Illegal Activity Jargon Buster

Cannabis Farm

In order to be cultivated, Cannabis needs a certain type of warm, light and humid environment, often man-made indoors with lamps and humidifiers. These environments are referred to as Cannabis farms.

Penalties

Despite having a few different meanings, penalties are usually the concept of punishment involving money or fines.

Legal Costs

These are the costs involved with paying for lawyers and the court in legal cases, often paid for by the person or company that loses said case.

Organised Crime

This refers to criminal activities that are organised and controlled by groups and carried out on a large scale. It’s commonly associated with gangs and gang culture.

Malicious Damage

The crime of intentionally causing damage to a property.

Class A Drugs

Illegal drugs are placed into one of 3 classes based on how dangerous they are deemed to society. Class A drugs are the most dangerous and include heroin, cocaine and crack, methadone, ecstasy (MDMA), LSD and magic mushrooms.

Class B Drugs

The second most dangerous class includes amphetamines (such as crystal meth), mephedrone, cannabis, and commonly prescription drugs such as barbiturates and codeine.

Class C Drugs

Class C are the least dangerous, but still illegal drugs, which include tranquillisers, GHB/GBL (otherwise known as liquid ecstasy), ketamine, anabolic steroids and benzodiazepines (similar to ecstasy).

Prosecuted

To be prosecuted is to be officially accused in a court of law of committing a crime.

Working Girl

This term is typically used to describe a prostitute/sex worker.

Drug Den

A usually private and relatively safe place where drug addicts gather to use, and often sell, drugs.

Illicit Drugs

This is a blanket term referring to all illegal and usually highly addictive drugs.

Anti-social Behaviour

This is defined as acting in a way that causes harassment, alarm or distress to the public, including neighbours. Examples include street drinking, environmental damage i.e. littering, begging and inconsiderate or inappropriate use of vehicles.

Injunction

An injunction refers to an order from the court of law that restrains a person doing a specific act that may be threatening or invading the legal rights of someone else. Failing to comply with an injunction can result in criminal or civil penalties, or even imprisonment.

Subtenant

A subtenant is a person who rents a property from a tenant, as oppose to the landlord.

Subletter

A subletter is a person who rents a property but lets someone else (a subtenant) stay there and pay the rent. Instead of the subtenant then paying the rent directly to the landlord, the subletter remains in the chain, taking the rent from the subtenant and paying it to the landlord.

Subletting

Subletting is the act of renting the property that you rent from a landlord, to a subtenant.

Notice to Quit

Otherwise known as an eviction, this is when a landlord orders a tenant to leave the rental property by a certain date. It can also be used to order a tenant to pay overdue rent, resolve property damage or stop using the property for illegal purposes.

Gambling Den

A private place where people meet to engage in illegal, unregulated gambling.