1. ALIBIS


SESSION 1

COURSE INTRODUCTION

The following video will give you a brief overview of this course. Please watch it in full, as it gives valuable information about your project and how to submit your work.

Introduction to the course on crime files

NOTE TO STUDENTS

Students from the below groups will receive PIN numbers via email weekly to access activities on my iDoceo Connect platform and submit their exercises for correction.

404, 407, 412, 420, 435, 447P, 462, 480 and 481

The solutions to exercises will be published when the above groups have submitted them.


STRUCTURE

- Course introduction

- Session 1: contents

  1. Criminal profiling
    • Complexion
    • Clothing
    • Link words
  2. How to solve a crime
  3. Alibis
  4. Excuses

MAKE UP YOUR TEAMS!!

- Four/five students per team.

- Email your teacher to say who you are working with.

- If you do not have a team, email your teacher and s/he will assign you one.


ONLINE ACTIVITY

The compulsory online section of the course (called Sherlock) must be prepared on Madoc.


SESSION 1: CONTENTS

A. Criminal profiling
Complexion

Learn how to describe the suspect's features. Use the vocabulary below for your project.

Suspect's features
  • HAIR
    • Color: Black, brown red, etc. (note if dyed)
    • Texture: Straight, wavy, curly, lightly curled. (note if processed)
    • Hairline: Low on forehead, receding, "widow's peak" at center, etc.
    • Style: Neatly combed, unkempt; parted; short, long, sideburns.
  • FOREHEAD
    • Height: High, low, wide, narrow.
    • Skin: Smooth, light or heavy creases, wrinkled.
  • NOSE
    • Shape: Long, wide, flat, pug, Roman, etc.
    • Nostrils: Wide, narrow, flared.
  • CHEEKS
    • Flesh: Sunken, filled out, dried, oily.
    • Wrinkles: "Calliper" lines beside nose, mouth, (if marked); other.
  • CHEEK BONES
    • Prominence: High or low, wide or low, also note whether fleshy.
  • EARS
    • Size: Large, small, etc.
    • Prominence: Protruding or flat against head.
  • MOUTH
    • Corners: Turned up, turned down, level.
    • Upper Lip: Thin, medium, full.
    • Lower Lip: Thin, medium, full.
  • NECK
    • Front: Double chin, protruding Adam's apple, etc.
    • Sides: Hangin jowls, etc.
  • CHIN
    • Shape: Round, oval, pointed, square.
    • Peculiarities: Small, double, dimpled, cleft.
  • EXPRESSION
    • Anger, excited, remorse, frightened

Adapted from sheridanroadtaskforce.wordpress.com







GENERAL DESCRIPTION

  • Sex: Male or Female
  • Color: White, Black, Oriental, Hispanic, etc.
  • Age: (Estimate)
  • Height: In comparison with your own height.
  • Build: Fat, husky, slim, muscular.
  • Hair: Color, texture, style, grooming, length; possibly dyed or wig.
  • Eyes: Color; shape (slant, round); clear or bloodshot; eyelashes, eyebrows (heavy, light).
  • Complexion: Color, pores, pockmarks, acne, razor marks, bumps; also shave (clean, partial or unshaven).
  • Peculiarities: Marks, scars, deformities; mustache, goatee or beard; makeup; voice (pitch, tone, lisp); speech (educated, uneducted, slangy, accent); gait (slow, fast; limp).

Clothing

Now learn how to describe the suspect's clothing. Use the vocabulary below for your project.

Suspect's clothing

Source: gillits2.org

IN-CLASS

Describe a fictional suspect to your partner. S/he will design the facial composite (portrait-robot) based on your description. Switch roles when you have finished.

Composite portrait

Link words

Because you need structure when presenting evidence, link words will help you. You will find the most frequent linking words in the following table, but there are others, and you must know as many as possible in order to improve your scientific English. First check that you know them, then as you read the document, try and choose a suitable link word.

