2020-06-12
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1. The criminal law protects the community from the wrongful acts of some individuals.
2. The basic doctrine of criminal law is that a person is presumed innocent until he is proved guilty.
3. Punishments depend on the gravity of the crime and the previous criminal record of the defendant.
4. A capital offense is a crime which is punished by the death penalty.
5. Misdemeanors are less serious than felonies.
6. Lawyers have divided crimes into treasons, felonies and misdemeanors.
7. Murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and car theft are the most serious crimes in the USA.
8. Violent crimes are widely covered in mass media.
9. There are several types of political crimes – assassination, kidnapping, spying on political opponents, as well as robberies and assaults.
10. Imprisonment is a sanction that should be used only for the protection of the community from dangerous offenders.
11. In Great Britain the most common sentence is a fine; it is imposed in 80 percent of criminal cases.
12. The purpose of probation is to rehabilitate the offender who continues to live a normal life in the community.
13. Almost all European countries have abolished the death penalty.
14. Supporters of the capital punishment say that it deters people from committing similar serious crimes.
15. Opponents of the death punishment argue that it is cruel, uncivilized and involves mental pain of waiting for the death sentence to be carried out.
16. Innocent people can be executed in case a judicial mistake takes place.
17. The cost of a single capital case in the USA from arrest to execution is 3 to 10 times more expensive.
18. Is the aim of punishment revenge or rehabilitation of offenders?
19. Lethal injection is the most often used form of execution in the USA.
20. The number of supporters for the death penalty has decreased among Americans in the early 21st century.
21. The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years of age.
22. Crime and violence are parts of social life in America and other countries.
23. Violence is a form of behavior leading to fights, school shooting and other forms of aggression among American children.
24. In dealing with juvenile crime it is important to shift away from punishment to rehabilitation and prevention.
III. Составьте аннотацию прочитанных текстов по теме «Crimes and Criminals in Modern Society», следуя общепринятым правилам и используя соответствующие речевые образцы (см. прил. 2.)
IV. Police at Work (Работа полиции за рубежом)
1. The British Police
There are 52 police services, or police authorities, in the United Kingdom. Each police service is employed and paid by their local government or councils. The police services are completely independent of one another, but they are always ready to go to each other’s help. Each force has its Criminal Investigation Department (CID).The lowest police rank in the British police is the constable. By the way, constables are not armed with firearms. Besides the regular police forces, there are specialized police forces: the British Transport police, Civil Aviation Police, Manchester Dock Police and others.
The London police force, called the Metropolitan Police, is not controlled by the local authority. It is responsible to the Home Secretary. Its chief officers are appointed by the central government. The Metropolitan Police Force was set up in 1829 by an Act of Parliament. There were 3,000 officers in the Metropolitan Police Force originally. Today it is the largest Police Force in Great Britain, policing an area of 742 square miles of Greater London.
The Metropolitan Police is divided into two main branches – the CID and uniformed branch. There are a number of specialist branches in the Force: the Mounted police, the Dog Branch, the River Police, the Women police. Until 1920 all the police were men.
The basic ranks in the British police are as follows: a police constable (PC), a sergeant (2 grades), inspector (2 grades), and superintendent (2 grades).
The main goals of policing include the prevention of crime and disorder, the preservation of peace, the apprehension of offenders, the recovery of lost or stolen property, and the protection of life, property and personal liberties.
The popular nickname of the London policeman «bobby» is a tribute to Sir Robert Peel, whose Christian name was Robert, Bob for short. Sir Robert Peel reorganized London police in 1829.
(C. G. Reynard «Violence Stops here»)
2. Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Force, but this name is almost always associated with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan police. The CID was set up in 1878. The name Scotland Yard comes from the fact that originally there was a palace used by Scottish kings and their ambassadors when they visited London. Later the palace was replaced by the building of the Metropolitan Police, but the name of Scotland Yard remained.
The Criminal Investigation Department consists of 1,500 detectives, of which 1,300 do ordinary detective work. The rest 200 officers work in the Special Branch, fulfilling some special and important tasks, such as protecting very important persons (VIPs) and dealing with activities which are harmful for the state.
Other branches of the CID are:
1. The criminal record office, which is the only office in the country that keeps a central record of all criminals.
2. The fingerprint department, which by status keeps all fingerprint records.
3. The Flying squad, which is used all over the country when necessary.
One of the most successful developments of Scotland Yard is the «999 emergency system». On receiving a call, the 999 Room operators locate the position of the nearest police car and send it the place of the telephone call. Within some minutes assistance is rendered.
