report on crime in the UK is to be published later today.

e) Small-scale robberies remain a significant problem in this area and police are concerned that the problem may soon become more serious.

f) A number of TV celebrities have been named as having attended a party where illegal drugs were being openly used.

 

Task 4. Fill in the gaps in this paragraph.

Police are concerned about the growing number of offences that are being (1) ______________ by young people in our town. They say that increasing numbers of youngsters are (2) ______________ into people's houses or (3) ______________ their cars. Indeed, police claim that it is probably young (4) ______________ who are to blame for the recent (5) ______________ of burglaries in our town. Police are proposing a special campaign to (6) ______________ the problem and are asking for the public's support in this (7) ______________ against (8) ______________ crime.

 

Task 5. Answer these questions.

1) Would you feel pleased or worried if there were reports of a crime wave in your area?

2) What sorts of crime might be considered as petty crime?

3) If the police are targeting serious crime, what are they doing?

4) What word could replace tackle in this sentence? The police are doing all they can to tackle petty crime in the city centre.

5) What does the phrase an act of terrorism mean?

6) Which of these words could complete the phrase a spate of...: robberies, young offenders, drug abuse?

7) Give an example of mindless vandalism.

? VOCABULARY PRACTICE