LAW vocabulary

break law quebrantar la ley outrage escándalo

crime delito / delincuencia petty crime la pequeña delincuencia
crime of passion crimen pasional speeding exceso de velocidad
crime wave ola delictiva tort responsabilidad civil
delinquency trespass transgresión
foul play juego sucio war crime crimen de guerra
misdeed fechoría delito wrongdoing irregularidades
misdemeanor delito menor drink-driving alcohol al volante
offense delito zero tolerance tolerancia cero
a criminal / drink-driving offence juvenile delinquency delincuencia
criminal record antecedentes penales juvenil

The prisoner was found guilty on two counts casos of murder.

He has admitted committing several crimes, including two murders.

The defendant is accused of/charged with a range of crimes, from theft to murder.

A knife was found at the scene of the crime (= the place where the crime happened) .

Bombing civilians is a crime against humanity (= a cruel crime against many people) .

Crime doesn’t pay no hay crimen sin castigo

no trespassing prohibido el paso, propiedad privada

DWI driving while intoxicated conducir en estado de ebriedad

police think the robbery was an inside job alguien de la
empresa / casa está implicado

Driving without a licence is an offence.

He committed several serious offences.

It's the third time that he's been convicted of a drug offence.

It's an outrage (= it is shocking and morally unacceptable)
that so much public money should have been wasted in this way.

Many motorcyclists flout desobedecer the law by not wearing helmets.

The law forbids the sale of cigarettes to people under the age of 16.

We're campaigning for a repeal revocación of the abortion laws.

The police want tougher laws for dealing with drug traffickers.

The law outlawed prohibir / declarar ilegal smoking in public places.

They were jailed for running a drugs / prostitution racket asunto de tráfico de drogas /
prostitución.

o Under copyright law, you must have permission to use this photograph.
o The company has violated federal hazardous waste laws.
o The country spent ten years under martial law.
o They have a common law duty to take reasonable care.
o Jewish religious laws prohibit certain foods, such as pork.
o The new government repealed revocar some of the anti-union laws.
o It's breaking the law to leave small children alone.
o To comply with the law, acatar la ley / cumplir la normativa we had to install
firefighting equipment.
o A system of fines was introduced to enforce the law.hacer respetar / cumplir la ley
o The law prohibits dog fighting.
o She teaches law es profesor de derecho at London University.