Apart from the «999 Room», there is another interesting place in Scotland Yard. It is the Map Room. Here is the Central Crime Map, the Deaths by Violence Map, the Accidents Map and the Recovered Vehicles Map.
(C. G. Reynard «Violence Stops here»)
3. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The most famous federal Government Agency in the United States is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) with the headquarters in Washington, D.C. On 26 July 1908, President theodore Roosevelt directed the Attorney General to create the agency now known as the FBI. In 1924 J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the organization and remained in that position until his death in May 1972.
At present the FBI consists of 11 different divisions. It is the largest federal criminal law enforcement agency with 9,000 agents. The FBI headquarters are located in Washington, DC. Field offices are located in major cities throughout the United States and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The director of the FBI is appointed by the President of the U.S. and approved by the Senate.
The investigative work of the FBI is performed by special agents. All agents are trained at the FBI Academy, located on the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia. In addition to special agents, the FBI employs about 11,000 persons who perform such functions as fingerprint examinations, clerical duties, computer programming and laboratory work. The FBI investigates all sorts of criminal activity, especially cases of espionage, treason, and matters of internal national security.
Training schools for Special Agents were set up to instruct them in modern crime detection and methods of investigation. Courses include Federal Law, accounting, and the science of fingerprinting, crime scene search, interviews, photography, firearms, and self-defense.
The FBI is not a national police force. It is an investigative agency. FBI agents investigate federal crimes. They also help state and local authorities in their investigative work.
The FBI crime laboratory provides services for other law enforcement agencies. Perhaps best known are the fingerprinting services. The FBI has fingerprint cards on more than 65 million persons.
(R. R. Roberg, J. Kuykendal «Police organization
and Management. Behavior, Theory, and Process»)
4. Profile: John Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the legendary head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was born in 1885 in Washington, D.C. He studied law at George Washington University. As a student he was brilliant and had a great choice after graduating from the university, but he chose a job at the Department of Justice. In 1924, when he was forty, they sent him to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Soon J. E. Hoover was appointed the Head of the FBI and made it the largest law enforcement organization in the world. He opened a technical and scientific laboratory, an identification division, set up many training schools for special agents. He also found the National Police Academy, where he taught as a chief instructor.
J. E. Hoover had a very good memory: he called agents by their first names; he remembered all investigations and their results. He said, «The main task of the FBI is the protection of people against crime».
As to his personal life, he had never married. At leisure time he usually went fishing or hunting. Hoover played tennis very well, too. He also liked good music.
(M. P. Roth «Crime and Punishment.
A History of the Criminal Justice System»)
5. Scope of the Police Function
There is a public view that the police spend most of their time apprehending and arresting criminals, but these functions constitute only part of the daily life of a police officer. Police work is not confined to protecting life and property and enforcing the law. Here is a list of police functions performed by the police in most countries.
1. Protecting life and property.
2. Apprehending and arresting criminals.
3. Enforcing the criminal law.
4. Investigating criminal offences.
5. Patrolling public places and maintaining order.
6. Regulating traffic.
7. Controlling crowds.
8. Counseling juveniles.
9. Issuing permits and licenses.
(P. W. D. Reymond «General Principles of English Law»)
Задания
I. Ответьте на вопросы по содержанию прочитанных текстов.
1. How many police services are there in United Kingdom?
2. What departments are there in the British police forces?
3. When was the London police force set up? How many officers does it consist of?
4. What are the basic ranks in the British police?
5. What is the popular nickname of the London policeman?
6. What is Scotland Yard?
7. How big is the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan police?
8. What are the tasks of the CID of the Metropolitan police? What branches are responsible to do them?
9. What are the most successful developments in Scotland Yard?
10. When was the Federal Bureau of Investigation formed?
11. How is the FBI organized?
12. Where are Special Agents trained?
13. What does the programme of instruction at the FBI Academy include?
14. Is the FBI a national police force or an investigative agency?
15. What does Text 4 say about John Edgar Hoover, the legendary head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation?
16. Where did J.E. Hoover study?
17. What did J.E. Hoover do to make the FBI the best investigative agency in the world?
18. What have you learnt about personal life of J.E. Hoover?
19. What does Text 5 say about the work of police forces in the majority of the countries?
20. What police functions do you find most important?
