Police investigations and actions part 1: The beginning of an investigation exercise

In this first part of three online exercises on police investigations and actions you will learn through reading a dialogue what happens at the beginning of a police investigation into a crime and what the police can do at this stage. In addition, you will learn some key vocabulary for this stage of an investigation (some of which you will already know, while others you probably won't).

The vocabulary/terms and the processes explained here is for the English and Welsh legal system. Although there are some differences in both to other legal systems, mostly they are similar (if not the same) to other legal systems.

At the end of the dialogue there is a quiz to ensure you correctly understand the different terms/vocabulary. In addition, once you have successfully completed the quiz, a "learn more" box will appear where you can find out more details about each term.

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

Exercise: The beginning of an investigation

Read the following conversation between two friends, Marie and Emma, who are talking about what happens when police stop someone and what happens at the beginning of a police investigation into a crime.

From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Marie:'Hi Emma. Sorry I'm late. I was stopped by the police on my way here.'

Emma:'Why?'

Marie:'They said something about a crime happening. What it was, I can't remember. They asked me some questions about who I was and what I was doing, and then let me go. I get really nervous around the police. It's probably because English isn't my first language and I don't know much about the law and what my rights are either.'

Emma:'It is important to know about the law and what the police can and can't do. I studied law at university, so I can clear some things up about that for you.'

Marie:'That would be very helpful.'

Emma:'First of all, here in England, if the police stop you and ask you questions, legally you don't have to answer them.'

Marie:'I didn't know that.'

Emma:'However, if they suspect that you have committed a crime and are carrying something connected to a crime, they are legally able to stop and search you and then you have to do what they say. But they have to tell you before who they are and why they have stopped you and that they are going to search you.'

Marie:'Can they do that to anyone?'

Emma:'No, they can't. They have to have reasonable grounds for doing it. Like you match a description of someone who has committed a crime or you are behaving in a suspicious way.'

Marie:'So what you are saying is, they would do that if they think I am a potential suspect in a crime, that I have done or are doing something criminal.'

Emma:'Basically, yes.'

Marie:'And what would happen if I refused to let them search me?'

Emma:'They would very probably arrest you and then search you.'

Marie:'And if I tried to run away before they did that.'

Emma:'They would definitely arrest you then and then restrain you, so you couldn't run away again and then search you.'

Marie:'Restrain me with handcuffs, like in the movies?'

Emma:'If you were being physically aggressive or trying to escape, then probably they would. But if you weren't, then they shouldn't. The police can't do whatever they want, they have rules and regulations to follow. So they can't use excessive force to detain somebody, like kicking someone in the head when arresting someone, they have to use reasonable force when physically stopping or touching someone.'

Marie:'And that depends on the situation they are in, I suppose.'

Emma:'Exactly. Going back to what happened to you, someone probably had reported a crime in the area and you probably fit the description of the suspect.'

Marie:'Someone told them that a crime had happened?'

Emma:'Yes. Probably the victim of the crime called the police to tell them what had happened to them.'

Marie:'And is reporting a crime the same thing as making an allegation?'

Emma:'In both you are making the police aware that some criminal offence has taken or is taking place. But with an allegation, you have to actually specify who has committed the crime, give their name. Whereas with reporting a crime, although you can make an allegation about who has done it, sometimes you can't, because you don't know who has done the crime or know the people you saw doing it.'

Marie:'So, after the police are made aware that a crime has happened after someone has reported it or through an allegation, what do they do next?'

Emma:'They will carry out an initial investigation to find out what has happened and to decide whether or not to proceed with the investigation.'

Marie:'What do they do to decide whether they are going to continue with it or not.'

Emma:'They firstly need to check out whether a crime has happened or not. So a police officer will go and speak with the victim of the crime and or the person who reported it. They will also try to find anyone who is a witness to the crime and speak with them to describe what they saw so to be clearer about what happened and to help them identify the person or people who did it. They will probably get them to write a statement, detailing everything that happened or what they saw. And they will use those signed statements as evidence in the investigation.'

Marie:'But isn't evidence things like a gun used in a shooting or an item of clothing or fingerprints found at a crime scene.'

Emma:'Physical objects like those which are found at where a crime happened are types of evidence, but evidence can also be what people said happened which has been recorded in a statement or noted down by the police.'

Marie:'Ok.'

Emma:'And if they have a suspect for the crime, they will also speak with them. And the suspect can make a statement as well.'

Marie:'It seems logical.'

Emma:'So after they have got all this information and evidence, the police will then decide whether to continue the investigation or not.'

Marie:'And what happens if they decide to continue with it?'

Click to see more legal English exercises

Quiz:

Below is a definition/description of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text. Now choose the word/phrase from the question's selection box which you believe answers each question. Only use one word/phrase 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 question which you can press/click on. In the first icon, , you can find extra information about the word/phrase (e.g. when, where and how to use etc...). In the second, , is where you can listen to the word/phrase.

