IELTS VOCABULARY

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

@madinalingua

Type of crimes and criminals

1.Abduction - taking someone away by force,

demanding money for their safe return
2.Abuser - a person who treats another person or
animal with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or
repeatedly
3.Arson - setting fire to a building, cars or property on
purpose, especially a building

4. Arsonist - a person who intentionally starts a fire in order to damage or destroy

something, especially a building
5. Assassination - killing a famous person or public figure
6. Assassin - a person who murders an important person for political or religious
reasons
7. Assault - attacking someone physically
8. Assailant - a person who physically attacks another.
9. Blackmail - threatening to reveal someone’s secrets if a lot of money is not paid
10. Bribery - giving money or granting favors to influence another person’s
decisions or behavior
11.Burglary - breaking into a house in order to steal something
12. Burglar - a thief who enters a house or other building by force
13. Child abuse - treating a child badly in a physical, emotional, or sexual way
14. Child abuser – a person who treats a child badly in a physical, emotional, or
sexual way
15. Corruption – illegal and dishonest behavior, especially those in power
16. Crime - doing something illegal that can be punished by law
17. Criminal - a person who has committed a crime
18. Cybercrime - doing something illegal over the Internet or a computer system
19. Domestic violence - behaving violently inside the home
20. Drunk driving - driving with too much alcohol in your blood
21. Drunk driver - someone who drives after drinking more than the amount of
alcohol that is legally allowed.
22. Embezzlement - stealing large amounts of money that you are responsible for,
often over a period of time.
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

23. Espionage - spying, to obtain political or military

information
24. Extortion - the practice of obtaining something,
especially money, through force or threats
(вымогательство)
25. Spy - a person employed by a government or
other organization to secretly obtain information on
an enemy or competitor
26. Forgery - illegally copying documents, money, etc.
to cheat people

27. Fraud - getting money from people by cheating them (мошенничество)

28. Genocide - killing on purpose a large number of people, especially from a
particular group or area
29. Hijacking - taking control of a plane, train etc by force, often to meet political
demands
30. Hit and run - not stopping to help a person hurt in an accident caused by you
31. Homicide - killing another person on purpose
32. Hooliganism - being violent or aggressive on purpose; often used to describe
youth
33. Hooligan - a violent young troublemaker, typically one of a gang
34. Human trafficking - the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual
slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others.
35. Identity theft - using someone else’s personal information for one’s own gain
36. Juvenile crime - crime committed by young people below a specific age (18 in
most countries)
37. Kidnapping - taking someone away by force, often demanding money for their
safe return
38. Libel - damaging someone’s reputation by writing lies about them (клевета)
39. Looting - taking things illegally and by force, during a riot, war, etc.
(мародерство)
40. Manslaughter - killing someone by accident
41. Mugging - attacking someone with a plan to rob them
42. Murder - killing someone on purpose
43. Murderer - someone who illegally and intentionally kills another person
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

44. Organized crime - criminal organizations that plan and commit crime, or the
crimes that are committed by such organizations
45. Perjury - lying in court, while under oath (лжесвидетельство)
46. Pickpocketing - stealing wallets, money, etc. from people’s pockets in crowded
places
47. Poaching - hunting illegally (браконьерство)
48. Riot - causing a noisy, violent public disturbance
49. Rioter - one of a group of people who meet in a public place and behave in a
noisy, violent, and uncontrolled way, often as a protest
50. Robbery - stealing large amounts of money with force or violence from a bank,
store, etc.
51. Robber – someone who steals
52. Shoplifting - stealing something from a store
53. Slander - damaging someone’s reputation by speaking lies about them (клевета)
54. Smuggling - taking things secretly in or out of a place, country, jail, etc.
(контрабанда)
55. Speeding - driving above the speed limit
56. Terrorism - using violence, threats, or fear, usually for political purposes
57. Theft - stealing, in general
58. Thief – someone who steals
59. Trafficking - trading something illegal like drugs, people, etc.
60. Treason - betraying one’s country by helping its enemies

61. Traitor - a person who is not loyal or stops being

loyal to their own country, social class, beliefs, etc.
62. Trespassing - entering another person’s area;
hurting people/damaging property through force
63. Vandalism - destroying private or public property
purposely
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

Phrases and collocations

1.Bring crime rates down/Reduce crime rates - снизить уровень преступности

(The government has announced to reduce crime rates)
2. To be sentenced to – быть приговоренным к… (He was sentenced to 3 months in
prison for fraud)
3. To be given a sentence - быть приговоренным к… (He was given a 2-year prison
sentence for robbery)
4. To be found guilty of a crime – быть признанным виновным в преступлении (He
was found guilty of fraud and was given 2 years in prison by the Judge)
5. To be convicted of a crime – быть осужденным за…(He was convicted of murder
and was given life imprisonment)
6. In jail – в тюрьме
7. In prison - в тюрьме
8. Behind bars – в тюрьме
9. Incarcerated – заключенный в тюрьму
10. Locked up (informal) – заключенный в тюрьму
11. To be serving time – отбывать срок
12. Imprisonment – тюремное заключение
13. Commit a crime – совершить преступление
14. Criminal activities – преступные действия
15. To break the law – нарушать закон
16. Offences - правонарушения
17. Offenders – правонарушители

18. To re-offend – повторно нарушать закон

19. To be accused of wrongdoing – быть
обвиненным в проступке
20. Heavy penalties – тяжелые наказания
21. Strict penalties – строгие наказания
22. Harsh treatment – жестокое обращение
23. Lenient sentence – снисходительный
приговор
24. To get off lightly (informal) – легко
отделаться
25. The criminal justice system – cистема
уголовного правосудия
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

