Just_English_2 часть. Just English. Английский для юристов 43
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В некоторых странах смертная казнь считается мерой, без которой невозможно остановить распространение наркотиков, ликвидировать политический терроризм, экономическую коррупцию или искоренить супружескую неверность. Однако нет никаких доказательств, что ее применение способно снизить уровень преступности или политического насилия. Смертную казнь часто используют как средство политических репрессий, а смертные приговоры выносятся и приводятся в исполнение произвольно. Оправдывая смертную казнь, чаще всего говорят, что она необходима, по крайней мере временно, для блага общества. Однако имеет ли государство право лишать человека жизни? Смертная казнь — это предумышленное и хладнокровное убийство человека государством. Само существование этой меры наказания является попранием основных прав человека: международное право запрещает жестокие, негуманные или унижающие человека наказания. Многовековой опыт применения высшей меры наказания и научные исследования о взаимосвязи смертной казни и уровня преступности не дали убедительных доказательств, что смерт- 64 Just English. Английский для юристом Chapter II. Crime and Punishment 65   ная казнь способна эффективно защитить общество от преступности или способствовать правосудию. Ни одна система уголовной юстиции не доказала свою способность последовательно и справедливо решать, кто должен жить и кто — умереть. Некоторым удается избежать смертной казни с помощью квалифицированных защитников; другим — потому что их судят мягкосердечные судьи или присяжные; третьим помогают их политические связи или положение в обществе.Существует определенный процент судебных ошибок, последствия которых особенно трагичны при приведении смертного приговора в исполнение. TASK 5. Study the following facts and arguments: Financial Costs The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment. A murder trial normally takes much longer when the death penalty is at issue than when it is not. Litigation costs — including the time of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court reporters, and the high costs of briefs — are all borne by the taxpayer. Inevitability of Error In 1975, only a year before the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment, two African-American men in Florida were released from prison after twelve years awaiting execution for the murder of two white men. Their convictions were the result of coerced confessions, erroneous testimony of an alleged eyewitness, and incompetent defense counsel. Though a white man eventually admitted his guilt, a nine-year legal battle was required before the governor would grant them a pardon. Had their execution not been stayed while the constitutional status of the death penalty was argued in the courts, these two innocent men probably would not be alive today. Barbarity The latest mode of inflicting the death penalty, enacted into law by nearly two dozen American states, is lethal injection, first used in Texas in 1982. It is easy to overstate the humaneness and efficacy of this method. There is no way of knowing that it is really painless. As the U.S. Court of Appeals observed, there is "substantial and uncontroverted evidence ... that execution by lethal injection poses a serious risk of cruel, protracted death.... Even a slight error in dosage or administration can leave a prisoner conscious but paralysed while dying, a sentient witness of his or her own asphyxiation." Deterrence Gangland killings, air piracy, drive-by shootings, and kidnapping for ransom are among the graver felonies that continue to be committed because some individuals think they are too clever to get caught. Political terrorism is usually committed in the name of an ideology that honors its martyrs; trying to cope with it by threatening terrorists with death penalty is futile. TASK 6. The following key notes represent the general ideas of the opponents of capital punishment. Use the arguments and examples from Task 5. Write down the complete text using these key notes and present your text in class:
. 66 Just English. Английский для юристов   DEBATEThere is no room for capital punishment in a civilised society. Use the information and the vocabulary from the Unit to argue the statement above. Chapter HI LAW ENFORCEMENT Chapter III. Law Enforcement Just English. Английский для юристов 68 UNIT 1. THE HISTORY OF POLICE FORCES B  RAINSTORMThe word POLICE means, generally, the arrangements made in all civilised countries to ensure that the inhabitants keep the peace and obey the law. The word also denotes the force of peace officers (or police) employed for this purpose. Which of the following actions can be performed by a POLICE OFFICER? Sort out the odd words. Explain your choice. to apprehend to defend in court to convict to detain to imprison to investigate to lock up to safeguard to plead guilty to search to seize to sentence to take into custody TASK 1. Read the text and translate the sentences given in bold type in writing: From the History of Police Forces Police is the agency of a community or government that is responsible for maintaining public order and preventing and detecting crime. The basic police mission — preserving order by enforcing rules of conduct or laws — was the same in ancient societies as it is in the contemporary sophisticated urban environments. The conception of the police force as a protective and law enforcement organisation developed from the use of military bodies as guardians of the peace, such as the Praetorian Guard — bodyguard of the ancient Roman emperors. The Romans achieved a high level of law enforcement, which remained in effect until the decline of the empire and the onset of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, policing authority was the responsibility of local nobles on their individual estates. Each noble 69 generally appointed an official, known as a constable, to carry out the law. The constable's duties included keeping the peace and arresting and guarding criminals. For many decades constables were unpaid citizens who took turns at the job, which became increasingly burdensome and unpopular. By the mid-16th century, wealthy citizens often resorted to paying deputies to assume their turns as constables; as this practice became widespread, the quality of the constables declined drastically. Police forces developed throughout the centuries, taking various forms. In France during the 17th century King Louis XIV maintained a small central police organisation consisting of some 40 inspectors who, with the help of numerous paid informants, .supplied the government with details about the conduct of private individuals. The king could then exercise the kind of justice he saw fit. This system continued during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. After the French Revolution, two separate police bodies were set up, one to handle ordinary duties and the other to deal with political crimes. In 1663 the city of London began paying watchmen (generally old men who were unable to find other work) to guard the streets at night. Until the end of the 18th century, the watchmen — as inefficient as they were — along with a few-constables, remained the only form of policing in the city. The inability of watchmen and constables to curb lawlessness, particularly in London, led to a demand for a more effective force to deal with criminals and to protect the population. After much deliberation in Parliament, the British statesman Sir Robert Peel in 1829 established the London