Words

incarceration n. the state of being imprisoned; imprisonment, captivity; -> incarcerate v. to keep sb. in a prison or other places

methamphetamine n. / meθ?m’fet?mi: n/ a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant 脫氧麻黃堿（中樞興奮藥）

serve v. to spend (a period) in prison

offender n. a person who commits an illegal act; a person or thing that does something wrong or causes problem

mugger n. a person who attacks and robs another in apublic place [compare with -> burglar]

preschool n. a nursery school (children between 3-5 years old); BrE kindergarten [compare with AmE kindergarten (children between 5-6 years old)]

incomprehensible a. not able to be understood; -> incomprehensibleness n.

outlier n. an extreme deviation from the mean

await v. [with obj.] wait for

tagging n. attaching an electronic tag [like what happened to Peter in The Good Wife!]

convict / 'k?nv?kt/ n. a person found guilty of acriminal offence and serving a sentence of imprisonment

sociopath n. a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour

recidivism n. -> recidivist n. a convicted criminal who reoffends,esp. repeatedly

rounding (?? the expressing of a number with only? aconvenient degree of exactness)

deterrent n. a thing that discourages or intended to discourage sb. from doing something

Phrases

…be no one’s idea of: nobody would assume … to be

drug treatment: the treatment of drug addiction

draw a pension: draw v. to receive

keep sb. in check: to keep sb. under control

rough neighbourhoods: a rough area/city/school is unpleasant and dangerous because there is a lot of violence or crime there

hard cases: (inf.) a tough or intractable (hard to control or deal with) person

fall on deaf ears: (of a statement or request) be ignored

Background information

federal mandatory minimum rules: Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require binding prison terms of aparticular length for people convicted of certain federal and state crimes. ... Most mandatory minimum sentences apply to drug offenses,but Congress has enacted them for other crimes, including certain gun, pornography, and economic offences.

e.g. see: http://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chart-All-Fed-MMs-NW.pdf

“three strikes” rules: The three-strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, and limits the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a life sentence. [ -> “three strikes out”!]