GENERAL MEANING CONJUNCTIONS ADVERBIAL CONNECTORS PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
COORDINATING SUBORDINATING
NEUTRAL FORMAL NEUTRAL FORMAL NEUTRAL FORMAL NEUTRAL FORMAL
ADDITION and In addition
Also
Besides
Actually
In fact (surprising)		 Moreover
Furthermore
Also		 In addition to
ALTERNATIVES Or / nor
(Or) else
Either ... or
Neither ... nor		 If
Whether		 ... as well
Alternatively
CONTRAST Surprising facts But
Not only ... but also		 Yet Yet
Still
Even so
All the same
On the one hand
Actually		 However
Nevertheless
Nonetheless		 Contrary to
Opposite facts While Whereas On the other hand
On the contrary		 In contrast In spite of
As opposed to		 Despite
CONCESSION Yet, Though
Even though
Even if		 Although Though
Even
SIMILARITY Similarly
Likewise
ILUSTRATION For example
For instance		 Namely Such as
RESTATEMENT In other words
DISAPPOINTING SITUATIONS Unfortunately Regrettably
RESULTS So
Such a ... that		 (And) so
As a result
Then		 Therefore
Consequently
Thus
Thereby
Accordingly
REASON
Cause and effect		 Because
As		 Since
For
Indeed		 That is why Because of
Thanks to (positive)		 Due to
Owing to
On account of
PURPOSE So that
So as to
In order that
In order to		 For fear that
CONDITION If
Unless
So/as long as
Provided (that)
Seeing that		 On condition that
Given that
SAME TIME When(ever)
While
Now (that)		 Meanwhile
EARLIER TIME Before
Until
LATER TIME After
Since		 Soon
Then
After(wards)
JUST AFTER Once
As soon as		 Whereupon
SUMMARY To sum up
Finally
In conclusion

Adapted from Glenys Hanson, Centre de linguistique appliquée, Université de Franche-Comté


B. How to solve a murder

Sherlock Holmes makes his incredible deductions from evidence that would appear insignificant to those lacking his brilliant intellect. But what can really be deduced from a crime scene? As you read the text, find the appropriate linking words.

(1) First / Besides / However, one of the key elements an investigative psychologist can provide to the police is some idea of what’s most important about a crime scene. (2) Nonetheless / For instance / Namely, consider a bedroom with clothes everywhere. There’s some blood, (3) and yet / despite / actually there’s no body. How (4) else / on the one hand / then can you decide what is most important? Comparing the details of an individual crime to known types of behaviour will give you information, and (5) as a result / provided / unfortunately some ways to characterise the one you’re dealing with. (6) In other words / Indeed / Whether, serial killers typically take a weapon to the murder with them and sexually assault the victim. One-time killers, (7) whereas / therefore / on the contrary, don’t tend to do this. (8) That is why / On the other hand / All the same only certain characteristics of the crime scene will be important for the diagnosis. It’s rather like a doctor knowing a high temperature and spots are what he should pay attention to (9) since / on the contrary / namely they’re significant symptoms of an illness, (10) first / besides / whereas being overweight and depressed aren’t, because most of his middle-aged patients are like that.

CSI Grissom

(11) Once / Unless / Thus we have established the important points of the criminal’s actions, we need to make inferences about the sort of person they may be. For instance, (12) as opposed to / if / whether the offender is careful not to leave traces, can we assume (13) since / unlike / as a result that he’s a seasoned criminal who’s likely to be in the police records already, or (14) else / in fact / unlike that he has just watched a lot of CSI programmes? This is difficult; (15) provided that / therefore / whether, the best way to answer these questions is to think of criminal profiling as an equation. On one side, we have the “actions” of the crime, such as the time, place and manner it was carried out.

(16) To sum up / However / On the other side, we find the offender’s characteristics. (17) Unfortunately / Since / Neither, human behaviour is complex, (18) as / as soon as / so there’s no simple way to balance the actions and characteristics equations.

Adapted from NEW SCIENTIST



IN-CLASS

Do this exercise and then discuss your answers with your nearest classmate.


DISTANCE LEARNING

Send your guesses to your teacher, using the dedicated iDoceo Connect platform (only for groups specified above).

C. Stupid alibis

Read the following anecdotes, and then try and work out what stupid alibi the people involved came up with.

#1. Child pornography

Forbidden content

In 2009, police charged Keith Griffin with ten counts of possessing child pornography after they found more than 1,000 illegal images on his computer. However, Keith Griffin had an explanation for how the images made it onto his computer.