1. The place where a crime took place, is called the

Crime scene:
(noun) The place where a crime took place. The police will search this location in order to find and document physical evidence to be used in the criminal investigation and also to identify potential witnesses to the crime.

Crime scene:

2. When someone accuses a specific person of committing a crime, it is called a/an

Allegation:
(noun) An "allegation" is a claim or assertion which is made to the police that a specific person or organisation has or is engaged in a type of wrongful or illegal conduct. Allegations are not facts and are yet to be proven. The police will investigate whether the allegation is true and then decide whether to continue or not with it depending on what they found out. When somebody "reports a crime", it may or may not include an "allegation" or not.

Allegation:

3. A person who saw a crime but was not involved in it, is called a/an

Witness:
(noun) A person who has seen a crime occur (an eyewitness) or has information which can help with a criminal investigation. The witness would then make a witness statement to the police detailing what they witnessed. This will then be used as evidence in the criminal investigation.

Witness:

4. When the police have to physically hold somebody who is being physically aggressive or trying to escape from arrest, it is called

Restrain:
(noun) After someone is arrested, the police can physically restrain a suspect (e.g. put them in handcuffs, hold them etc...) if they come to the reasonable conclusion (and using "reasonable force" for the situation) that the suspect is a danger to themselves, others or may try to escape.

Restrain:

5. The physical things from a crime and the testimony of people about what happened in it which the police use in their investigation, is called

Evidence:
(noun) These are things which can be used in a criminal investigation and subsequent court case to establish the truth about a crime. This can be anything from people's statements, physical things or forensics.

Evidence:

6. The police need to have this in order to justify arresting or stopping and searching someone

Reasonable grounds:
(noun) Also known as "reasonable suspicion". The police are not able to do whatever they want. Although they can talk to anyone they want to and ask them questions, the person being asked them, isn't under any legal obligation to answer them or even stop. In order to make a person stop and carry out certain activities, like searching/frisking them, the police officer needs to have justifiable "reasonable grounds" to believe that the person may have engaged, is engaging or will soon engage in a criminal activity. These "reasonable grounds" are based on a combination of different factors (like information they have received, the behaviour of the person and things they have observed) which any reasonable person would believe justified the actions. A police officer will have to be able to justify their actions both at the time and afterwards. If they can't, their actions could be deemed unlawful.

Reasonable grounds:

7. When a person informed the police that a criminal activity has occurred but they may not know who did it, they

Reported a crime:
(noun) "Reporting a crime" is when a member of the public contacts the police to say that a crime has, is or will be committed or they are witnessing suspicious behaviour. When somebody "reports a crime", it may or may not include an "allegation" about a specific person being involved in it.

Reported a crime:

8. The person who is believed to have committed a crime, is called a/an

Suspect:
(noun) A person that the police believe committed a crime, but has not been charged with doing it or been found guilty of committing it. Once a person has been charged with a crime, they are often referred to as the "accused".

Suspect:

9. When someone has reported a crime or made an allegation, the police first will carry this out in order to decide what they will do about it

Initial investigation:
(noun) When the police receive a report of a crime or an allegation of someone doing a crime, they will conduct an "initial investigation" into the allegation/report. From this investigation they will decide whether they will proceed with the investigation or not. Whether they continue will depend on the severity of the crime and whether there is sufficient evidence to eventually lead to someone being charged with the offence. Often a senior officer will decide whether they will continue with the investigation or not.

Initial investigation:

10. If the police use physical force on a suspect which most people would think was necessary and proportionate for the situation they are in, it is called

Reasonable force:
(noun) When the police are arresting, stopping a crime or in self-defence or in defence of another person are legally able to touch or use physical force on another person. However, the force they use has to be reasonable given the situation they face. They can only use force if it is necessary (e.g. to arrest a person who is being physically aggressive or is a threat to others) and proportionate (they can't handcuff a suspect who is complying with their instructions when being arrested or hit someone who is only being verbally aggressive with them, for example). If a police officer uses force which isn't reasonable or proportionate given the circumstances, they are using "excessive force" which can have an impact both on the police officer and the criminal case against the suspect.

Reasonable force:

11. A written legal document where a person says what happened in a crime, is called a/an

Statement:
(noun) A written or sometimes a video description of what happened in a crime or about a suspect given to the police. The police will go over the statement with the person to ensure that it accurately reflects what happened and then ask the person to sign it, confirming it is true. Statements can be made by victims, witnesses or suspects and are used as evidence in criminal investigations.

Statement:

12. The person who has suffered a crime, is called a/an

Victim:
(noun) A person who has suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss as a result of a crime.

Victim:

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

Click to see more legal English exercises

Practice

Now that you understand the new vocabulary, practise it by creating your own sentences with the new words/phrases.

This is me, Chris Clayton, the owner and main writer for Blair English. I'm also a part-time English teacher in sunny Spain. I have a love of history and the web. I hope you find the website useful.