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 o These safety measures are required by law. We must act according to the law.
o There's no law against overeating. He was arrested for assaulting an officer of the law.
o She thinks the laws on privacy should be tightened.
o That argument would not stand up in a court of law. tribunal de justicia
o He has no respect for the rule of law.el imperio de la ley
o The party must be seen to be tough on law and order. El orden público
o Law enforcement officers agentes de la ley went to the scene of the riot.
o They have flouted desobedecer, desacatar the principles of international law.
o To be safe, we must stick to the letter of the law.
o A loophole laguna jurídica / legal in the tax laws enabled him to keep his millions.
o The new law comes into effect entrar en vigor next month.
o I'm confident of winning damages daños y perjuicios - I know I have the law on my side de mi parte.
o The accused men have been remanded in custody se decretó prisión preventiva to await trial.
o He was remanded on bail quedar en libertad bajo fianza
o Police carried out a raid hacer una redada and made two arrests
o The man was found guilty of assault (and battery) agresión (con lesiones) and sent to prison
for ten years.
o The woman will stand trial someterse a juicio accused of murdering her husband.
o The woman was charged with threatening behaviour acusar de conducta amenaza-
dora / intimidatoria, an offence which carries a sentence of up to two years in jail.
o The judge summed up recapitular and the jury retired to consider its verdict.
o The jury returned a verdict of guilty and the judge passed sentence dictar sentencia.
o New evidence came to light and the original verdict was overturned anular on
appeal en la apelación / en segunda instancia.
REAL LETTER to a victim of crime by London Police:
We are very sorry that you have become a victim of a crime. Thank you for reporting this matter to us. We have reviewed the
crime but so far there is not enough evidence to continue with further inquiries and the case will now be closed. However, if we
get any new evidence we will of course act on that new information.
We appreciate that this decision may be disappointing to you - unfortunately, not all crimes reported to us lead to an arrest.
However, by reporting crimes you can help us police your local area more effectively. The Safer Neighbour-hoods Team and
their police community support officers (PCSOs) work with your local community to tackle local issues and problems. You can
find details of your local team at Safer Neighbourhoods - Metropolitan Police Service.
Further information
We have enclosed a leaflet, 'Victims of Crime - support and advice', with this letter. It gives you more information on the
Criminal Justice Service, contact details for support organisations in London and details of how you may be able to claim
compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
If you would Iike information on crime prevention please contact the Victim Focus Unit on 020 7321 8872 between 9am-5pm
Monday to Friday, or visit our website at http://www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/
We will refer you to the independent charity Victim Support. lts staff and volunteers specialise in offering free and confidential
emotional support, information and practical help to victims of crime.
Working together for a safer London
Under government regulations we have to carry out telephone surveys with a small sample of people who have been victims
of crime. These surveys help us improve our service and adapt our approach to suit the different needs of the communities we
work with. We would very much appreciate your co-operation and honesty if we contact you to take part in a survey. If you
would like more information about the survey you can visit our website at www.met.police.uk and follow the link to victim and
witness support, information about the crime victim survey.
Thank you again for reporting this incident to us - we will always act in your best interests. Please do not hesitate to contact
us if you have any questions about this letter.
Yours sincerely
Crime Management Unit
LONDON
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o He took a plea bargain. Llegó a un acuerdo con la parte acusadora.
o He got off lightly. No recibió todo el castigo que debía. Salió prácticamente impune.
o It was an awful miscarriage of justice. Fue un tremendo error judicial.
o They just turned a blind eye to it. Hicieron la vista gorda.
o It's bound to cause problems. Seguro que da problemas.
o They've made spamming an offence. Han hecho del correo basura un delito / Han elevado al correo
basura a la categoría de delito.
o They've taken out an injunction against the paper. Han emitido un requerimiento judicial contra el
periódico.
o They billed me £50 - just for writing a letter! Me cobraron 50 libras- sólo por escribir una carta.
o 'That's outrageous! ¡Esto es intolerable! It's all jargon. Todo esto es palabrería técnica.
o We had our car towed away. Hicimos que nos remolcaran el coche.
o He's a bit dodgy, if you ask me. Si quieres mi opinión / me preguntas, es poco de fiar
o He's involved in a pretty nasty custody battle. Está metido en una batalla por la custodia bastante fea.
o You should've kicked up a fuss. Deberías haber montado un pollo / follón.
o There's been a spate of burglaries round our way.: Ha habido una oleada de robos en nuestro vecindario.
o The police should launch a crackdown. La policía debería iniciar medidas represivas.
o I feel like my home's been violated. Me siento como si mi casa hubiera sido profanada.
o Apparently, I'm liable for damages: Por lo que parece, soy responsable de daños y perjuicios.
o My car got towed away. Mi coche fue remolcado (por la grúa).
o He got off on a technicality. Se libró (salió impune) por un fallo en el proceso legal
o He's out on bail. Ha salido con / bajo fianza.
o They've been detained in custody. Han sido detenidos / Están en prisión preventiva.
o He got a suspended sentence. pena de prisión que no se cumple a no ser que el
delincuente reincida.
o There were mitigating circumstances. Había circunstancias atenuantes.
o He was released pending further investigations. Fue puesto en libertad a la espera de más pruebas.
o He was charged with gross misconduct. Se le acusó de muy grave conducta. Fue
imputado con falta grave (derecho contractual)
o He was done for reckless driving. Se le pilló por conducción temeraria.
o That's libellous! difamatorio, injurioso He was left destitute. Quedó en la indigencia / miseria.
o I was only five minutes over, but I still got clamped. Sólo me pasé 5 minutos, pero aún así me pusieron
el cepo. (equivalente a llevarse el coche la grúa)
o He pulled a knife on me. Me sacó un cuchillo. We were caught in the thick of it. Nos pillaron infraganti.
o I was a bit shaken-up. Estaba un poco alterado. It was totally unprovoked. Fue totalmente
inintencionado.
o The police just waded in. La policia se metió (de por medio).
o They've managed to track down the culprits. Lograron seguir la pista de los
culpables.
o My bike got nicked from right outside my house! Me mangaron la bici…