12 pre-trial criminal law collocations

A collocation is a combination of words that commonly occur together. Lawyers say commit a crime, not normally do a crime. Learning complete phrases will make your English sound more natural and precise.

The twelve collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example
commit a crime	do an act that is illegal	The defendant was found guilty of committing fraud.
report a crime	inform the police or another authority about a crime	The witness reported the crime to the police.
accuse someone of committing a crime	allege that a person committed an unlawful act	My client has been accused of drug trafficking.
arrest a suspect	lawfully detain a person suspected of a crime	The police arrested the suspect at the airport.
conduct / carry out an investigation	examine a case and gather evidence	The Serious Fraud Office is carrying out an investigation into suspected corruption.
enter and search premises	go onto premises and search for evidence	The police entered and searched the business premises.
seize property	officially take property as part of enforcement action	Officers seized computers and documents.
question a witness	formally ask a witness for information	The police questioned the witness about the crime scene.
caution a suspect	give the formal warning that answers may be used in evidence	The officer cautioned the suspect before the interview.
interview a suspect under caution	formally question a suspect after giving the caution	My client is being interviewed under caution.
detain a suspect at the police station	hold the suspect in police custody	The suspect was detained at the station for 24 hours.
charge a suspect with a crime	formally accuse the suspect of a specified offence	The suspect was charged with burglary.

Important grammar patterns

• accuse + person + of + noun/-ing: They accused him of fraud / of falsifying records.
• charge + person + with + noun/-ing: She was charged with theft / with stealing the funds.
• investigation into + noun: The authority opened an investigation into corruption.
• seize + object: The police seized the laptop.

From report to charge

1. A victim or witness reports a crime.
2. The police conduct an investigation and may question witnesses.
3. They may arrest, caution and interview a suspect under caution.
4. They may search premises and seize property.
5. If the legal test is met, the suspect is charged with an offence.

Quick quiz

Complete the phrases.

1. (do) _____ a crime
2. (formally accuse) _____ a suspect with burglary
3. (do) _____ an investigation
4. (take) _____ property
5. (interview) _____ a witness
6. interview a suspect _____ caution (in an official manner)

Show the answers

1. commit
2. charge
3. conduct / carry out
4. seize
5. question
6. under

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