So you want to become a cop, eh? Not all victims of crime or criminals speak your language. As a first responder, it would be a good idea to learn the most common second language in the world, or at least the words related to your field of study.
Glossary
- accelerant
- A substance used to aid the spread of fire.
- accused
- A person or persons charged with a crime.
- active shooter
- An individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.
- alibi
- A form of defense used in criminal procedure wherein the accused attempts to prove that he or she was in some other place at the time the alleged offense was committed.
- arrest
- To seize and hold under the authority of law.
- autopsy
- Dissection of a body to determine the causes of death.
- badge
- A distinctive emblem worn as a mark of office, membership, achievement, or licensed employment.
- bailiff
- A legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given.
- baton
- A club of less than arm’s length made of wood, rubber, plastic or metal carried for forced compliance and self-defense by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security-industry employees and (less often) military personnel.
- bulletproof vest
- A vest capable of resisting the impact of a bullet.
- Canadian Criminal Code
- A law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada.
- cause of death
- The action that caused the death, for example a blow to the head.
- charge
- Accuse someone of an offense under law.
- clue
- A sign showing the probable existence of something that is found on a crime scene and is related to crime.
- community policing
- The system of allocating police officers to particular areas so that they become familiar with the local inhabitants.
- coroner
- An official who investigates violent, sudden, or suspicious deaths.
- corruption
- Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
- court
- A tribunal presided over by a judge, judges, or a magistrate in civil and criminal cases.
- crime scene
- The location where a crime took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists.
- criminal
- A person charged with and convicted of a crime.
- criminal code
- A document which compiles all of a particular jurisdiction’s criminal law.
- criminal record
- A list of a person’s previous criminal convictions.
- crowd control
- A public security practise where large crowds are managed to prevent riots.
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
- Canada’s primary national intelligence service responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada’s national security.
- declaration
- An explicit, formal announcement, either oral or written.
- delinquency
- Minor crime committed by young people.
- detective
- A detective is an investigator, either a member of a law enforcement agency or a private person.
- discretionary power
- A power that police office have that allows them to remain silence.
- domestic violence
- Violence toward or physical abuse of one’s spouse or domestic partner.
- drug
- An illegal chemical substance that changes the state of a normal person.
- emergency vehicle lighting
- Visual warning lights fitted to a vehicle to convey the urgency of a journey when moving, to provide additional warning of a hazard when stationary, or to signal another driver to stop.
- evidence
- The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief about a crime is true or valid
- exhibit
- A document or other object produced in a court as evidence.
- fine
- A sum of money exacted as a penalty by a court of law or other authority.
- firearm
- A rifle, pistol, or other portable gun.
- gun
- A weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force.
- gunshot wound
- A form of physical trauma sustained from the discharge of arms or munitions.
- handcuffs
- A pair of lockable linked metal rings for securing a prisoner’s wrists.
- hideout
- A hiding place, especially one used by someone who has broken the law.
- hit-and-run
- A motor accident in which the vehicle involved does not stop.
- hooliganism
- Willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others
- hostage
- A person seized or held as security for the fulfillment of a condition.
- in camera hearing
- A closed-door hearing in judge’s chambers, usually concerning sensitive child-related issues.
- indict
- Formally accuse of or charge with a serious crime.
- inmate
- A person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital.
- innocent bystander
- A guiltless witness of a crime.
- investigation
- The work of inquiring into something complex and systematically.
- investigator
- A person who carries out a formal inquiry or investigation.
- jail
- A place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime.
- judge
- An official person who presides over court proceedings.
- kettle
- Confine a group of demonstrators to a small area, as a method of crowd control during a demonstration.
- killer
- A person who kills.
- knife
- A cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade attached to a handle.
- law
- The system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties.
- lawyer
- Someone who makes practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who retain them to perform legal services.
- Miranda warning
- A warning given by police to criminal suspects in police custody, informing them of their right to silence.
- motive
- A reason which urges somebody to commit this crime.
- moving violation
- Any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion.
- murder
- The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another
- nightstick
- A police officer’s club or billy
- oath
- A solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior.
- offence
- A violation or breach of a law, custom, rule
- offender
- A person who has committed one or more offenses.
- offense
- A violation of a law.
- pepper spray
- A chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and temporary blindness.
- plea of guilty
- A statement by an alleged offender that they have committed the offence with which they are charged.
- police
- The civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.
- police officer
- A person who has the function of enforcing the law, maintain order and ensure public safety.
- police raid
- A visit by the police, immigration officers or other officials, hoping to use the element of surprise to arrest targets.
- police record
- A file listing convictions of an individual, and made available to the public authority.
- police report
- the physical record of an incident deemed to be illegal or potentially illegal.
- police uniform
- A set of clothing that police officers must wear while on duty.
- policeman
- A member of a police force.
- prison
- A building in which people are legally held as a punishment for crimes they have committed or while awaiting trial.
- prosecution
- The institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge.
- radar
- A system for detecting the speed of vehicles, by sending out pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected back to the source.
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
- The Canadian national police service and an agency of the Ministry of Public Safety Canada, unique in the world since it is a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body.
- release
- Allow or enable to escape from confinement; set free.
- remand
- To place a defendant on bail or in custody, especially when a trial is adjourned.
- robbery
- The action of robbing a person or place.
- search warrant
- A court order issued by a judge that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found.
- shadowing
- Action to follow and to observe secretly the movements, the actions of one or several individuals.
- snitch
- An informer or informant.
- Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)
- The second largest municipal police force in Canada.
- Sûreté du Québec (SQ)
- The only Québec police organization to have jurisdiction over all of Québec, and performs police activities in the municipalities it serves, road safety interventions and local and international criminal investigations.
- suspect
- A person thought to be guilty of a crime or offense.
- terrorist
- One or more persons using terror for political purposes.
- theft
- The dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of keeping it.
- trial
- A formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.
- tribunal
- Any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes, whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
- uniform
- The distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools.
- use of force continuum
- A standard that provides police officers, probation officers, or corrections officers with guidelines as to how much force may be used against a resisting subject in a given situation.
- bulletproof vest
- Equipment primarily intended to protect the thorax, abdomen and back against the firing of firearms by absorbing impact.
- victim
- A person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
- warrant
- A document issued by a legal or government official authorizing the police or some other body to make an arrest, search premises, or carry out some other action relating to the administration of justice.
- weapon
- An instrument of attack or defense in combat, such as a gun, missile, or sword.
- witness
- A person who sees a crime or accident take place.
