Police Vocabulary to Know

Word Definition Example

“He corroborated the claim that she

Corroborate To give support to a theory or finding.
was in her home that night”.

To bribe someone to commit an “He tried to suborn witnesses to speak

Suborn
unlawful act. in his favor”.

“The police officer sequestered the

Sequester To isolate.
suspect in the local park”.

Release of an accused person “He was granted bail at a cost of

Bail awaiting trial, often after the payment $4,000 and released and was due
of a fee. back in court on 14 September”.

“The US president was impeached on

To charge the holder of public office
Impeach grounds that he personally profited
with misconduct.
from his public role”.
 “He was a reprobate; an individual
Reprobate An unprincipled person. who had no principles and who acted
according to his selfish needs”.

“He was taken into custody on

Custody Imprisonment.
charges of theft”.

“Mike was reprimanded for consuming

Reprimand To warn against.
too much alcohol”.

“She was incarcerated after her trial

Incarceration The state of being imprisoned.
found her guilty”.

“He committed perjury by lying to the

Perjury Telling a lie whilst under oath. court about his whereabouts on the
night”.

“The court exonerated his reputation

To find innocent or free from
Exonerate and found him not guilty of the crimes
wrongdoing.
originally attributed to him”.
 “The vagrant moved from street to
Vagrancy The state of being homeless. street each week, never having a
permanent place to call home”.

To kill someone for an offence “They lynched him, hung him up and
Lynch
without trial (often in group form). left him to die. ”

Obtaining something, such as “His empire was built on extortion, and

Extortion
money, through force or by threats. not through any lawful means”.

To overcome or to bring under “The officer subdued the situation and

Subdue
control. prevented it from escalating further”.

“The officer suffered two contusions;

Contusion A bruise. one to his left forearm and the second
to his lower lip”.

“The court ordered an inquest to be

An inquiry that takes place to
Inquest held to learn what happened missing
establish the facts.
government funds”
 An authorization for the police to “A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Warrant arrest someone or to act, such as He was found and arrested later that
search premises. day”.

“A moratorium on drinking alcohol was

Moratorium A temporary ban.
sanctioned”.

“The United States is a very litigious

The act of taking legal action; to be
Litigation country, where litigation is almost a
litigious.
second currency”.

To conduct legal proceedings against “He was prosecuted for

Prosecution
an individual. manslaughter”.

“Sheldon committed arson when he

Arson Deliberately setting fire to property.
set fire to his employer’s premises”.

A military operation in which a town

or city is surrounded, and essential “The siege was ongoing for 3 weeks
Siege
supplies are cut off, with the intention now, and they didn’t yet surrender”.
that the town / city will surrender.
 “The judge established that he had
committed manslaughter by reacting
The non-intentional killing of a human
Manslaughter to an explosive situation with his wife,
being.
suddenly impacting her fatally on the
head".

“He had planned this murder for

The premeditated killing of a human several weeks now. It was a highly
Murder
being. calculated operation and, therefore, he
was issued the death penalty".

“She was 13, a delinquent by all

Delinquent A young offender. accounts, who regularly stole from half
a dozen local stores".

“The concert did not go ahead. Three

To deliberately destroy or obstruct an individuals deliberately targeted the
Sabotage
event. sabotaged the event to ensure that it
would not go ahead".

“The government had extensive

Surveillance Close observation, as in spying. surveillance in place to monitor what
Russia was up to".

State taking property from an owner
Expropriation
for public use / benefit.
Laceration A deep cut to the skin / flesh.
Conduct that incites rebellion against
Sedition
the authority of the state.
A fake document, bill or work
Forgery
intended for a criminal purpose.
Improvised barrier erected to defend
Barricade
against opposing forces.
Apprehend To arrest an individual for a crime.
“The law allowed for the expropriation
of church land for other development
purposes”.
“After the brawl, he realised he had
suffered a laceration to his left thigh”.
“His seditious acts were enough for
the government to hand down the
charge of treason”.
“The banknotes were clearly forged.
He was arrested on charges of
forgery”.
“A barricade was set up to defend the
police force against the unruly mob on
the opposite side”.
“He was apprehended for murder later
that day and would appear on trial on
1 October”.