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The vocabulary of CRIME AND social VALUES  by Paul Davies The pioneering French sociologist Émile Durkheim theorized that attitudes towards crime and punishment represent an expression of a society's core values. Certainly, there is a strong element of moral relativity; that which is considered legal or illegal, acceptable of unacceptable, varies from society to society. However, we must also consider the idea that, in most societies, law, justice and punishment are imposed from 'above'. Even in modern democracies, key ideas about crime and punishment originated in darker, more oppressive times and the idea still persists that the criminal justice system exists to protect the rich and powerful. With this in mind, it is interesting to examine the words used in English to describe various crimes and criminals. With crimes that are almost universally abhorrent, there is little ambiguity. The terms used express revulsion and are condemning in tone. Usually these crimes are related to murder and sexual violence and the vocabulary employed is narrow and resistant to alternative interpretation. It is common for murderers, rapists or paedophiles to be described as 'cold blooded' and as 'preying' on their victims, the implication being that they are somehow reptilian and less than human. The celebrated US author Truman Capote named his iconic account of a bungled house break-in, the murder of the family who lived there and the subsequent execution of the two petty thieves involved IN COLD BLOOD. Obviously the ambiguity of the title is deliberate. Who acted in cold blood? Was it the thieves when they murdered an innocent family? Was it the state when it executed the murderers? Was it both? Other crimes carry a wider, more dynamic vocabulary, indicating a disparity between public attitudes to crime and the legal interpretations that are imposed upon the public. They also provide an insight into popular culture and myth. For example, the noun 'thief', the verb 'thieve' and the adjective 'thieving' usually have negative connotations. A thief is normally thought to be an unpleasant person.  If someone is described as 'thieving', the tone is almost always condemnatory. The thief is often thought to be the lowest of criminal categories and it is common to hear the phrase 'petty thief' to describe someone who, rather than being a 'professional criminal', is simply opportunist in nature. However, it is also common to hear the government, the tax department and banks described as 'thieves' or as 'thieving'. This would indicate a popular hostility to government and finance. The verb 'steal' has similar negative connotations. It is common to hear people complain that banks 'steal' their money. Likewise, the term 'pickpocket' has negative connotations. A pickpocket never steals from institutions, only ever the public. On the other hand, the noun 'Robber' has generally neutral or even positive connotations. A 'Bank Robber' is seen by many as a professional criminal and even, at times, worthy of respect. There is a famous song by the London-based punk band ‪The Clash‬ called 'Bank Robber' which mythologises the professional, non-violent nature of the crime with doublenegative lyrics like "My daddy was a bank robber but he didn't hurt nobody." The noun 'Robbery' (used to describe the crime itself rather than the perpetrator) usually has neutral connotations and is used most commonly in reportage. Occasionally though it can be used negatively, usually to describe high prices, as in the term 'daylight robbery'. However, the verb 'Rob' is commonly used in association with mythic, redistributive folk heroes such as Robin Hood, who 'robbed the rich to feed the poor'. The noun 'Burglar' shares similar professional criminal connotations, as does the verb 'Burgle' and the noun 'Burglary', used to describe the crime itself.