Crime & Law

Legal collocations for crime, justice, and the law

Introduction

Legal and crime vocabulary uses many fixed collocations. We "commit a crime" not "do a crime", "break the law" not "violate the law" (in everyday speech). These combinations are important for understanding news and legal discussions.

This chapter covers crime and law collocations from everyday situations to courtroom language.

Themes

All Collocations in This Chapter (28)

• commit a crime To carry out an illegal act
• break the law To do something that is against the law
• serve a sentence To spend time in prison as punishment for a crime
• face charges To be formally accused of a crime and have to go to court
• plead guilty To formally state in court that you are guilty of a crime
• plead not guilty To formally state in court that you are not guilty of a crime
• press charges To formally accuse someone of a crime through the legal system
• drop charges To decide not to continue with a criminal case against someone
• under arrest In the state of being legally detained by the police
• bail out To pay money to secure someone's release from custody before their trial
• criminal record An official history of a person's past crimes
• forensic evidence Scientific evidence collected and analysed for use in criminal investigations
• eye witness A person who has seen a crime or event and can describe what happened
• crime scene The location where a crime took place
• petty crime A minor or less serious criminal offence such as shoplifting or vandalism
• organised crime Criminal activities planned and carried out by powerful groups or networks
• white-collar crime Non-violent crime committed by business or professional people, such as fraud...
• identity theft The crime of stealing someone's personal information and using it fraudulently
• life sentence A punishment of imprisonment for the rest of a person's life or a very long p...
• community service Unpaid work done as a punishment for a crime, benefiting the local community
• suspended sentence A prison sentence that is not served unless the offender commits another crim...
• court order An official instruction issued by a judge or court requiring someone to do or...
• legal aid Free or subsidised legal advice and representation for people who cannot affo...
• human rights The basic rights and freedoms to which all people are entitled
• civil liberties The individual rights and freedoms protected by law from government interference
• law and order The condition of a society in which laws are obeyed and people behave peacefully
• beyond reasonable doubt The standard of proof required to convict someone in a criminal trial
• miscarriage of justice A situation where an innocent person is wrongly convicted or a guilty person ...