English Vocabulary: Crime & Criminals

Do you like to watch the daily news? Do you love detective shows? Then you need this lesson on the vocabulary of crime. Here, you'll learn about five common crimes and five types of theft. You'll also learn what to call the people who commit these crimes.
After the lesson, take the quiz at http://www.engvid.com/english-vocabulary-crime-criminals/
And don't forget to check out the full EngVid resource on 50 different types of crimes and criminals at http://www.engvid.com/english-resource/vocabulary-crime-criminals

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid, and this vocabulary lesson is about the topic of crime. Okay? Let's start by looking at a few headlines.

All right, the first one: "Banker charged with embezzlement." Next one: "Celebrity arrested for shoplifting." Last one: "Man jailed for manslaughter." Okay? Now, there are three vocabulary words there that have to do with crimes: "embezzlement", "shoplifting", "manslaughter". If you don't know what they mean, by the end of this lesson, you will. Okay? So let's get started.

So, let's look at five words that have to do with crime. What I've done this time is I've written the meaning on the board, and what I'd like you to do is to think, because in... It's possible that you know the word; some of them are fairly common, and some are not so common. Okay? So try to think what it is, and work with me.

So the first word refers to the act of setting fire to a building, or a shop, or something on purpose; intentionally. Do you know what that word is in English? It starts with an "a", and it is "arson". Okay? That's the act of setting fire to a building on purpose. Maybe the person is trying to get some insurance money, or something like that. It's called "arson", and the person who does that is called an "arsonist".

Next: What is the word for the crime of forcing sex on someone, or forcing someone to have sex? That one starts with an "r", and it's called "rape". Okay? The person who does that is called a "rapist".

Next: What's the word for the act of killing someone on purpose, with a plan? It starts with "m", most people are familiar, unfortunately, with this word, which is "murder". The person is called a "murderer", so you add another "er" at the end.

This one is the act of threatening to reveal secrets, and demanding money in order to keep quiet about those secrets. Sometimes... Or very often this is in connection with someone who is famous, a politician, or something like that. Okay? Do you know what that is? It starts with a "b" and it's called "blackmail". Okay? To blackmail someone, to threaten to reveal secrets.

Next, killing someone accidentally or through negligence. What's that? Here, we said killing someone on purpose, which is murder, but this crime is called "manslaughter". Okay? Manslaughter. Killing someone accidentally or through negligence. "Negligence" means not paying enough attention to something you were supposed to be paying attention to. For example, if something happens to a child or something like that. Okay? So, these are the first five. We have five more which we're going to look at next.

Okay, the next five words all have something to do with stealing, but different kinds of stealing, so we have different words for the different crimes. All right? Let's see if you know what they are. So, the first word refers to stealing in general. "Stealing", by itself, first of all, in case you're not sure, means taking something without permission, without paying for it. All right? Or from a place that's not your own place, etc. Something that's not yours.

So, what is the general word for stealing in English? It starts with a "t". The word is "theft". Okay? The word is "theft", the person who does it is called a "thief".

Next, stealing from a bank or shop with force or violence. With a gun, perhaps, things like that. What's that? It's kind of stealing, again, but it has a different word. It's called... It starts with an "r". "Robbery". Okay? And the person is a "robber". Might be a bank robber. It doesn't have to be only a bank robber. It could also be a robber of this in a store. All right?

Next one, breaking into a home to steal. What is that crime called? This one starts with a "b". Okay? Do you know what it is? It's called "burglary". Okay? Now, I know you may not be able to see these words very well, and also what I'm saying about the people, like this one who is called a "burglar", but there will be a resource on our website about this vocabulary. So you'll have the crimes, as well as the criminals, so you can always check there if you want to know exactly what the words are, how to spell them, and so on.

Next one, stealing money in your care. What I mean by that is this is a word to refer to the crime of... It's sometimes called a white-collar crime, someone who is in a... A position of responsibility, and is responsible for a lot of money, steals. Over time, usually. Not maybe at one time.