noun
1 illegal act
ADJECTIVE
▪ appalling ( esp. BrE ), awful , bloody , brutal , despicable , dreadful ( esp. BrE ), grave , great , heinous , horrible , horrific , serious , terrible , unspeakable , vicious
▪
one of the most horrific ~s of recent times
▪ big , major
▪
the biggest ~ since the Great Train Robbery
▪ lesser , minor , petty
▪
He was charged with the lesser ~ of possession.
▪ real
▪
She claimed that the real ~ is that burglars and muggers usually get a light sentence.
▪ non-violent , violent
▪ perfect
▪
He boasted of having carried out the perfect ~.
▪ notorious
▪
one of the most notorious ~s in history
▪ capital
▪
After the reforms the only capital ~s were treason and murder.
▪ alleged
▪
She never faced trial for her many alleged ~s.
▪ unsolved
▪ copycat
▪
the danger of copycat ~s in the wake of the shootings
▪ motiveless
▪
an apparently motiveless ~
▪ victimless
▪
Insider dealing has been called a victimless ~.
▪ white-collar
▪ drug , drug-related , gun
▪ sex , sexual
▪ hate
▪
a hate ~ against a young gay man
▪ war
▪ political
▪ terrorist
▪ federal ( AmE )
VERB + CRIME
▪ carry out , commit , do , perpetrate ( formal )
▪ report
▪
Many ~s are never reported to the police.
▪ investigate
▪ solve
▪
a man who solves ~s using old-fashioned detective work
▪ prosecute ( AmE )
▪
a system of justice to prosecute ~s of terrorism
▪ punish
▪
Hate ~s are not punished severely enough in my opinion.
▪ witness
▪
a child who has just witnessed a violent ~
▪ confess
▪
He confessed his ~ to his sister.
CRIME + VERB
▪ involve sth
▪
~s involving firearms
▪ happen , occur
▪
The ~ occurred in broad daylight.
▪ be punishable by sth
▪
~s punishable by death
CRIME + NOUN
▪ scene
▪ victim
▪ suspect
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ against
▪
~s against humanity
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of passion , a ~ of violence
▪ the scene of the ~
▪
No weapon was found at the scene of the ~.
▪ the punishment fits the ~
▪
The punishment should fit the ~.
2 illegal activity in general
ADJECTIVE
▪ serious
▪ petty
▪ non-violent , violent
▪ recorded
▪ unrecorded
▪ growing , mounting , rising
▪ rampant
▪
a time of great poverty and rampant ~
▪ white-collar
▪
Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar ~ in the country.
▪ corporate
▪ organized
▪ juvenile , youth
▪ international , local
▪ rural , urban
▪ car , property , street
▪ drug , drug-related , gun , knife
▪
Gun ~ is just part of an increasingly lawless society.
▪ computer
▪
attempts to prevent hacking and computer ~
VERB + CRIME
▪ carry out , commit , perpetrate ( formal )
▪ combat , fight , tackle
▪ beat , crack ( informal )
▪
Police forces will exchange ideas on cracking ~.
▪ deter , prevent , stop
▪ control , cut , reduce
▪
How can we reduce knife ~ in our cities?
▪ detect , investigate
▪
The public have a crucial role to play in detecting ~.
▪ solve
▪ punish
▪ cause
▪ be driven to , turn to
▪
He says that bored youngsters turn to ~.
CRIME + VERB
▪ double , increase , rise
CRIME + NOUN
▪ figures , level , rate , statistics
▪ control , prevention
▪ problem , wave
▪
the country's ~ problem
▪ spree
▪ squad
▪
a senior detective with the serious ~ squad
▪ investigation
▪ lab ( AmE , informal )
▪
The computers were sent to a ~ lab for analysis.
▪ family ( AmE ), group , ring , syndicate
▪
leading members of an organized ~ syndicate
▪ boss , lord
▪
one of New York's biggest ~ lords
▪ drama , fiction , film ( esp. BrE ), movie ( esp. AmE ), novel , series , show ( esp. AmE ), story , thriller
▪
the latest TV ~ series
▪ reporter , writer
▪
the newspaper's ~ reporter
▪
a new short story by the popular ~ writer
PHRASES
▪ a crackdown on ~
▪
a crackdown on drug-related ~
▪ ~ and disorder
▪ ~ and punishment
▪ fear of ~
▪
Fear of ~ imprisons many elderly people in their homes.
▪ an increase in ~
▪ a life of ~
▪
Unemployed young people were likely to be tempted into a life of ~.
▪ sb's partner in ~
▪ a victim of ~
▪
Victims of ~ may be able to obtain compensation.
◆◆◆
NOTE: Crimes
▪ be guilty of … , commit …
▪
Two key witnesses at her trial committed perjury.
▪ accuse sb of … , charge sb with …
▪
He has been accused of her murder.
▪ convict sb of … , find sb guilty of …
▪
She was found guilty of high treason.
▪ acquit sb of …
▪
The engineer responsible for the collapse of the bridge was acquitted of manslaughter.
▪ admit … , confess to … , deny …
▪
She admitted 33 assault charges.
▪
All three men have denied assault.
▪ plead guilty/not guilty to …
▪
He pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal possession of explosives.
▪ investigate (sb for) …
▪
She is being investigated for suspected bribery.
▪ be suspected for/of …
▪
He was the least likely to be suspected of her murder.
▪ be/come under investigation for …
▪
She was the second minister to come under investigation for corruption.
▪ be wanted for … , be wanted on charges of …
▪
He was wanted on charges of espionage.
▪ solve a case/crime/murder/robbery/theft
▪
The police and the public must work together to solve the murder.
▪ arrest sb for …
▪
Jean was arrested for arson.
▪ be tried for … , stand trial for …
▪
to stand trial for extortion
▪ … case , … trial
▪
The nurse's murder trial continues.
▪ … charge
▪
The police agreed to drop the conspiracy charges against him.
▪ a charge of … , a count of …
▪
The jury convicted her on two counts of theft.