Text 4 crime investigation in different countries

Exercise 3.7 Complete the sentences below with the missing legal terms.

Exercise 3.6 Choose the words which best complete the text below.

Exercise 3.5 In the text “Definition and Elements of the Crime” find the antonyms for the following words.

Exercise 3.4 Complete the following word combinations with the correct prepositions from the box.

Exercise 3.3 Complete the sentences using the information from the text.

1) Crimes are considered injurious to ….

2) Actus reus may be accomplished by ….

3) Where the actus reus is a failure to act, ….

4) A guilty mind means ….

5) Unless the act of which a defendant is accused is expressly defined by statute as a crime, ….

by under to through of by to

1) Punishable __ the state; 2) injurious __society; 3) breach __ contract; 4) as defined __ law; 5) arise __ contract; 6) intention __ commit some wrongful act; 7) __ criminal law.

1) innocent –

2) harmless –

3) exclude –

4) right –

5) illegally –

6) liberal –

7) insignificant –

The criminal law generally prohibits undesirable 1) ____. Thus, proof of a 2) ____ requires proof of some act. Scholars label this the requirement of an actus reus or 3) ____ act. Some crimes require no more, and they are known as strict liability offenses. Nevertheless, because of the potentially severe consequences of criminal conviction, judges at common law also sought proof of an 4) ____ to do some bad thing, the 5) ____ rea or guilty mind. As to crimes of which both actus reus and mens rea are requirements, judges have concluded that the elements must be present at precisely the same moment and it is not enough that they occurred sequentially at different times.

1) a. acts b. thoughts c. words

2) a. law b. indictment c. crime

3) a. a guilty b. motive c. innocent

4) a. crime b. intent c. wrongful

5) a. actus b. mens c. reus

6) A “crime” is any act or _____ in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it.

7) Crimes include both ______ (more serious offenses like murder or rape) and misdemeanors (less serious offenses like petty theft or jaywalking).

8) Criminal law involves the ______ by the state of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime.

9) Most crimes are characterized by two elements: a criminal act and ______.

10) In criminal cases, the burden of _____ is often on the prosecutor to persuade the trier (whether judge or jury) that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of every element of the crime charged.

Exercise 4.1 Study the vocabulary:

1) forensic science	1) судова наука
2) scene	2) місце злочину
3) testimonial evidence	3) свідчення свідків
4) physical evidence	4) речові докази
5) investigation	5) розслідування
6) complaint	6) скарга, позов
7) witness	7) свідок
8) suspect	8) підозрюваний
9) victim	9) жертва
10) outcome of the case	10) результат справи
11) final report	11) підсумковий звіт
12) interrogation	12) допит
13) to approach	13) звертатися
14) confession	14) визнання (провини)
15) to enter plea bargain	15) проводити переговори про заключення угоди про визнання вини (амер.)
16) sentence	16) вирок
17) testimony	17) свідчення
18) fingerprinting	18) знімання відбитків пальців
19) crime lab	19) криміналістична лабораторія
20) court appearance	20) виступ у суді
21) DNA profiling	21) аналіз ДНК
22) microscopic examination	22) аналіз за допомогою мікроскопа
23) to release	23) звільняти

Exercise 4.2 Read and translate the text:

Forensic science and scientific expertise serves the administration of justice by providing scientific support in the investigation of crime and providing evidence to the courts.

When a crime is reported to the police, patrol officers are usually the first to arrive at the scene. They perform the initial investigation; fill out the forms, such as the complaint; interview witnesses; make an arrest if there is a suspect. If a crime requires expert investigation, detectives are called in. The detective’s first task usually is to examine the facts in order to determine whether a crime has actually been committed and whether further investigation is required. If a full investigation is initiated, detectives collect evidence, interview witnesses and victims, contact informants. After an arrest is made, investigative work is extremely important to the outcome of a court case. Case preparation includes reviewing and evaluating all evidence and repots on the case; re-interviewing witnesses and assisting in their preparation for court appearances; and preparing the final report.

