Crime and criminal procedure

There is a widespread feeling among the British public that crime is increasing. Figures on this matter are notoriously difficult to evalu­ate, however. One reason for this is that not all actual crimes are necessarily reported. Official figures suggest that the crime of rape increased by more than 50% between 1988 and 1992. But these figures may represent an increase in the number of victims willing to report rape rather than a real increase in cases of rape.

Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the number of crimes went up. And the fear of crime seems to have increased a lot. This has gone together with a lack of confidence in the ability of the police to catch criminals. In the early 1990s private security firms were one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country. Another response to the perceived situation has been the growth of Neighbourhood Watch schemes. They attempt to educate people in crime prevention and to encourage the people of a particular neighbourhood to look out for anything suspicious. In 1994 the government was even con­sidering helping members of these schemes to organize patrols.

There has also been some impatience with the rules of criminal procedure under which the police and courts have to operate. The police are not, of course, above the law. When they arrest somebody on suspicion of having committed a crime, they have to follow certain procedures. For example, unless they obtain special permission, they are not allowed to detain a person for more than twenty-four hours without formally charging that person with having committed a crime. Even after they have charged somebody, they need permission to remand that person in custody (i.e. to keep him or her in prison) until the case is heard in court.

8. Answer the questions:

1. What is the reason of increased crime of rape in Britain?

2. Why were private security firms one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country in the early 1990s?

3. What is the Neighbourhood Watch scheme?

4. What are the procedures the police have to follow when they arrest a person?

9. Read the story and fill the gaps:

Trial confessed court custody guilty

Convicted enquiry (2) sentenced jury execution

Arrested innocent charged appeal dropped

Pardon judges plea apprehended hunt

Suspect tried executed statements denied

The story began when a man called Timothy Evans was... for the murder of his wife and baby. He was... with the double murder, but a short time later one of the charges was... and he was... for the murder of his daughter only. During the... Evans accused the man whose house he had been living in, John Christie, of the crimes, but no attention was paid to him. The... found Evans... and he was... to death. An... was turned down and he was... in 1950.

Some time later, more women's bodies were discovered in Christie's house: two, three, four, five, six. John Christie was the police's chief... and they started a nationwide... for him. He was soon.... Alleged... by Christie while he was in... cast doubt on the Evans hanging. When he went to..., Christie... that he had murdered Mrs Evans, but in private it was said that he... to that crime. His... of insanity with regard to other murders was rejected and he was... of killing his wife. Soon afterwards there was an... into the... of Timothy Evans. The... decided that justice had been done and Evans had been rightly hanged. It was only in 1966 that another... was set up. This time it was decided that Evans had probably been... and he was given a free.... Better late than never, as they say.

10. Translate into English:

Дело Стивена Кизко (Stefan Kizsko)

8 февраля 1992 года из тюрьмы был выпущен мужчина, который провел 16 лет своей жизни, отбывая срок за убийство. Оказалось, что, на самом деле, он не совершал данное преступление.

В начале 90-х годов из Британских тюрем было выпущено большое количество людей, которые отбывали наказания за преступления, совершенные другими. Самыми известными из этих случаев были дела «Гилфордской четверки» и «Шести из Бирмингема». В обоих случаях это были группы людей, осужденные за террористические акты. В каждом из дел предыдущие решения суда были изменены, когда стало очевидно, что полиция нарушала порядок ведения следствия (например, они фальсифицировали свидетельские показания или не заносили в дело важные улики).

Доверие общественности к полиции уменьшилось. Однако, если в случае с поимкой террористов симпатия людей была на стороне полиции, то дело Стивена Кизко было из разряда совершенно других. Он не принадлежал ни к какой незаконной организации. Эго единственным преступлением было то, что он оказался в не том месте в неподходящее время. Он также соответствовал стереотипу преступника, что сделало его жертвой людского предубеждения. Коэффициент его умственного развития был ниже среднего, у него было иностранное имя, поэтому суд присяжным посчитал его потенциальным убийцей.

11. Read and translate Text 3:

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