Can you guess what his excuse was?

#2. Vehicular Misbehavior

Speeding car

In March 2009, an unnamed man was walking his dogs when he saw a car driving very fast in the opposite lane, so he made a gesture telling the driver, Christos Kokkalis, to slow down. Kokkalis then cut across the opposite lane to hit the pedestrian. When he missed him, he pulled a U-turn, sped back up to the pedestrian to try again, then leapt out and screamed, "Let's settle this right now. Meet me back here at 10."

We love how his threat proves he can't even get through two sentences without reversing himself. There's also the almost adorable naivete of a 19-year-old male thinking anyone will believe a driving related offense wasn't his fault. And yet, he did try to escape blame on that one.

What do you think he claimed?

#3. Embezzlement

Embezzlement

When Janell Athalone-Afrika was caught embezzling $15,000 worth of benefits from the Indiana Department of Education, she decided the game of wits had only just begun. A game she was worse prepared for than someone wearing body armor to a triathlon. Even soap operas don't pull that storyline until they've run out of ideas, and while it takes them a few seasons it only took Janell a single sentence.

Deputy Prosecutor Barb Trathen announced, "It's pretty clear we didn't find any truth in the [...] defense," immediately winning the "greatest understatement by a legal professional" award from "This job sucks" by Harvey Dent.

So what do you think her crazy defense was?

IN-CLASS

Do this exercise in pairs with your partner.


DISTANCE LEARNING

Send your guesses to your teacher, using the dedicated iDoceo Connect platform (only for groups specified above).

D. Excuses (Evil Master game)
Mafia Boss Vyder

You will play this game in groups of 3. Player 1 will play the role of Evil Master Vyder, the ultimate evil boss in town. Players 2 and 3 will play the role of 2 of his most mediocre employees who have just failed a mission... again!! Master Vyder will use his “situation” card to explain to the others what they were supposed to do and absolutely wants to know what went wrong. The 2 employees will have to find alibis and excuses to appease the very angry boss. They will have to use 1 “Alibis and Excuses” card in their speech and try to be convincing even if it is not realistic. The boss can interrupt at any time and will continue asking questions until he determines that one of the two employees is to blame. This employee will regret not convincing the boss!!!

After you have played your card, you will have to improvise the rest of your alibis and excuses.

Only the boss can decide when to stop. You can decide to be friendly and cooperative or to put the blame on your neighbour, it’s your choice!

After one round, change roles.


SHORT EXAMPLE

  • Master Vyder: Soooooo... This time it was an easy mission. You had to kidnap Princess Carolina while she was on holidays at Coconut beach. She was only 5 years old! Tell me what happened!!!
  • Bob (plays bodyguard card): Well, Master Vyder, you see, there were ten bodyguards, and they looked really dangerous, and ...
  • Master Vyder: And so you ran away? Did you run away, John?
  • John: No, of course not. Bob ran away but I stayed for the job.
  • Bob: It’s a lie! I have a witness, Big Mamma, who saw me stay.
  • Master Vyder: (remember that the boss is always right): John you lied! Big Mamma was sick. What can you say in your defense?
  • John: (plays helicopter card) Well, er... I didn’t run away exactly, I went to find a helicopter to carry the girl while Bob was hiding!
  • Master Vyder: So you were hiding, Bob?
  • Bob: Yes your great evil majesty, because I was preparing to shoot the bodyguard. You will see that my gun fired twice and John’s didn’t! It’s not my fault!
  • Master Vyder: I don’t believe you Bob! You are to blame.
  • Bob: But...
  • Master Vyder: SILENCE! You will be sent to Jubbu the Hatt’s prison for 10 years!!
  • Bob: Nooooooo!
IN-CLASS

Play this game in class with your colleagues.


DISTANCE LEARNING

Send your 50-word excuse to your Evil Master Vyder (your teacher), using the dedicated iDoceo Connect platform (only for groups specified above).

Address

2 Rue de la Houssinière
Building 2 - Office 109
Nantes 44322 cedex 3

Contact

UNantes email
Caminha.org email

Other links

Madoc
iDoceo Connect
Word Wall