In addition to crimes which are financial, violent (i.e. against people) or against property, there are also other types of actions which are considered to be criminal. An example of such a crime could be lying while giving testimony in court or driving over the speed limit on a road.

Also, you don't have to be directly involved in the actual act of committing a crime (e.g. a robbery) to be breaking the law. You can be convicted of a crime for just helping someone commit one.

In this online exercise, you will learn about them, understand what they are and remember the names of these types of crimes. These are the names of the crimes in the "common law" legal system, the system of law which is used in the majority of English-speaking countries.

Do the quiz at the end of the exercise to both ensure you correctly understand the different criminal offences and to help you remember them in the future.

If you want to learn the names of other types of criminal offences and understand what actions are involved in committing them, I would recommend later doing our other online exercises on crimes against property or theft and financial crimes and crimes against people. You can even try doing our exercises on the vocabulary of what happens in police investigations of crimes.

The aim of this exercise is to both teach you the names and give you an overview of what types of actions are involved in these types of crimes. However, what constitutes each actual crime mentioned below is much more complex than what you will learn about them here. If you want to find out more about what specifically constitutes a particular crime, I would recommend that you read more about it on Wikipedia.

Exercise: Other types of crime

Read the following conversation between two friends, Peter and Juan, who are talking about types of criminal offences.

The words in bold are the names of different types of criminal offences. Remember them because at the end of the text there is a quiz to check your understanding.

Peter:'Have you heard what has happened to John Simpson?'

Juan:'No, I haven't. What's happened?'

Peter:'He found out that his wife was having an affair with somebody she works with. And for some stupid reason he planned to murder the guy when he was leaving work one evening. However, the gun he took didn't fire when he pulled the trigger. So he ran off and then the police caught him later. So he has been charged with attempted murder.'

Juan:'Really! It doesn't surprise me that he tried to do that; he is a very aggressive person.'

Peter:'In addition, the police found the gun. So he's also been charged with possession of a firearm. He didn't have a licence to own one. So that will be more time in prison.'

Juan:'A cousin of mine was convicted of the possession of a controlled drug when he was young. Fortunately, he didn't go to prison because he only had a very small amount.'

Peter:'But the worst thing is, he's ruined the life of his brother. It looks like he will be going to prison as well.'

Juan:'How so?'

Peter:'He knew what his brother was going to do and helped him with the planning and the getting of the gun. So he's been charged as an accessory to commit murder.'

Juan:'Was he there when it took place?'

Peter:'No, he wasn't. To be an accessory to a crime, you just need to know about it beforehand and help them in their preparation to commit it.'

Juan:'So he didn't agree to commit the crime with his brother; he just helped him and probably gave him advice.'

Peter:'It doesn't look that way. If he had agreed to commit the crime and helped him with the preparation then he would have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. But the police haven't charged him with that.'

Juan:'Is someone only charged as an accessory to, or with conspiracy to commit, crimes if the crime doesn't happen?'

Peter:'They are both inchoate offences. So you can be charged/convicted with them whether the crime happens or not. Another type of inchoate crime is incitement to commit a crime, where somebody suggests or persuades others to commit a crime, but after that is not involved in any planning or takes any part in the actual criminal act.'

Juan:'Like when someone makes a speech in public and encourages people to attack the police?'

Peter:'Yeah, that would be regarded as incitement to riot.'

Juan:'I have heard people talk about being an accomplice to a crime. What does that mean?'

Peter:'It is different. Firstly, the crime has to happen to be charged as an accomplice to a crime. And although the person knows what's going to happen and provides help to commit the crime like with being an accessory, when you are an accomplice you need to have some direct involvement in the committing of the crime. Although you don't murder the person, you are there when it happens or you do something which brings the situation about, like telling the victim to go to a specific place where they are then murdered.'

Juan:'And would it be a crime if after a crime happens, you help the person who did it by hiding them from the police or do things to stop them from being arrested?'

Peter:'If you knew they had committed a crime and then provided them help to escape justice, then it would be. You would be committing the crime of accessory after the fact.'

