Crime detection and prevention

someone who encourages people to do something illegal so that they can be arrested

American an APB

APB (noun)

American all-points bulletin: an urgent message to all police officers in a particular area about a criminal they need to arrest

beat (noun)

an area that a police officer has responsibility for and must walk around regularly

be onto someone ()

to have found out that a particular person was involved in a crime

check (noun)

an examination by the police, army etc of an area, or people or vehicles passing through an area, in order to be certain that there is no danger or illegal activity

checkpoint (noun)

a place where traffic can be stopped by soldiers or police

clampdown (noun)

a determined attempt by someone in authority to stop people doing something bad or illegal

clean up ()

to stop bad, unfair, or criminal behaviour in a place or activity

clean-up (noun)

an attempt to stop bad, unfair, or criminal behaviour in a place or activity

clear-up (noun)

British the process of solving a crime

clue (noun)

an object or fact that someone discovers that helps them solve a crime or mystery

corpus delicti (noun)

visible evidence that a crime has been committed, for example a dead body

crack (verb)

to succeed in stopping crime or criminal activity

criminology (noun)

the scientific study of crime and criminals

detail (noun)

a particular job given to a group of soldiers or police officers

detection (noun)

the work of trying to discover information about a crime so that the criminal can be caught

DNA fingerprinting (noun)

the scientific examination of someone’s DNA to find out whether they are someone’s father, whether they have committed a crime etc

dragnet (noun)

a very thorough search by the police

E-FIT ()

a picture of the face of someone who police think committed a crime, created using software and someone’s description of the person

electronic tagging (noun)

British a system in which you attach a small piece of electronic equipment to a person, animal, or object so that you always know where they are

entrapment (noun)

a process in which the police or other officials trick someone into committing a crime

evidence (noun)

facts, statements, or objects that help to prove whether or not someone has committed a crime

fingerprint (noun)

a mark that you leave on something when you touch it, showing the pattern of lines on the skin of your fingers

forensic (adjective)

relating to the use of scientific methods to solve crimes and to find out who committed them

forensics (noun)

scientific methods used to solve crimes and find out who committed them

forensics (noun)

facts that can be used as forensic evidence

frisk (verb)

to search someone with your hands in order to see if they are carrying anything illegal such as a gun or drugs

genetic profiling (noun)

the scientific examination of DNA from body cells, especially in order to find out who committed a crime

identikit ()

an image of a person, especially a victim or suspected criminal, based on descriptions by witnesses and created by putting together different features selected from a set

law enforcement (noun)

the job of making sure that people obey the law

lead (noun)

a piece of information that may help someone to solve a problem or to find out the truth about something, especially a crime

the long arm of the law ()

the power of the police and legal system, used for saying that they will usually catch people who commit a crime

manhunt (noun)

a search organized to catch someone who is believed to have committed a crime, or a prisoner who has escaped

mug shot (noun)

informal a photograph of someone’s face, taken by the police for their records

Neighbourhood Watch (noun)

a system that attempts to reduce crime by encouraging people who live in the same area to watch their neighbours’ houses and tell the police if they see anything unusual

operation (noun)

a planned activity involving a lot of people, especially soldiers or police officers

pat down ()

to touch someone’s clothes in order to check whether they are carrying something such as a weapon or illegal drugs, for example at an airport

patrol (noun)

a group of people or vehicles that move around a place in order to prevent trouble or crime

patrol (noun)

the movement of a patrol around a place

patrol (verb)

to move regularly around a place in order to prevent trouble or crime

Photofit (British)

British a picture of someone’s face that the police make by combining photographs of parts of different faces

police (verb)

to use police officers to control an area or event

policing (noun)

the control of an area or a problem by police

polygraph (noun)

a lie detector

print (noun)

a fingerprint

roadblock (noun)

a part of a road where police or soldiers stop traffic, especially to make checks

rogues’ gallery (noun)

old-fashioned a set of photographs of criminals kept by the police

scene-of-crime (adjective)

British working in the part of the police force that examines the place where a crime was committed

speed trap (noun)

a place on a road where the police secretly measure how fast people are driving

stakeout (noun)

an act of waiting outside a building and watching it, especially secretly in order to catch a criminal or find out whether there is any illegal activity there

sting (noun)

informal a trick prepared by the police to catch criminals

strip-search (verb)

to check whether someone is hiding drugs or other illegal articles by making them take off their clothes

surveillance (noun)

the process of carefully watching a person or place that may be involved in a criminal activity

swoop (noun)

a sudden and unexpected attack on a place, especially by police

tag (verb)

to put an electronic tag on someone in order to watch where they go

tail (noun)

informal someone who is sent to secretly follow someone else, especially a criminal

undercover (adjective)

working or done secretly in order to catch criminals, get secret information etc

under observation ()

being watched carefully by doctors or police officers

watchdog (noun)

a person or organization that works to stop people from doing illegal things in a particular area of business or society

Synonyms and antonyms of Crime detection and prevention in British Thesaurus