Explaining crime
To deprave – depraved – depravity To make morally bad or evil; corrupt
To deprive – deprived – deprivation To remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of a person
Ex.: to deprive a baby of candy
To deviate – deviant – deviance/deviancy/deviation To depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action, or acceptable norm
To exclude – excluded – exclusion To shut or keep out; prevent the entrance of
To discriminate (against) – discriminatory – discrimination To make a distinction in favour of or against a person or thing on the basis of the
group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according
to actual merit
To inherit – hereditary/hereditable – heredity To take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir
To engender – gendered - gender To produce, cause, or give rise to
Ex.: Hatred engenders violence.
Innate – innateness Existing in one from birth; inborn; native
Ex.: innate musical talent
To label – labelled – label/labelling To put in a certain class; classify
Cf. Labelling theory
To prejudice – prejudiced/prejudicial To affect with a prejudice, either favourable or unfavourable
To rebel – rebellious – rebellion/a rebel To resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition
To stigmatise – stigmatised/stigmatic To mark with a stigma or brand
To vary – variable/various – variety To change or alter
Delinquency/a delinquent Wrongful, illegal, or antisocial behaviour
Empirical Provable or verifiable by experience or experiment
Ethnicity(n) – ethnic (adj) Relating to or a characteristic of a human group having racial, religious, linguistic,
and certain other traits in common (adj)
Feminist A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.
Gender/sex “Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and
women. "Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and
attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
To put it another way: "Male" and "female" are sex categories, while "masculine"
and "feminine" are gender categories.
Paradigm One that serves as a pattern or model.
Paranoid schizophrenic Schizophrenia is defined as “a chronic mental illness in which a person loses touch
with reality. Common symptoms for paranoid schizophrenia include auditory
hallucinations (hearing voices), paranoid delusions (believing everyone is out to
cause you harm).
1
,Psychopathic Affected with psychopathy
Victimization (US)/victimisation (UK) To make a victim of
Phrenology A psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental
faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.
Psychoanalysis A systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and
unconscious psychological processes
Assault A threat i.e. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do
violence to another
Battery Actual beating
Corporate violence/crime White collar crime: a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social
status in the course of his occupation.
Ex.: Falsifying information on financial statements
Robbery The stealing of property from a person by using or threatening to use force
Homicide The killing of one human being by another
Serial killer A person who murders two or more people, in two or more separate events over a
period of time
Positive reporting verbs
Argue, affirm, explain, note, point out, hold
Tentative reporting verbs
Postulate, hypothesize, indicate, suggest, claim, speculate
Neutral reporting verbs
State, describe, discuss, report, answer, define, summarise
To cite Refer to as an example
Plagiarism The unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the
representation of them as one's own.
A preponderance of the evidence (civil) More than 50% sure; someone’s more likely guilty than not
Beyond a reasonable doubt (criminal) 99% sure someone’s guilty
Actus reus The act itself, the physical
Mens rea State of mind: a person's awareness of the fact that his or her conduct is
criminal, is the mental element
2
, Aggravating circumstances Any circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime that increase its
seriousness or add to its injurious consequences
Extenuating circumstances/ mitigating circumstances Render a crime less evil or reprehensible. They do not lower the degree of an
offense, although they might reduce the punishment imposed.
Burden of proof The obligation to offer evidence that the court or jury could reasonably believe
Culpable negligence Recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of
injury or death
To neglect To pay no attention or too little attention to
Negligent (adj) Not being careful or giving enough attention to people or things that are your
responsibility
Neglect (n) a situation in which you do not give enough care or attention to someone or
something, or the state of not receiving enough care or attention
Premeditation Sufficient forethought to impute deliberation and intent to commit the act (= met
voorbedachte rade)
Temporarily insane/non compos mentis/ of unsound mind Not of sound mind and hence not legally responsible; mentally incompetent
Arson Intentionally burning a house or other building (=brandstichting)
Manslaughter Doesn’t involve an intention (<-> premeditated)
Offence/offense A violation or break of a law, custom, rule,…
Wrongful death Occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another
individual, company or entity (unintentionally)
Constable A police officer
Inmate A person who is held in a prison, hospital, etc.
