an alibi	a person or story which proves that sb was not in a place when a crime was commited
an appeal	a request to a court asking for a previous decision to be changed
blackmail	threatening to reveal a secret about sb unless they do sth the other person wants
a brush with the law	dealings with the police for a very minor crime
a cache of	a hidden number of, used for explosives, weapons, etc
a criminal record	a list of crimes which sb has been found guilty of, which is kept by the police
to drop the charges against sb	(police) to decide that sb did not commit the crime that they are charged with
to fit a description	to look exactly like sb (a criminal) that has been described
to be found (not) guilty of	a judge decides that sb did (not) commit the crime that they have been charged with
to hand down a sentence	(a judge) to announce in a court of law what sentence a criminal will receive
to handle sb's defence	(a lawyer) to defend sb in a court of law
a hardened criminal	an experienced criminal who is unlikely to ever abide by the law
a law-abiding citizen	a person who does not break the law
not a shred of evidence	not a single piece of evidence
to pass sentence	(a judge) to tell a court what punishment a convicted person will receive
to place sb under arrest	(formal, police language) to arrest sb
a plain-clothes policeman	a policeman who does not wear a uniform
to plead guilty	to say(in a court of law) that you are guilty of a crime that you have been charged with
to be in/taken into police custody	arrested and kept in prison while waiting to go to court
to press charges against sb	to make an official accusation agains sb, which has to be decided in a court of law
a previous conviction for..	to have previously been found guilty of a crime in a court of law
protection money	money paid to sb who threatens to hurt or blackmail the other person
to be quashed	to be rejected; for an appeal/a decision
to raid	police arrives without warning and searches it because they believe that a criminal or sth illegal
to reach a verdict	to decide in a court of law whether sb is guilty or not guilty of a crime
to be released on bail	sb who is waiting to go on trial does not have to wait in prison because sb paid large sum of money
a spate of..	(robberies, break-ins, attacks etc) is a series of these things that follow each other
to stand trial	to go to a court of law and be judged
to trace the whereabouts of sb	(police language) to look for sb
blocked	(for sinks or toilets) sth is stopping the water from leaving ot
blunt	not sharp
to break/cut in half	to break/cut sth into two pieces
bruised	(for a piece of fruit) with brown marks on it
to burst	to explode, letting water or air escape
chipped	with a small piece broked off
to come off	to fall from/become separated from
cracked	slightly damaged, with lines appearing on the surface
to be crumbling off	(for plaster) small pieces of plaster are falling off because it is very old and dry
to crush	to press or squeeze sth hard so as to change its shape or completely destroy it
dented	with a hollow in the surface caused by hitted or pressing (for metals)
(sth is) falling to pieces	sth is very old and in very bad condition
filthy	very dirty
flat	(od a fizzy drink) having lost its bubbles and tasting unpleasant; (of a tire) without enough air
frayed/fraying	with loose threads at the edges
grimy	very dirty
grubby	dirty
sth has seen better days	sth is now old and and not in very good condition
moth-eaten	old, in poor condition and with holes (for material)
mouldy	with mould on it
sth is on its last legs	sth is in very bad condition and very soon it will stop working
to be peeling off	(for wallpaper) to be falling of a surface
rickety	(for furniture) old, weak and unstable
to rip	to tear sth badly/to get badly torn
to rip sth to shreds	to tear paper or material into little pieces
rusty	with rust on it
to scrape	to scratch
to shatter (into a thousand/milion pieces)	to break into many tiny pieces
to smash to smithereens/into tiny pieces	to break into very small pieces
to snap sth in two	to break sth (made of hard material) in two pieces
to split	to separate (not necessarily completely)
sth is still in one piece	if you drop sth and it is still in one piece, it has not broken
stained	with a mark that is difficult to remove
stale	not fresh
threadbare	the material sth is made of has become very old, weak and thin