Vocabulary

Vocabulary
part of speech Meaning Example sentence

arrest take into police control My partner arrested the man who set
verb fire to the building.

assailant person who assaults or attacks Did you see the assailant run away?
noun

at large (on the not caught, running free I'm afraid that the man who robbed
loose) the bank is still at large.
preposition +
adjective

armed and is carrying a weapon and has a Do not approach the thief if you see
dangerous violent background him. He is considered armed and
adjective dangerous.

back-up police that are called in to We're calling for back up now that
noun support or help we know she has a gun.

bail large amount of money that Your husband's bail is posted at 20,
noun someone pays as a promise to 000 dollars.
appear in cour

baton (night stick) heavy stick that police use for No, we don't carry guns. We only
noun controlling crowds or defending have batons.
themselves

book someone register someone as a criminal We're taking your brother down to the
verb station to book him.

break into enter a residence, car, or business Do you have any idea who would
verb illegally have broken into your car?

burglar a person who breaks into a home We think the burglar got in through
noun or business and steals items your chimney.

cell individual room in a jail/prison We'll have to keep you in a cell until
noun someone comes to pay your bail.

convict a person who is doing (or Please be aware that there is a convict
noun supposed to be doing) jailtime on the loose.

cop/copper police officer (common slang) Did somebody here call the cops?
noun

criminal record a file that lists all of the crimes a We don't allow anyone with a
noun person has committed criminal record into our country.
crime scene the place where a crime Please stay outside the yellow tape.
noun happened This is a crime scene.

cruiser (squad police car Please step out of your vehicle and get
car) into the police cruiser.
noun

(in) custody under police control You will be happy to know that we
noun have taken the kidnapper into
custody.

DUI/DWI (Driving Under the Your record says that you have two
Influence/Driving while previous DUIs.
Intoxicated). Driving after
drinking too much alcohol

detective police officer responsible for The detective is going to ask you a
noun solving crime few questions about the man's
appearance.

do time receive punishment for a crime You won't be required to do any time
verb + noun by spending time in jail but you will have to pay a fine.

domestic dispute argument/trouble in the We've had a number of calls reporting

adjective + noun home(often leads to violence) a domestic dispute in your hotel
room.

escape get away from a holding place If you try to escape we will have to
verb restrain you with handcuffs.

felony a major crime (e.g. murder) Murder is considered a felony and is

noun punishable by life in prison.

fine money that a person pays for You can get charged a large fine for
noun breaking a law speeding in a school zone.

fingerprints marks left by fingers that We're going to have to check your
noun identify a person personal belongings for fingerprints.

firearms weapons that shoot It is illegal to carry unregistered

noun firearms such as rifles and pistols.

gang a group of people often Stay away from this area at night as
noun associated with crime and drugs there is a lot of gang activity.

guilty responsible for a crime, You will be considered innocent until

adjective deserving of punishment you are proven guilty.

handcuffs metal rings that attach to wrists We put your boyfriend in handcuffs,
noun to keep criminals (or the because we saw him climbing through
accused)from escaping your window and thought he was an
intruder.
innocent not responsible for the crime We'll believe you are innocent when
adjective you show us your receipt for the items
in the bag.

intruder a person who enters a home or Someone called to report an intruder

noun business illegally on the third floor.

jail (prison) a place where criminals are The guards will be patrolling the
noun confined prison all day long.

misdemeanor a minor crime (punishment is Stealing a road sign is considered a

noun usually a fine or less than one misdemeanor,but is punishable by a
year in jail) large fine.

noise complaint a call to the police to complain of Two of your neighbours have made a
noun disturbing noise (usually music noise complaint tonight.
or a party)

partner noun another officer that a policeman I'm going to get you to tell your story
drives and works with to my partner.

patrol (on patrol) observe and protect an area We always patrol the downtown core
verb on the weekends.

perpetrator person who committed the crime The perpetrator is still at large.
noun

pickpocket a thief who steals from people's Beware of pickpockets on the

noun pockets in transit or in crowds subway.

pistol a hand held firearm Our local cops carry pistols but rarely
noun use them.

pursuit the act of searching for We are in pursuit of a man in a green

noun jacket and orange pants.

radar radio wave transmission that According to our radar you were
noun/adjective helps police track cars and map driving well above the speed limit.
crime scenes

robbery theft; taking something that does We have twenty officers investigating
noun not belong to you, often with the bank robbery.
force

speeding ticket a fine given to a driver who gets Your license shows a clean driving
noun caught driving beyond the speed record except for one speeding ticket
limit from five years ago.

steal to take something that does not Do you know who stole your wallet?
verb belong to you

street crime crime such as drugs and Don't give the beggars any money.
noun prostitution You will only be promoting street
 crime.

thief somebody who steals We have found the thief who stole
noun your car.

walkie-talkie hand held radio each partner My partner told me your license plate
noun carries over his walkie-talkie.

wanted being searched for by police A man from your hotel is wanted for
adjective his involvement in a murder.

witness to see something happen Three people witnessed the murder

verb but they are afraid to speak.

young offender a minor who commits a crime Your punishment will be less severe
(juvenile (usually under age of 18) because you are a young offender.
delinquent)
noun