A crime is an illegal act. The person who does it is a criminal, and a thief is a criminal who steals things. Notice we say commit a crime and steal something.
The crime and the people
crime /kraɪm/ — Police said the crime happened late at night near Ghafwick Station.
criminal /ˈkrɪmɪnəl/ — The criminal left some evidence near the door.
thief /θiːf/ — A thief stole a bicycle outside Magaff Library.
Not ""He made a crime last night."" — say ""He committed a crime last night."". In English you commit a crime, not make or do it.
Try it: The shopkeeper at Mosh Market saw the ___ run out with a bag of stolen goods. (thief / verdict / court) Answer: thief — A thief is a person who steals things, which is exactly what happened here. A verdict is a court's decision, and a court is a place, so neither is a person who steals.
Police at work
The police find out what happened and catch the person. Police is treated as plural, so we say the police are, not the police is. To investigate is to examine a crime carefully, and to arrest someone is to take them into police custody.
police /pəˈliːs/ — The police are investigating the theft at Ghafwick Station.
investigate /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/ — Officers investigated the break-in at 12 Moffen Street.
arrest /əˈrest/ — Police arrested a suspect near Mosh Market by midnight.
Not ""The police is investigating the case."" — say ""The police are investigating the case."". Police takes a plural verb: the police are, not is.
Try it: Before calling security, Yasmin decided to ___ the missing equipment herself to find out what had happened. (investigate / arrest / commit) Answer: investigate — Investigate means examine a problem carefully to discover the facts, which is exactly what Yasmin is doing. You arrest a person, not a problem, and you commit a crime, not equipment.
Inside the courtroom
If a case is serious, it goes to court. The judge controls the case and makes legal decisions, the defendant is the person accused of the crime who must answer the charges, and the verdict is the official decision at the end, usually guilty or not guilty.
court /kɔːrt/ — The case went to court in Haffenville and the witness spoke clearly.
judge /dʒʌdʒ/ — The judge listened to both sides carefully before deciding.
defendant /dɪˈfendənt/ — The defendant answered the judge's questions calmly in court.
verdict /ˈvɜːrdɪkt/ — The jury reached a verdict after three hours.
Try it: After listening to all the evidence, the jury finally reached a ___: not guilty. (verdict / thief / crime) Answer: verdict — A verdict is the official decision at the end of a case, often 'guilty' or 'not guilty', which fits perfectly here. A thief is a person and a crime is the illegal act, so neither can be 'reached' by a jury.
After the verdict
If the court decides a person did commit the crime, that person is guilty. The judge then gives a sentence, which is the punishment. The whole system exists to deliver justice.
guilty /ˈɡɪlti/ — The court found the driver guilty.
sentence /ˈsentəns/ — He received a six-month sentence.
justice /ˈdʒʌstɪs/ — The family said they wanted justice.
Try it: After the jury decided the driver had done it, the judge gave him six months in prison. That punishment is his ___. (sentence / verdict / justice) Answer: sentence — The sentence is the punishment the judge decides. The verdict is the earlier decision about whether he did it, and justice is the general idea of fair treatment, so neither one is the punishment itself.