Do You Know All of These Common Law Enforcement Terms?

Everyone's fingerprints are different. This is why they are used to help solve crimes.

A misdemeanor is a non-indictable offense. It is less serious than a felony.

They are often called prosecuting attorneys. They conduct the case against a defendant in a criminal court.

It is often referred to as assault and battery. A person can't be charged with battery if the act happened while they were sleepwalking or having a seizure.

A suspect is usually put under police surveillance. It would normally be done by a detective.

A defendant has been accused of breaking the law and is being sued in court. This applies to civil and criminal court.

In most jurisdictions, grand theft is considered a felony. The amount to be considered grand theft varies by state, but can be anywhere from $500 to $1,000.

Private nuisance is an unlawful interference with the use and enjoyment of land. Public nuisance is an obnoxious or dangerous person or group of people.

An accessory doesn't commit the crime and isn't there when it happens, but is somehow involved with the crime, either before or after the act was committed.

The Supreme Court often uses precedents when making their rulings. They use previous court decisions to help guide them in their decision making.

The sheriff tends to be the person more in charge of the counties in the United States. They would be the one in charge of running the county jails.

You often hear traffic citations. This requires the person to pay the ticket within a certain timeframe or appear in court to fight it.

The witness is under oath, so committing libel or slander wouldn't be recommended. They are testifying in front of the court.

Embezzlement is taking money from a company, which has entrusted that money with you. It happens in many different businesses.

This is basically a person lying under oath. A person committing perjury can face five years in prison and fines.

The police normally detain a person if they need to hold them for further questioning in a case.

A juvenile is a young person not yet old enough to be considered an adult. If convicted as a juvenile, they would spend time in a juvenile detention center.

We often think of malpractice in health care, as when a doctor performs a negligent act or omission on a patient that causes harm.

Arson is when a person willfully burns down their property and lies about the cause. This is done in order for them to collect from their insurance policy.

Depending on your probation, your probation officer is who you meet with to ensure the courts you are staying on the straight and narrow while not in jail for your crime.

Ballistics is the study of the movement of objects that are shot through the air. We often hear about ballistics, as it deals with the firing of a gun.

An alibi is proof that someone who is thought to have committed a crime could not have done it, as there is proof they were doing something else at the time.

A trial by jury is a fundamental right of people. The trial is put in place to decide their guilt or innocence.

BOLO means "be on the lookout." Cops use this term when a person of interest is on the loose.

This is an unpaid job that is supposed to help better the community. Jail time is often waived if an offender completes a certain number of community service hours.

A person uses force or threats to get something from you. This can be a person extorting $1 million from an app developer.

The indictment is a form charging a person with a crime. A subpoena is a form ordering a person to be a witness in a trial.

Lie detectors have no true way of determining if a person is lying or not. Because of that, the results are not admissible as evidence.

Malice usually refers to a wrongful act done intentionally to harm a person.

For police, they often use radar guns in determining the speed of your vehicle.

A subpoena is issued to a potential witness in a trial. It requires the person to show up to court at the time listed.

A felony is a crime that is punishable by one year or more in prison or by death. A misdemeanor is normally punishable by fines or shorter amounts of time in local jail.

A motion can be made to suppress evidence and keep it out of a trial. Otherwise, if it is done, it would be done illegally.

A wiretap is secretly installed on someone's phone to listen in on their conversations, which would be used to incriminate them.

Libel can be done in a written or broadcast (radio, television or film) format. Slander is when someone orally says something false about a person.