Useful Phrases for IELTS Topic Crime and Law

Useful Phrases for IELTS Topic Language and Communication

In this article, azVocab has compiled IELTS phrases related to the “Language and Communication” topic, which you can easily apply to IELTS Writing…

PHRASE	MEANING	EXAMPLE
Drinking/Drunk driving	the act of driving a vehicle after drinking too much alcohol	After 10 beers, William was arrested for drunk driving* on his way home from the bar.*
Running a red light	to pass through the traffic light when the red light is illuminated	He got pulled over for running a red light* at one of the busiest intersections in the city.*
Cyber criminals	individuals or teams of people who use technology to commit malicious activities on digital systems or networks	People should be wary of cyber criminals* who hack into their computers illegally on a global scale.*
Correctional facility	a jail, prison, or other detention facility used to house people who have been arrested, detained, held, or convicted by a criminal justice agency or a court	The purpose of the correctional facility* was to try and teach prisoners to behave better and be less violent.*
To enact/issue a law/regulation	to put a law/regulation into action	Maine was the first state in the Union to enact a law for prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors.
To uphold/enforce the law	to defend or keep a principle or law/ to make sure that people obey the law	It is the job of the police to uphold/enforce the law.
To engage in criminal activities	to take part in unlawful acts	Criminals felt emboldened to regularly engage in criminal activities.
To receive capital punishment	to receive the death penalty	In many countries, people who carry out drug smuggling will *receive capital punishment*.
To commit a crime = To commit an offence	to do something illegal	Those who *committed a crime* should be responsible for their wrongdoings.
To receive prison sentences	To be sent to prison	Friday morning, Lucifer Vincent Nguyen *received a prison sentence* of 545 months.
Life imprisonment	to be sentenced to stay in prison for the rest of one’s life, or for a very long period of time	We have *life imprisonment* without parole for kids in this country.
To impose severe punishments on sb	to punish someone severely	*Imposing more severe punishments* on those who commit driving offences can somehow help increase road safety.
To commit crimes as a way of making a living	to commit crimes because of having no other way of making a living	Many people *commit crimes as a way of making a living* due to their lack of money and become criminals such as burglars or robbers.
To be released from prison	to be set free or allowed to go	He *was released from* prison in 1854 and required to serve in the Siberian Regiment.
To pose a serious threat to society	create the threat of danger or harm to society	Drunken drivers *pose a serious threat to* other road users.
To put (sb) on a probation	to put a criminal to a period of time when he/she must behave well and not commit any more crimes in order to avoid being sent to prison	The judge put her on probation* for a year.*
To act/serve as a deterrent	to be something that deters people from doing something	Stricter penalties for unlawful activities would *act as a deterrent* for authorities to prevent potential criminals from committing crimes.
To be soft on crime	to accuse people or institutions of not giving out adequate punishment or forsaking their responsibility to crime victims by giving offenders more lenient sentences than they may deserve	Any politician who speaks out against the death penalty risks being branded soft on crime.
To be tough on crime	to establish stricter criminal penalties, especially as a reaction to violent and property crime	Countless presidents and prime minsters declaring as a platform they will be ‘tough on crime‘.
Crime prevention programmes	concentrated endeavors to modify, limit, or establish a habitual procedure within a crime prevention context	However, publicly financed amenities such as education, *crime prevention programmes*, transportation, and urban services (water supply, solid waste service, etc.) have also fallen as local financial resources have declined.
Juvenile crimes	crime committed by young people below a specific age (18 in most countries)	*Juvenile crimes* have been increasing recently.
Innocent people	people who are not guilty of a particular crime	Hundreds of *innocent people* will be unduly victimised.
Law-abiding citizen	citizen who obeys the law	The basic reason for having a police force in any nation is to protect the law-abiding citizen* from the lawbreaker.*
Law-abiding society	society that obeys and respects the law	In law-abiding societies, ordinary citizens are usually happy to obey the law.
A custodial/prison sentence	confinement in prison as a punishment imposed on a person who has been found guilty of a crime	Custodial sentences may only be imposed on adults who have committed an indictable offence.
To be wrongfully convicted	to be convicted of a crime that someone did not commit	For every eight people executed in the United States since the 1970s, one person has been wrongfully convicted* and later exonerated.*
To create a violent culture	to create a culture full of violence	Also, capital punishment can *create a violent culture* and encourage revenge.
To reintegrate back into the society/community	to integrate back into society/community following an injury or prison	On leaving prison in 2002, he founded the Philemon Foundation which began offering practical support as ex-offenders tried to reintegrate back into society.
Potential criminals	people who are likely to become criminals	Widespread surveillance in public areas would greatly contribute to crime reduction by deterring *potential criminals* from engaging in unlawful activities, when they know that security cameras are recording their every move.
A sense of safety and security	an ability to feel safe and being protected	This helps protect society from any threat and provides people with *a sense of safety and security*.
To violate/disobey/break the law	to refuse to do what someone with authority tells you to do, or refuse to obey a rule or law	The level of people *violating the law* is increasing.
To obey/abide by/comply with the law	to do what someone in authority tells you to do, or what a law or rule says you must do	The imposition of taxes has nothing to do with morality, and citizens have no other duty than to obey the law.
To raise people’s awareness	to make people conscious about a problem or issue	Sometimes police officers also take part in raising people’s awareness* and understanding of how to protect themselves and their property.*
Child abuse	behaviour in which adults intentionally treat children in a cruel or violent way	Japan handled record 130,000 *child abuse* cases in FY 2017.
Human trafficking	the crime of buying and selling people, or making money from work they are forced to do, such as sex work	*Human trafficking* is the process of trapping people through the use of violence, deception or coercion and exploiting them for financial or personal gain.
Drug trafficking	a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws	*Drug trafficking* is a matter of considerable concern for the entire international community.
Petty crime	a type of crime that is not considered serious when compared with some other crimes	They got into trouble and began to get involved in petty crime.
White-collar crime	a nonviolent crime of deceit or concealment to obtain or avoid losing money or to gain a personal or business advantage	More and more money is made from international and commercial white-collar crime.
Tax evasion	the act of illegally avoiding paying tax liability	He felt that the best way to deal with tax evasion* was to increase substantially the penalties.*