Metropolitan Police, which became the world's first modern organised police force. The force was guided by the concept of crime prevention as a primary police objective; it also embodied the belief that such a force should depend on the consent and cooperation of the public, and the idea that police constables were to be civil and courteous to the people. The Metropolitan Police force was well organised and disciplined and, after an initial period of public skepticism, became the model for other police forces in Great Britain. Several years later the Royal Irish Constabulary was formed, and Australia, India, and Canada soon established similar organizations. Other countries followed, impressed by the success of the plan, until nations throughout the world had adopted police systems based on the British model. The development of the British police system is especially significant because the pattern 70 Just English. Английский для юристов Chapter III. Law Enforcement 71   that emerged had great influence on the style of policing in almost all industrial societies.In the U.S., the first full-time organised police departments were formed in New York City in 1845 and shortly thereafter in Boston, not only in response to crime but also to control unrest. The American police adopted many British methods, but at times they became involved in local politics. The British police, on the other hand, have traditionally depended on loyalty to the law, rather than to elected public officials, as the source of their authority and independence. TASK 2. Answer the following questions:
10. Why is the development of the British police system especially significant? TASK 3. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:
TASK 4. Find in the texts above the expressions containing the words 'law' and 'order'. Continue the following lists. Add more expressions using a dictionary:
UNIT 2. THE ORGANISATION OF POLICE FORCES The British Police The British police officer is a well-known figure to anyone who has visited Britain or who has seen British films. Policeme^ are to be seen in towns and cities keeping law and order, either walking in pairs down the streets ("walking the beat") or driving specially marked police cars. Once known as 'panda cars' because of their distinctive markings, these are now often jokingly referred to as 'jam sandwiches' because of the pink fluorescent stripe running horizontally around the bodywork. In the past, policemen were often known as 'bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the police force. Nowadays, common nicknames include 'the cops', 'the fuzz', 'the pigs', and 'the Old Bill' (particularly in London). Few people realise, however, that the police in Britain are organised very differently from many other countries. Most countries, for example, have a national police force which is controlled by central Government. Britain has no national police force, although police policy is governed by the central Government's Home Office. Instead, there is a separate police force for each of 52 areas into which the country is divided. Each has a police authority — a committee of local county councillors and magistrates. The forces co-operate with each other, but it is unusual for members of one force to operate in another's area unless they are asked to give assistance. This sometimes happens when there has been a very serious crime. A Chief Constable (the most senior police officer of a force) may sometimes ask for the assistance of London's police force, based at New Scotland Yard — known simply as 'the Yard'. In most countries the police carry guns. In Britain, however, this is extremely unusual. Policemen do not, as a rule, carry firearms in their day-to-day work, though certain specialist units 72 Just English. Английский для юристов Chapter III. Law Enforcement 73  are trained to do so and can be called upon to help the regular police force in situations where firearms are involved, e.g. terrorist incidents, armed robberies etc. The only policemen who routinely carry weapons are those assigned to guard politicians and diplomats, or special officers who patrol airports.In certain circumstances specially trained police officers can be armed, but only with the signed permission of a magistrate. All members of the police must have gained a certain level of academic qualifications at school and undergone a period of intensive training. Like in the army, there are a number of ranks: after the Chief Constable comes the Assistant Chief Constable, Chief Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector, Sergeant and Constable. Women make up about 10 per cent of the police force. The police are helped by a number of Special Constables — members of the public who work for the police voluntarily for a few hours a week. Each police force has its own Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Members of CIDs are detectives, and they do not wear uniforms. (The other uniformed people you see in British towns are traffic wardens. Their job is to make sure that drivers obey the parking regulations. They have no other powers — it is the police who are responsible for controlling offences like speeding, careless driving and drunken driving.) The duties of the police are varied, ranging from assisting at accidents to safeguarding public order and dealing with lost property. One of their main functions is, of course, apprehending criminals and would-be criminals. TASK 1. Answer the following questions: >
TASK 2. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words and expressions from the previous text: For In Britain different areas have different instance, the Metropolitan police operate in London, but there are different police forces in the counties outside London. The top man in each police force is . He is appointed by the local Watch Committee which is a of the local government. The Watch Committee can dismiss him, too, if the central government agrees. The Chief Constable appoints all the below him in his force. Things are slightly different in London. The top man is known as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and his appointment is arranged through the central government. British police are normally not . In special cases, when their work becomes dangerous, they can be given however. As is well known, the of the British policeman is blue, with a tall helmet. These days, though, you can see a different uniform in the streets. This is the uniform with the yellow hatband worn by . Their job is simply to control traffic and . The most famous name connected with the British police is It is the headquarters of the London police force. Besides dealing with local police matters, the London police also help all over England and Wales with difficult crimes. They do this at the request of the local police. TASK 3. Render the following text into English using the information and vocabulary from the texts above: В Великобритании существует 52 полицейских подразделения: 43 в Англии и Уэльсе, 8 в Шотландии и 1 в Северной Ирландии. Столичная полиция и Полиция лондонского Сити отвечают за охрану общественного порядка в Лондоне. Кроме того, специальное подразделение транспортной полиции патрулирует железнодорожную сеть, а также метро Лондона. Полицейская служба финансируется центральным правительством и местными властями. Каждое полицейское подразделение имеет своих специальных констеблей-добровольцев, которые работают в полиции в свободное время и помогают кадровым офицерам полиции, причем их работа не оплачивается. Они являются своеобразным связующим звеном между полицией и населением. |