Ensue To follow as a consequence or result
Inadvertent Not attentive
Pedestrian A person who goes or travels on foot
Reluctant Unwilling; disinclined
i.e. It est/it is/ namely
Omission Not doing something ( <-> action)
R.v. Regina/the Queen/the Crown versus/against
Remedial class For mentally challenged children
3
To deprave – depraved – depravity To make morally bad or evil; corrupt
To deprive – deprived – deprivation To remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of a person
Ex.: to deprive a baby of candy
To deviate – deviant – deviance/deviancy/deviation To depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action, or acceptable norm
To exclude – excluded – exclusion To shut or keep out; prevent the entrance of
To discriminate (against) – discriminatory – discrimination To make a distinction in favour of or against a person or thing on the basis of the
group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according
to actual merit
To inherit – hereditary/hereditable – heredity To take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir
To engender – gendered - gender To produce, cause, or give rise to
Ex.: Hatred engenders violence.
Innate – innateness Existing in one from birth; inborn; native
Ex.: innate musical talent
To label – labelled – label/labelling To put in a certain class; classify
Cf. Labelling theory
To prejudice – prejudiced/prejudicial To affect with a prejudice, either favourable or unfavourable
To rebel – rebellious – rebellion/a rebel To resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition
To stigmatise – stigmatised/stigmatic To mark with a stigma or brand
To vary – variable/various – variety To change or alter
Delinquency/a delinquent Wrongful, illegal, or antisocial behaviour
Empirical Provable or verifiable by experience or experiment
Ethnicity(n) – ethnic (adj) Relating to or a characteristic of a human group having racial, religious, linguistic,
and certain other traits in common (adj)
Feminist A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.
Gender/sex “Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and
women. "Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and
attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
To put it another way: "Male" and "female" are sex categories, while "masculine"
and "feminine" are gender categories.
Paradigm One that serves as a pattern or model.
Paranoid schizophrenic Schizophrenia is defined as “a chronic mental illness in which a person loses touch
with reality. Common symptoms for paranoid schizophrenia include auditory
hallucinations (hearing voices), paranoid delusions (believing everyone is out to
cause you harm).
1
,Psychopathic Affected with psychopathy
Victimization (US)/victimisation (UK) To make a victim of
Phrenology A psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental
faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.
Psychoanalysis A systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and
unconscious psychological processes
Assault A threat i.e. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do
violence to another
Battery Actual beating
Corporate violence/crime White collar crime: a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social
status in the course of his occupation.
Ex.: Falsifying information on financial statements
Robbery The stealing of property from a person by using or threatening to use force
Homicide The killing of one human being by another
Serial killer A person who murders two or more people, in two or more separate events over a
period of time
Positive reporting verbs
Argue, affirm, explain, note, point out, hold
Tentative reporting verbs
Postulate, hypothesize, indicate, suggest, claim, speculate
Neutral reporting verbs
State, describe, discuss, report, answer, define, summarise
To cite Refer to as an example
Plagiarism The unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the
representation of them as one's own.
A preponderance of the evidence (civil) More than 50% sure; someone’s more likely guilty than not
Beyond a reasonable doubt (criminal) 99% sure someone’s guilty
Actus reus The act itself, the physical
Mens rea State of mind: a person's awareness of the fact that his or her conduct is
criminal, is the mental element
2
, Aggravating circumstances Any circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime that increase its
seriousness or add to its injurious consequences
Extenuating circumstances/ mitigating circumstances Render a crime less evil or reprehensible. They do not lower the degree of an
offense, although they might reduce the punishment imposed.
Burden of proof The obligation to offer evidence that the court or jury could reasonably believe
Culpable negligence Recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of
injury or death
To neglect To pay no attention or too little attention to
Negligent (adj) Not being careful or giving enough attention to people or things that are your
responsibility
Neglect (n) a situation in which you do not give enough care or attention to someone or
something, or the state of not receiving enough care or attention
Premeditation Sufficient forethought to impute deliberation and intent to commit the act (= met
voorbedachte rade)
Temporarily insane/non compos mentis/ of unsound mind Not of sound mind and hence not legally responsible; mentally incompetent
Arson Intentionally burning a house or other building (=brandstichting)
Manslaughter Doesn’t involve an intention (<-> premeditated)
Offence/offense A violation or break of a law, custom, rule,…
Wrongful death Occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another
individual, company or entity (unintentionally)
Constable A police officer
Inmate A person who is held in a prison, hospital, etc.
Ensue To follow as a consequence or result
Inadvertent Not attentive
Pedestrian A person who goes or travels on foot
Reluctant Unwilling; disinclined
i.e. It est/it is/ namely
Omission Not doing something ( <-> action)
R.v. Regina/the Queen/the Crown versus/against
Remedial class For mentally challenged children
3
