Legal English/ The language of trends
Take turns explaining changes in law and order like those below in your country, region, etc. Your partner will listen and give their opinion, add details, ask for details, etc.
| (average) age of… arrests for… confidence in… convictions for… cost of… education about… fear of… female… fiction about… government campaigns on… laws about… length of… old… panics about… police time spent on… press coverage of… prosecutions for… recorded… respect for… the number of… unrecorded… use of…
| alternative punishments (ASBOs, ankle bracelets, community service, curfews, restorative justice, public apologies, etc) (successful/ unsuccessful) appeals bail … ban/ banned from… capital punishment (= the death penalty, e.g. by hanging, by electric chair, by firing squad, by lethal injection, by stoning or by decapitation) citizen’s arrests civil cases (libel, slander, contested wills, etc) (forced) confessions copyright infringement (illegal downloads, etc) corporal punishment (caning, whipping, maiming such as cutting off hands, etc) corruption (bribery, nepotism, etc) court cases crime against property (arson, graffiti, vandalism, etc) crime prevention technology (burglar alarms, car alarms, CCTV cameras, GPS tracking, breathalysers, metal detectors, stun guns/ Tasers, etc) crimes by… criminal record (checks) cyber crime (hacking, denial of service attacks, ransomware, spyware, phishing scams, the dark web, etc) discrimination (racial, sexual, age, etc) driving offenses (speeding, drunk driving, dangerous driving, reckless driving, driving while under the influence, driving without insurance, driving without a license, driving an unsafe vehicle, underage driving, etc) drug crime (trafficking, producing, selling, possession, etc) evidence / clues (DNA evidence, footprints, fingerprints, eyewitnesses, electronic records, recordings, etc) exploitation (child labour, modern day slavery, human trafficking, etc) false convictions financial crime (loan sharks, false accounting, tax evasion, etc) |
| financial penalties (fines, compensation, etc) forgery guard dogs guilty pleas/ people pleading guilty/ non-contested cases gun crime (drive-by shootings, 3D printed guns, etc) hit and run human rights abuses identity theft illegal gambling illegal union activity incarceration (open prison, high security prison/ jail/ gaol, prison cell, police cell, juvenile detention, borstal, etc) informers (= snitches)/ tip offs international arrest warrants juries juvenile crime kidnapping knife crime (stabbings, muggings, etc) law enforcement officials (parole officers, police officers, prison officers, coroners, customs agents, public prosecutors, etc) lawyers (solicitors, barristers, scriveners, etc) magistrates miscarriages of justice (false prosecutions, confessions obtained under duress, etc) organised crime (gangsters, mafia, motorcycle gangs, street gangs, etc) parole piracy plain clothes police/ undercover police plea bargaining police boxes police equipment (armoured vehicles, battering rams, handcuffs, helicopters, shotguns, side arms/ pistols, sniper rifles, tear gas, truncheons, water guns, wire taps, body cams, dashboard cameras, etc) police patrols (bobbies on the beat, etc) police stations | prison sentences (life sentences, with hard labour, etc) private detectives (= PIs/ private investigators) prosecution of accomplices (fences, etc) prosecution rate public prosecutors questioning recidivism (= reoffending)/ ex-cons… restraining orders security guards self-defence (martial arts, pepper spray, rape alarm, etc) sexual assault (rape, etc) sexual harassment (e.g. groping on trains) sharia law smuggling squatting stalking Supreme Court (cases) suspended sentences terrorism (bombings, suicide attacks, ramming, etc) the sex industry (prostitution, pimping, brothels, etc) theft (shoplifting, burglary, pickpocketing, bag snatching, hold ups, mugging, etc) (psychological) torture treason trespass(ing) underage… vagrancy vigilantes violent crime (homicide/ murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, domestic abuse, GBH, assault, etc) whistleblowers white collar crime (insider trading, tax fraud, Ponzi schemes, etc) ways of catching criminals (forensics, ballistics, DNA analysis, car chases, trailing people, autopsies, phone tapping, search warrants, stakeouts, etc)
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When your teacher stops you, share one trend you agreed and see if the other groups have comments, questions, etc.
Ask about anything above you aren’t sure about, working together as a class to describe related trends each time.
Brainstorming stage
Without looking above for now, brainstorm as many examples as you can of each of the things below.
alternative punishments
kinds of capital punishment
topics of civil cases
kinds of corporal punishment
kinds of corruption
crimes against property
crime prevention technology
kinds of cyber crime
kinds of discrimination
driving offenses
kinds of drug crime/ crime related to drugs
kinds of evidence / clues
kinds of exploitation
kinds of financial crime
financial penalties
kinds of incarceration
law enforcement officials
kinds of lawyers
miscarriages of justice
kinds of organised crime
kinds of police equipment
kinds of self-defence
kinds of terrorism
kinds of theft
kinds of violent crime
kinds of white collar crime
ways of catching criminals
Look above for ideas, brainstorm more, then compare as a class.
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