Classes of crimes in great britain

According to the English Criminal Law crimes are classedas treasonous, felonies and misdemeanours. This is a historical classification.

The second classification of crimes is into indictable offences and offences punishable on summary conviction. But ассоrdіng to the classification which is based on the immediate objects of the сrіmеs the latter may be against bodily security; crimes against property, against religion and morality, reputation, and crimes against the state and public order. Knowing exactly when a man has committed a violation of the law is almost a science and any police officer must know it well to produce the exact charge which is provided by the law.

XII. Read and translate the text with the help of a dictionary.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF CRIMES

All violations of the law have their special features. There are two main classes: simple and complex crimes. Drunk in public is a good illustration of a simple crime, and committing an assault upon another person with a dangerous weapon is punishable as a misdemeanour. If an ordinary person uses any kinds of weapons he is guilty of а felony. If the weapon used is capableof inflicting bodily harm, an attempt to commit a crime deserves the same punishment аs the crime itself.

Lesson 2

Text: Elements of the Offence

Grammar: Active and Passive Perfect.

I. Read and translate the sentences, paying attention to the predicate.

1. The suspect confessed that he had committed the offence.

2. If а man has broken the law he must be punished.

3. The investigation of that case will have been finished by the next week.

4. Fingerprints have been used for establishing identity since the earliest times.

5. When the presentation of evidence had been completed, the lawyers made speeches in which they summed up the proof.

6. The police records showed that the prisoner had served three terms of imprisonment for robbery.

7. It is assumed that the criminal has been identified, but the investigation is not completed. It has entered the third and often the most difficult phase, namely collecting the facts to prove the guilt of the accused at the trial.

8. A confession of a suspect may be denied if it has not been supported by other corroborative evidence.

9. The English Law has been made by judges and Parliament.

II. Translate the following words. Don’t use a dictionary.

element, penalty, sabotage, legal, examination, motive.

III. Read and translate the text.