Crime and the law

Hello guys,

we’ve recently had an amazing incident at school. Listen…

After some vandalism in the school, the police asked students to help them find the guilty person. They had  five suspects: Brian, David, Simon, Jason and Kevin.

Nobody wanted to tell the police who had done it, but somebody sent a clue the police. It was a number: 1-4-9-10-11. The police had no idea what it meant.

A boy from the fifth form took the paper and told them that Jason was the guilty person.

How did he know? What clue does the number give?

I can’t work it out! It just drives me mad!

I can’t wait seeing Bella. She said she might know the answer.

Do any kinds of crime often happen in your country?

In Britain people feel quite protected. Edinburg in Scotland is considered to be country’s safest city and … it’s also a beautiful place to visit!

Here are a few facts about laws from some of the safest countries in the world:

Did you know that in Singapore it is illegal to chew gum because it damages the city’s pavements and gets stuck in subway doors? You can get a fine or even go to prison for a petty crime like that!

Hong Kong has some of the strangest and strictest laws in the world. For example, it is illegal to play music in the streets. If you are a busker, it’s certainly not the place for you!

In Finland fines for certain crimes are based on your income. If you’re rich, you pay more! A few years ago the director of mobile phone company, Nokia, was caught speeding and got a fine of over 100,000 euros! Do you think that’s fair?

In Iceland, thefts and robberies almost never happen. House burglaries are unknown. People leave the front door open or their bicycles unlocked on the street. The police are largely invisible.

Now look at this picture. Find the criminals and what they are doing.

Use may use words in the box.

Well, one criminal is climbing out of a window above the bank,

one is running along the street with a sack on his back,

one is stealing something from a woman’s back pocket,

one is kicking a litter bin,

one is running away with a woman’s handbag,

one is in a shop stealing jewellery.

Now let’s have a look at the words in the box and discuss the difference between the vocabulary words.

A thief or a mug is someone who openly steals from people.

A burglar is someone who steals specifically from people’s houses.

A robber is someone who steals from banks, trains, etc.

A shoplifter is someone who steals from shops while pretending to be a customer.

A pickpocket is someone who steals from people’s pockets while they are not looking.

A kidnapper is someone who takes a person away illegally by force, usually in order to demand money in exchange for releasing them.

Complete the sentences.

1.                 The thief is wearing a black hat.

2.                 The shoplifter is holding a watch.

3.                 The vandal is wearing earphones.

4.                 The burglar is very hot.

5.                 The robber can’t get out of the window.

6.                 The pickpocket is chatting on his mobile.

Complete the table with the names of the crimes and the verbs.

robber – robbery – to rob

burglar – burglary – to burgle

pickpocket – pickpocketing – to pick someone’s pocket

shoplifter – shoplifting – to shoplift

thief – theft – to steal (there is a verb to thieve, but it is less common than to steal)

mugger – magging – to mug

vandal – vandalism – to vandalise

kidnapper – kidnapping – kidnap

Listen to Charlie and mark the crimes or criminals you hear.

I live in a big city and I sometimes hear about crime on the news. Once there was a robbery at the city bank and it was quite dramatic. Helicopters flew over the city and the police caught the robbers quite quickly.

My dad says there are more vandals now and they damage the seats and bins in the local park, but I don’t think it really happens that often. My friends and I use the park and it’s a nice place to go.

The only criminal I’ve really seen is a shoplifter. Once I was in a shop in the city centre when a shop assistant chased a girl into the street. She was carrying a bag of jewellery. I don’t know what happened to her.

Which crimes have you heard or read about where you live?

Do you think vandalism is a big problem in your town?

Are there any areas of town which may be dangerous to go to?

Now let’s revise some useful words and word combinations about the law.

Choose the correct option.

500 pounds reward for information on local vandals.

Thirty years in prison for diamond thieves.

Judge decides young thief should work for the community.

Old man falls asleep and gets a fine of 50 pounds.

Ex-criminal goes back to school and become a lawyer.

Sam has got to go to court for a driving offence.

The were no witnesses to the accident.

Say you're sorry and you'll get off with a warning.

Try to make your own sentences with the words below.

Let’s have a look at the last group of words. I’m sure that most of them are familiar to you.

Match them with the pictures.

Listen to the story. Mark the words from the box that you hear. Which word is not in the story?

It was night time and it was dark. I was in a huge house and somebody or something was chasing me…. I couldn’t see anything … I ran to the door, but it was stuck. I pushed it once … and again … Finally, it opened … and I looked inside. Just a large, dark space. Something was on the floor but I couldn’t see what it was and then I tripped and hit my knee … I knew I had to escape.

Above me, there was a window. I started to climb up to it … but … then … someone or something was behind me.

“Let me go,” I said.

Suddenly something grabbed my arm and pulled me away … Aaaaa …

All the words from the box should have a tick except for … fall. It wasn’t in the story.

And finally, try to retell the story using as many vocabulary words as possible. Imagine what happens next.

Listen, the doorbell is ringing. That might be Bella. Oh, God, she’s here and I’ll get the answer to the clue.

Bella: Hi Max, How are you?

Max: Fine. Come on, Bella. What’s the answer?

Bella: Look, it's perfectly simple!

Max: I wouldn't say that.