Vocabulary for Government and Authorities

trustworthy = capable of being trusted.

Sentence- He is, however, not a trustworthy sprite, and delights in practical jokes of a bizarre and sometimes gruesome nature.

paramount = of the greatest importance.

Sentence- Public safety and security are matters of paramount importance.

devious = extremely clever in a dishonest way

Sentence- He’s a devious, secret person and I don’t trust him.

minutiae (pronounced ‘my-new-shy’) = small details

Sentence- Most people are not interested in the minutiae of the research, just its conclusions.

grievance = an issue which makes people upset or angry for a long time

Sentence- Some of them held office as stewards or grievance men.

sensitivity = being alert to the circumstances of a specific group of people

Sentence- Confidentiality is important because of the sensitivity of the information.

to commit an offence/a crime = to do it.

Sentence- Crime often symbolizes a wider social problem.

informants = people who tell the police useful information about criminals in their area .

Sentence- Like marketing, it classifies informants according to sociological classes combined with consumption patterns.

evidence = material presented in court to prove that someone is guilty or innocent .

Sentence- New evidence has confirmed the first witness’s story.

a trial = the legal procedure of prosecuting someone for a crime

Sentence- The trial is expected to continue for three months.

conviction rates = the percentage of accused people who are convicted of (= found to be guilty of) a crime

Sentence- One of these is to improve prosecution and conviction rates.

a deterrent = something that makes people not want to do something (verb = to deter)

A five-year sentence should act as a deterrent to others.

sentencing = the action of telling a convicted criminal what the punishment is (verb = to sentence)

Sentence- Magistrates agreed to delay sentencing for three months so he could take the holiday.

Imprisonment = punishment by being in prison

Sentence- His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

A fine = money paid as a punishment

Sentence- The fine for speeding in my country is about 200 Euros.

community service = punishment by doing manual work for the public

Sentence- After appointments in community service, she had joined the Navy.

rehabilitation = the process of changing a criminal’s character so that he does not commit more crimes (verb = to rehabilitate someone)

Sentence- The government’s international rehabilitation was greatly assisted by the Gulf war.

an offender = a person who commits an offence

Sentence- The judge will delay his verdict until he receives medical reports on the offender.

tendencies = inclinations due to your character (usually negative)

Sentence- Some tendencies in human behaviour were encouraged, others repressed, and the results were both pleasant and unpleasant.

corruption = the crime when an official breaks laws to help people that he knows .

Sentence- The government has toughened the fight against corruption.

bribery = the crime of giving money to officials to get something done (verb = to bribe someone)

Sentence- The charges against him include fraud, bribery, and falsifying business records.

to enforce laws = to apply them to people.

Sentence- Chief executives are officials who run governmental bodies that formulate and enforce laws.

unequitable = unfair or different for different groups

Sentence- It is unequitable to arrest young people for speeding, but not older people.

law-abiding = following all the laws in a proper way

Sentence- These men are all decent, tax-paying, law-abiding people.

transferable skills = skills that can be used in different situations

Sentence- One where you can use your areas of special knowledge and the transferable skills that you most enjoy using.

lateral thinking = the ability to think creatively and in new ways.

Sentence- Even if they are wrong, a little lateral thinking may help shake up the field.

investigative = adjective from ‘to investigate’ = to enquire about the causes of a crime or a  problem

Sentence- It took internal whistle-blowing and investigative journalism to uncover the rot.