Police Definitions

Question	Answer
Disability	A person will be disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, which would include things like use the telephone or going on public transport.
Discrimination	Treating someone differently because of feelings of prejudices about their sex, race, religion, disability ect...
Assault	A crime at common law and is every attack directed to take effect physically on the person of another, whether or not actual injury is inflicted
Ethnocentrism	The making of judgements about the behaviour and culture of others based upon your own culture as the norm - viewing others through the eyes of your own culture.
Gender Reassignment	A person is deemed to have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if they are proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.
Passive Discrimination	Where a person witnesses discrimination taking place and disagrees with the discrimination but does not challenge it.
Pro-Behaviour	Where a member of a minority group accepts discrimination without challenge or "turns a blind eye" to it or laughs at a discriminatory joke.
Racial Group	Is defined by reference to race, colour, nationality, ethnic origins and national origins.
Racist Incident	Any incident which is percieved to be racist by the victim or any other person.
Sexual Harassment	Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men at work.
Victimisation	Where a person is treated less favourably because they have made a complaint based on a belief that they have been subjected to a discriminatory practice; or where another person supporting someone exercising their rights receives less favourable treatment as a result.
Credible Witness	Is one whose evidence is held by the court to be trustworthy no matter how bad the character of the witness may be.
Evidence	ncludes all legal means (exclusive of mere argument) which tends to prove or disprove the truth of the subject before the court.
Hearsay Evidence	Is evidence at second hand given by a person who is merely repeating something said by another person.
Production	Includes any liquid, animal, document, article or other thing which is alleged to have some connection with a crime, offence or incident under review.
Warrant	An authority in writing issued by a Magistrate (Justice of the Peace or Sheriff) or other competent person, directing police officers to take a course of action which might not otherwise be lawful.
Abettor	Any person who incites, instigates, encourages or counsels another to commit a crime.
Accessory	Anyone who aids the perpetrator with advice or assistance before or at the time of the crime or who acts in concert by watching whilst the crime is committed.
Attempt to Pervert the Course of Justice	A crime at common law which can be described as any overt and intentional action calculated, to interfere with either the normal investigation of a crime or the bringing of an offender to justice.
Breach of the Peace	A crime at common law, and is constituted by one or more persons conducting himself or themselves in a riotous or disorderly manner, where such conduct is severe enough to cause alarm to ordinary people and threaten serious disturbance to the community.
Contempt of Court	An intentional disrespect or an action against the court's authority.
Culpable and Reckless Fireraising	Is committed when property is set on fire as a result of a reckless act by the accused.
Culpable Homicide	Is a crime at common law and it is committed by any person who unlawfully kills another person, where death is caused by improper conduct, but the guilt is less than murder.
Forgery and Uttering	A crime at common law and consists in the making and publishing of writing feloniously intended to represent and pass for the genuine writing of another person.
Fraud	Falsehood Fraud Wilful Imposition
Hate Crime	A crime motivated by malice or ill-will towards a social group.
Homicide	When a human being kills another human being. The victim must be self-existent, not an unborn child. But if the child has begun to breathe, it is immaterial that the death took place before complete delivery.
House	Includes any dwelling house or other roofed building, finished or unfinished, or any part of a building used as a separate dwelling, which is secured against intrusion by unauthorised persons.
Lockfast Place	Includes rooms, cupboards, drawers, safes, desks, cash- boxes, show-cases and any other receptacle the contents of which are protected by lock and key.
Malicious Mischief	A crime at common law constituted by wilful, wanton, and malicious destruction of, or damage to the property of another.
Murder	A crime at common law and is committed when a person kills another without necessary cause and where there is either an intention to kill or a wilful act so reckless as to show utter disregard for the consequences.
Offensive Weapon	Includes any article made or adapted for the use of causing injury to the person or intended by the person having it with them for such use by either themselves or by some other person.
Perjury	A crime at common law committed by any person who wilfully makes a false statement under oath or affirmation equivalent to oath.
Principal	Is the person who actually commits the crime.
Reset	A crime at common law committed by any person with intent to deprive the owner, to receive and keep property, knowing that it had been appropriated by theft, robbery, embezzlement or fraud.
Robbery	A crime at common law committed by any person who feloniously appropriates property, by means of violence or threats of violence.
Subornation of Perjury	A crime at common law committed by any person who counsels or induces by any means, a person to give false testimony in judicial proceedings.
Theft	A crime at common law and is the taking and appropriating of property without the consent of the rightful owner or other lawful authority.
Vandalism S52 Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995	Creates an offence for any person to wilfully or recklessly destroy or damage the property of another without reasonable excuse.
Wasting Police Time	Is a crime at common law committed by any person who maliciously makes a false statement to the police with the intention and effect of causing unnecessary police investigation.
Wilful Fireraising	Committed when a person intentionally sets fire to any form of property.
Alcohol	Spirits, wine, beer, cider or any other fermented, distilled or spirituous liquor but does not include alcohol which is of a strength of 0.5% or less, at the time of its sale.
Ammunition	Any ammunition for any firearm and includes; grenades, bombs and other like missiles; whether capable of use with a firearm or not.
Controlled Container	A container of any description which is or was capable of holding any liquid and is made from material which, if the container were to be thrown or propelled at a person, could cause injury to that person.
Domestic Abuse	Any form of physical, sexual or mental and emotional abuse which might amount to criminal conduct and which takes place within the context of a relationship. The relationship will be between partners (married, cohabiting, civil partnership or otherwise) or ex-partners. The abuse can be committed in the home or elsewhere.
Firearm	A lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged and includes any ‘prohibited weapon’, whether lethal barrelled or not, any ‘component part’ of such a lethal or prohibited weapon or any ‘accessory’ to such weapons which are designed or adapted to diminish the sound or flash caused by firing the weapon.
Missing Person	Anyone whose whereabouts are unknown, whatever the circumstances of their disappearance. They will be considered missing until located or their well being or otherwise established.
Mobbing and Rioting	A mob is a group of person acting together for a common illegal purpose to the alarm of the lieges and in breach of the peace. It is a crime at common law to form part of a mob.
Occupancy Rights	The right, if in occupation, to continue to occupy the matrimonial home. If not in occupation, a right to enter into and occupy the matrimonial home, and in either case the right to do so to together with any child of the family.
Period of a Designated Sporting Event	A period which commences 2 hours before the start, or advertised start and is concluded one hour after the event.
Reckless Discharge	A crime at common law for any person to recklessly discharge a firearm, whether or not actual injury is caused.
Relevant Area ( of a sports ground )	Any part of the ground to which spectators are granted access on payment or from which the event can be viewed directly.
Driving	A person is held to be driving when they have control of the speed and the direction of the vehicle.
Motor Vehicle	Means a mechanically propelled vehicle, intended or adapted, for use on the roads.
Public Road as per Vehicle Excise & Registration Act 1994	Any way (other than a waterway) over which there is a public right of passage (by whatever means) and whether subject to a toll or not and includes the road’s verges and any bridges (whether permanent or temporary) over which, or tunnel through which, the road passes and any reference to a road includes parts thereof.

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	Created by James Wishart over 9 years ago