26. Inmate – заключенный

27. Convict – приговоренный
28. Prisoner – заключенный
29. Rehabilitation – реабилитация
30. Counselling sessions – консультации
31. Integrate back into society – снова
интегрироваться в общество
32. To be held under house arrest – быть под
домашним арестом
33. Community service – общественные
работы

34. Act as a deterrent – действовать как сдерживающий фактор

35. Pay a hefty fine – заплатить огромный штраф
36. Seek compensation – требовать компенсации
37. Court – суд
38. Court case – судебное дело
39. The judge - судья
40. The defendant - защитник
41. Charged with crime – обвиняется в преступлении
42. Guilty – виновен/виновна
43. Innocent – невиновен/невиновна
44. Evidence/proof – доказательство
45. Verdict – вердикт, решение суда
46. Trial – суд, судебный процесс
47. In custody – под стражей
48. Witness – свидетель
49. Make an appeal – подать апелляцию
50. Seek damages – требовать возмещения убытков
51. Ex-prisoner – бывший заключенный
52. Past criminal records – криминальное прошлое, прошлая судимость
53. Reformed criminals – раскаявшиеся преступники
54. To deter crime – сдерживать преступность, пресекать преступность
55. Get released from jail – освободиться из тюрьмы
56. An employee with criminal record – работник с криминальным прошлым
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

57. Minor crimes – мелкие преступления

58. To prevent them from committing further crimes –
предотвращать повторное совершение преступлений,
профилактика рецидивизма
59. To ensure the safety of other citizens - обеспечить
безопасность других граждан
60. To be armed – быть вооруженным
61. To own firearms – иметь огнестрельное оружие
62. Use guns in self defence – использовать оружие
для самозащиты
63. Use weapons – использовать оружие
64. Carry guns – носить оружие
65. A risk of accidents with guns – риск несчастных случаев из-за оружия
66. Prison overcrowding – перенаселенность/переполненность тюрем
67. The cost of imprisonment – расходы на содержание тюрем
68. To be executed – быть казненным
69. Capital punishment – смертная казнь
70. Recidivism – рецидивизм, повторные преступления
71. Engage in crime – быть вовлеченным в преступление

Additonal: An article about recidivism that you may find helpful for IELTS

PRISON RECIDIVISM: CAUSES AND POSSIBLE TREATMENTS

The actual cause of prison recidivism can be tied to a combination of personal,

economic, sociological and lifestyle factors. While incarceration is focused on
punishing and rehabilitating prisoners, one of the most detrimental factors to proper
rehabilitation can be the social interactions that inmates have while incarcerated.

When someone first gets incarcerated, they may have a been associated with a limited
social circle of amateur criminals, but prison offers a network of career criminals that
could further their criminal prowess. If an inmate isn’t actively resisting criminal
tendencies and trying to rehabilitate him or herself, they may learn more about how to
become a better criminal and, upon release, return to a life of crime.
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

This return to crime typically ends up with another arrest as roughly 68 percent of
former inmates get arrested within their first three years of release.

LACK OF EMPLOYMENT

When someone finally gets released from prison, even if they want to live a normal
life and be a productive member of society, their employment options are severely
limited.

It’s estimated that an individual who has a felony on their record has 50 percent less
likelihood of getting a callback from employers.

The lack of employment options leads to a lack of finances. Lack of finances leads
former inmates into desperation. And desperation leads back to crime.

INCARCERATION DOES NOT TREAT THE PROBLEM

While many institutions state that their goal is to treat inmates and rehabilitate
them, anecdotal evidence based on our research suggests that most inmates don’t
feel rehabilitation is part of the experience.

In addition to the lack of proper rehabilitation, 2 million people every year who have
a mental illness are added to the jail system. How many of these individuals end up
in prison is a statistic we can't find, but it's reasonable to assume that there is a
correlation.

The National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

estimates that of all incarcerated individuals with substance abuse issues, only 11
percent of those that need treatment actually receive it while incarcerated.

DEPRESSION AND DESPERATION

Mental issues abound in prisons, where studies have estimated that 31 percent of
females and 14.5 percent of males have a serious mental issue. Without proper
treatment these issues will carry over into when the inmate is released.
 IELTS VOCABULARY
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
@madinalingua

BEING OVERWHELMED BY SOCIETY

For those who have served long sentences in prison, it’s not surprising that some
inmates are intimidated and overwhelmed upon release.

Being incarcerated forces an individual into a rigid schedule and they are required to
follow rules every single day. While the monotony is undoubtedly tiresome, it also
doesn’t give inmates the chance to experience freedom of choice.

Once they are released, aside from regular meetings with a parole officer, they have
much more freedom and this can lead to them feeling overwhelmed and full of
anxiety, which sometimes leads to substance abuse to cope with the issues.

The substance abuse can result in additional crimes to fund their dependency, which
ultimately lead the former inmate back into prison.

NOT CHANGING LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL CIRCLE UPON RELEASE

Part of a successful rehabilitation means individuals must distance themselves from

negative influences upon their release. Bad influences can come in many forms, but
the key is for those who have been incarcerated to find a new support group to
associate with.

Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done. Many times, former inmates will go
back to the same crowd of people they used to associate with because finding a new
group isn’t easy to do.

Beyond that, it’s unlikely that a new group would be as willing to help them as their
old crowd, thus it’s natural for the former inmate to not change the group they hang
out with. Further, if gang activity is involved, it might be very difficult to leave their
old group for fear of retribution.

All of these issues compound each other, and with each issue included in the
individual's release, the less a chance they have not to become a statistic of
recidivism.

(https://www.occupy.com/article/prison-recidivism-causes-and-possible-
treatments#sthash.blWtDd2p.dpbs)