Juan:'And if you lied for them to the police, like giving them a false alibi for where they were when the crime happened or making a false statement?'

Peter:'In addition to being charged with accessory after the fact, you could also be charged with another crime called perverting the course of justice. People are charged/convicted with this if they are found to have knowingly and intentionally given false statements to the police or courts and have destroyed evidence among other things.'

Juan:'But if you lie to the police or in court, isn't that called perjury? I have heard it said in some movies.'

Peter:'Not to the police, but if you knowingly and intentionally give a false testimony when you are in court, then it is called the crime of perjury. It is a type of perverting the course of justice.'

Juan:'All of the crimes you've told me about are very similar. I can understand why people get confused about them.'

Peter:'Yes, they are. That's the reason why you need a lawyer.'

Juan:'Indeed you do. Although this isn't really connected to what we've talked about and I was wondering if you could explain something to me.'

Peter:'Sure, go ahead.'

Juan:'Imagine I accidentally kill someone. What would that crime be called?'

Peter:'What was the situation?'

Juan:'Say I was driving my car very, very quickly and I knocked down and killed someone.'

Peter:'That would be called involuntary manslaughter and you killed them because of recklessness. You were doing something which you should have known was potentially dangerous and you shouldn't have been doing.'

Juan:'And would it still be involuntary manslaughter if instead of doing something which I shouldn't, I didn't do something which I should have? Like if I know a tree in my garden is likely to fall down, but I don't do anything about it. And then one day it falls down by itself and kills someone.'

Peter:'Yes, it would still be involuntary manslaughter. But you didn't kill them because of recklessness; instead, you killed them because of criminal negligence. You didn't do something which you should have.'

Juan:'Thank you for explaining that to me.'

Peter:'My pleasure.'



Quiz:

Below is a definition/description of each of the crimes in bold from the above text. Now choose the crime from the question's selection box which you believe answers each question. Only use one crime once. Click on the "Check Answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the answer. The icon contains extra information about the word/phrase. In the icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.

1. When you lie when you are giving a testimony in court, it is called

         

Perjury:
(noun) This is a criminal offence where a person knowingly makes a false statement when they have made an oath to tell the truth. Normally, people are charged with perjury when they knowingly lie when testifying in court. However, people can be charged with perjury when they lie on certain legal documents as well. By committing perjury, a person is "perverting the course of justice". This is another crime which includes other actions in addition to perjury (e.g. destroying evidence, making a false statement to law enforcement). This is a criminal offence where a person knowingly makes a false statement when they have made an oath to tell the truth. Normally, people are charged with perjury when they knowingly lie when testifying in court. However, people can be charged with perjury when they lie on certain legal documents as well. By committing perjury, a person is "perverting the course of justice". This is another crime which includes other actions in addition to perjury (e.g. destroying evidence, making a false statement to law enforcement).

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Perjury:
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2. When you participate in some way in the planning and the committing of a crime, you could be convicted of being a/an

         

Accomplice to:
(noun) It is a type of crime where a person who knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally gives help to another in the commission of a crime. An accomplice, unlike an accessory, is typically present when the crime is committed. And even though they may not actively participate in the crime (e.g. a getaway driver in a bank robbery or being present when a murder occurs), they will be as criminally liable as the person/people who actually commit the crime.

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Accomplice to:
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3. When you don't do something which you know you should have done which leads to damage or harm to others, is an example of

         

Criminal negligence:
(noun) A conspiracy is when two or more people agree to commit an illegal act and take some step toward its completion. The crime doesn't necessarily need to happen for a person to be found guilty of conspiracy or for them to know all the details of what will happen; they just need to have agreed to do the crime and know that it is planned to occur. Conspiracy can occur with many crimes, e.g. conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to defraud, etc...