Legal detectives and investigators in common-law countries have a wide variety of techniques available in conducting investigations. However, the majority of cases are solved by the interrogation of suspects and the interviewing witnesses, which takes time. Besides interrogations, detectives may rely on a network of informants they have processed over the years. Informants often have connections with persons a detective would not be able to approach formally. The best way is to obtain a confession from the suspect, usually this can be done in exchange for entering plea bargain for a lesser sentence. Evidence collection and preservation can also help in identifying a potential suspect(s).

Criminalistics as a subdivision of forensic science is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of different types of evidence in criminal investigations. Typically, evidence is examined in a crime lab.

A Crime Laboratory (often Crime Lab), is a scientific laboratory where scientists examine evidence from a criminal case. A typical crime lab has two sets of personnel. These are the investigators who go to crime scenes and collect evidence and process the scene. The second type of personnel in a crime lab is the people who run experiments on the evidence once it is brought to the lab.

Each type of evidence has a specific value in an investigation. Evidence used to resolve an issue can be split into two areas. The testimonial evidence refers to any witnessed records of an incident. The physical evidence is any material item that is on the crime scene. What will evidence collected at a scene don for the investigation:

· May prove that a crime has been committed.

· Establish any key elements of a crime.

· Link a suspect with a scene or a victim.

· Establish the identity of a victim or suspect.

· Confirm verbal witness testimony.

· Release the innocent.

Among the identification methods there are fingerprinting, DNA profiling and microscopic examination.

Exercise 4.3 Match the following legal terms with their definitions:

1. Confession	a) the judgment of a criminal court stating what punishment is to be given to a person
2. Testimony	b) questioning witnesses
3. Sentence	c) any witnessed records of an incident
4. Interrogation	d) witness’s statement under oath
5. Testimonial evidence	e) declaration (of one’s guilt)
6. Physical evidence	f) any material that is on the crime scene
7. Release	g) to free a person from captivity or imprisonment
8. Witness	h) a person who gives information about a thing, a subject being studied, etc
9. Informant	i) a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event
10. Innocent	j) not guilty of a particular crime; blameless

Exercise 4.4 Complete the following sentences with the right preposition according to the contents of the sentences:

for on through of

1. Why do detectives usually rely ___ a network of informants instead of meeting or interviewing people themselves?

2. The suspect can make a confession in exchange __ plea bargain for a lesser sentence.

3. The use of fingerprinting spread rapidly __ Europe.

4. The method of fingerprinting is a means __ identifying criminals.

Exercise 4.5 Give the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

1. Допит свідків –

2. Скоїти злочин -

3. Підтвердити свідчення –

4. Звільнити невинного –

5. Встановити ідентичність –

6. Місце злочину –

7. Збирати речові докази –

8. Покластися на інформаторів –

9. Вирішити справу –

10. Перевірити докази –

11. Потенційний підозрюваний –

12. Проводити розслідування –

Exercise 4.6 Substitute the words in italics with the words from the active vocabulary:

1. This physical evidence confirms the witnesses’ words.

2. An investigator has a right to make a search and question witnesses.

3. Criminal offense is defined as an illegal act for which a person may be punished by the State.

4. A crime scene sketch (малюнок) is a drawing that shows the appearance of a crime place.

5. Mrs. Smith who saw the accident tells that the suspect looked rather strange.

6. Mr. Black said he was ready to tell of his guilt.

7. After the long considerations he was set free.

Exercise 4.7 Complete the sentences with the words of the active vocabulary:

1. At last the judge pronounces the _____.

2. Sherlock Holmes features a detective using a number of _____ methods.

3. A ______ is an investigator either a member of a police agency or a private person.

4. Evidence collection helps in _____ a potential suspect.

5. Sometimes evidence helps to ____ the innocent.

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