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Criminal negligence:
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4. When you help and protect a person after they have committed a crime to avoid arrest, prosecution or punishment, it is called

         

Accessory after the fact:
(noun) It is when someone knowingly helps and protects a person after they have committed a crime to avoid arrest, prosecution or punishment. For someone to be charged/convicted of being an "accessory after the fact", they need to know that the person has committed a crime. A close family member of the accused/suspect cannot be charged with the offence of "accessory after the fact"

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Accessory after the fact:
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5. When you and another person agree and then plan to commit a crime at some point in the future, you could be convicted of

         

Conspiracy to:
(noun) A conspiracy is when two or more people agree to commit an illegal act and take some step toward its completion. The crime doesn't necessarily need to happen for a person to be found guilty of conspiracy or for them to know all the details of what will happen; they just need to have agreed to do the crime and know that it is planned to occur. Conspiracy can occur with many crimes, e.g. conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to defraud, etc...

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Conspiracy to:
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6. When you try to commit a crime (e.g. murder), but for some reason it doesn't happen or wasn't successful, it is called

         

Attempted:
(noun) It is a criminal offence where an individual plans and even tries to commit a crime, but for reasons not intended by the person, the final resulting crime does not occur. When somebody is charged or convicted of the crime, "attempted" is added to the crime which they were planning or intending to do. For example, attempted murder, attempted burglary, etc...

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Attempted:
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7. Making false statements to the courts or police, intimidating a witness not to say something and fabricating false or destroying actual evidence, are examples of

         

Perverting the course of justice:
(noun) It is also called "the obstruction of justice" in American law. This is where a person intentionally tries to prevent justice from being served on themselves or on another party. Actions which would be regarded as "perverting the course of justice" can include fabricating or destroying evidence, intimidating witnesses/jurors, or making false statements in court or to the police. "Perjury" is a type of "perverting the course of justice".

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Perverting the course of justice:
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8. When you have acquired or have control over an object which you know to be illegal (e.g. drugs), it is called being in

         

Possession of:
(noun) This is a type of crime where a person knowingly has acquired or has control over an object which they know to be illegal (e.g. stolen goods, illegal drugs, a firearm which they don't have a licence for, etc...). Just being in possession of or owning something illegal isn't a criminal offence; it has to be proven that the person knows the object is illegal.

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9. When you encourage or persuade another person to commit a crime but then don't participate in the planning or the committing of the crime, you could be convicted of

         

Incitement to:
(noun) The crime of incitement is the act where a person encourages, persuades or even suggests that another person commits a criminal offence, but after that the person is not involved in the planning or commission of the crime. The crime doesn't necessarily need to happen for a person to be found guilty of incitement. It is difficult to prove "incitement" for a crime. There normally has to be multiple witnesses to it or it has been recorded. Incitement can occur with many crimes, e.g. incitement to riot, incitement to commit murder, etc...

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Incitement to:
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10. When you assist in the planning and organisation of a crime, but don't participate in the actual crime itself, you could be convicted of being a/an

         

Accessory to:
(noun) It is also called "accessory before the fact" and is very similar to the crime of "aiding and abetting" (which basically means helping and encouraging). It is when a person assists in some form (like in the planning, organisation, providing help, coming up with the idea) in a crime, but does not actually participate or is present when the actual crime is committed. A person can be charged as an accessory to a crime, even if they don't inform the police that a crime is going to happen after they find out. A person can be an accessory to most crimes, e.g. accessory to murder, accessory to arson, accessory to robbery, etc... It is very similar to "conspiracy to" in that help is given. But with a conspiracy, the people involved have agreed to commit the crime together.

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Accessory to:
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11. When you do something which you know you shouldn't have done which leads to damage or harm to others, is an example of

         

Recklessness:
(noun) It is also called "gross negligence". It is where a person does something which they know (or which any responsible person would know) is dangerous or risky, which potentially or actually causes harm to others or to property. Examples of recklessness would be driving at very high speed, texting while driving, etc...

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Recklessness:
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To learn the names of crimes which involve stealing in financial and business situations, do our online exercise on the types of financial crimes.

To learn the names of violent crimes, do our online exercise on types of crimes against people part 1.



Practice

Now that you understand the new vocabulary, practise it by creating your own sentences with the new words/phrases. Also click on the icon next to each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.