Police TV

POLICE TV
How much money do you take with you when you go
shopping? Are you careful? Sometimes people steal
money in the street - then you need the police to help you.
Dan, Sue, and Jim are police officers in London. They are
not happy because a robber steals money from people
near some shops every day.
How can they find the robber? W hat does the robber look
like - is it a man or a woman? Old or young? It is not
always easy to know.
W hat do they have to help them? They have radios - but
robbers have phones. Dan, Sue, and Jim need something
that the robber doesn’t have - they need Police TV!
O X F O R D B O O K W O R M S LIBRARY
Crime & Mystery

Police TV
Starter (250 headwords)
 TIM VICARY

Police TV

Illustrated by
Dylan Teague

O X F O R D U N IV E R S IT Y PRESS
 CONTENTS
STORY INTRODUCTION i

1 The jogger 1
2 TV 7
3 Help me! Quick! 11
4 Man with a knife 17
5 At the police station 21

glossary 25
activities: Before Reading 29
activities: While Reading 30
activities: After Reading 32
about the au th o r 34
A BO UT T H E B O O K W O R M S LIBRARY 35
 D an and Sue are police officers in L ondon. It is a T uesday
m orning, and D an is angry.
‘W h a t’s the m atter, D an?’ Sue asks.
‘L ook at th is,’ D an says. ‘Every day som eone steals
m oney from people near the shops. W e m ust stop th is.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Sue says. ‘But w ho is it?’

1
 ‘T here is a jogger,’ D an says. ‘Every day he runs near the
shops. Som etim es he runs into people. P erhaps he steals the
m oney.’
‘O K ,’ Sue says. ‘L et’s go to the shops. Perhaps w e can see
this jogger.’
T hey sit upstairs in a w indow over the shops. D an has a
radio. T hey w atch the people in the street.
‘L ook!’ Sue says. ‘T h ere’s the jogger!’

2
 Police TV

T he young m an runs into an old w om an, and she falls

dow n. T he jogger puts his han d on the old w o m an ’s arm .
‘I’m sorry ,’ he says. ‘C an I help you? H ere’s your bag .’
T hen a young w om an shouts at him . ‘D o n ’t run here!’
she says. ‘It’s dangerous! G o aw ay!’
T he young m an runs aw ay. D an talks in his radio.
‘Quick! Stop him! H e ’s running up N o rth Street!’
A police car stops the young m an in N o rth Street.

3
 ‘A re you O K now ?’ Sue asks the old w om an.
‘Yes, th ank you. W here is th a t nice young w om an? I
can ’t see her n o w .’
‘H ave you got all your m oney?’ Sue asks.
T he old w om an looks in her bag. ‘N o , I hav en’t! M y
m oney’s in my purse. But m y purse isn’t here!’
‘O K Sue,’ D an says. ‘L et’s talk to the jogger!’

4
 Police TV

‘W ho are you?’ Sue asks the young m an.

‘M y n am e’s Peter Jones. W hy? W ho are you?’
‘W e’re police officers. W hy do you go running past the
shops every day?’
‘W hy not? I like ru n n in g .’
‘O K ,’ D an says. ‘L et’s look for the m oney.’
‘W hat m oney?’ Peter Jones asks. ‘W h at are you talking
about? I never take m oney w ith me w hen I ru n .’
D an looks for the m oney bu t he cann ot find any.

5
 Police TV

‘C an I go now ?’ Peter Jones asks.

‘O K ,’ D an says angrily. ‘But d o n ’t com e back!’
‘W hy n o t?’ Peter asks angrily. ‘I live here! A nd I’m n o t
doing anything w rong!’ H e runs aw ay.
‘W h at do w e do now ?’ Sue asks. ‘W here is the old
w o m an ’s m oney, and her purse?’
‘I d o n ’t k n o w ,’ says D an. ‘Som ebody has it. But w ho?’

6
 0 TV
D an and Sue go back to the shops. ‘I d o n ’t u n d erstan d ,’
D an says. ‘T he jogger h a sn ’t got the m oney so w e m ust
look for som eone different.’
‘L o o k ,’ Sue says. ‘T h ere’s a T V cam era over th a t shop
door. Perhaps th a t can help u s.’
 Police TV

T hey go into the shop and w atch the video.

‘L o o k ,’ Sue says. ‘T h ere’s the old w om an. She’s getting
m oney from the bank and pu ttin g it into her purse. N o w
she’s p u ttin g the purse into the b ag .’
‘Stop the video th ere,’ says D an. ‘N ow , look carefully.
Is anybody w atching her?’
‘T here are a lot of people in the street,’ Sue says. ‘I’m n o t
sure. Is it th a t m an w ith the long hair?’

4 u fA D
 ‘P erh aps,’ says D an. ‘L et’s go on. W h at happens next?’
T hey w atch the video. T he jogger runs into the old lady.
H e stops and helps her. She shouts at him and he runs aw ay.
T hen a lot o f people com e and help the old lady.
‘L ook!’ Sue says. ‘T he long-haired m an has her a rm .’
‘Yes, b u t th a t w om an has her bag, ’ D an says. ‘W h a t’s she
doing w ith it? Oh! I can ’t see! T h e re ’s a m an in fron t o f her!’

9
 ‘Listen, I have an id ea,’ D an says. ‘Y ou go to the ban k
to m o rro w , and take som e m oney o u t.’
‘W h y’s th a t a good idea?’ Sue asks.
‘Because w e can w atch y o u ,’ D an answ ers. ‘G et a lot of
m oney from the b ank, and let everybody in the street see it.
T ake a radio too, so you can talk to m e.’
‘O K ,’ Sue says. ‘W e can do th at tom orrow m orning, th en.’

10
 Q
N ex t day Sue goes to the bank. D an is w atching w ith
ano th er policem an, Jim . T hey have radios.
‘I’m getting the m oney n o w ,’ Sue says.
‘T h a t’s good, Sue,’ D an says on his radio. ‘N o w let
everybody see it.’
Sue drops som e m oney near her feet. People in the street
look at her.

11
 ‘L ook - th ere’s the m an w ith the long hair!’ Jim says.
‘H e’s picking up the m oney. Shall I arrest him ?’
‘N o, w ait,’ D an says. ‘W atch .’
T he m an picks up the m oney and gives it to Sue. ‘H ere
you are,’ he says. ‘T h a t’s a lot of m oney - be careful!’
‘T h a n k s,’ Sue says.
‘T h a t’s O K .’ T he m an sm iles and w alks aw ay.

12
 Police TV

‘H ave you got all the m oney, Sue?’ D an asks by radio.

‘Yes, it’s all here,’ Sue says. ‘W h at can I do now ?’
‘Buy som e things in the shops, and then w alk slow ly
dow n the street,’ D an says. ‘W e’re w atching y o u .’
Sue buys som e apples, m ilk and bread. T hen she w alks
slow ly dow n the street. D an and Jim w atch her go.
‘Is anybody follow ing m e?’ Sue asks.
‘N o ,’ D an says. ‘T here’s a w om an w ith a baby. T h a t’s all.’

13
 Police TV

‘D o n ’t follow m e,’ Sue says into the radio. ‘N obody

m ust see you. I’m tu rn ing right, into Sm ith S tre e t. . . now
I’m tu rn in g left into Peg Lane. T he w om an w ith the baby is
follow ing me . . . I’m tu rn ing right, into D ale A venue.’
‘A re there lots o f people abo ut?’ D an asks.
‘N o, it’s very quiet. N othing is happening.’
D an and Jim w ait. T hen Sue shouts: ‘Be careful! O h, help
me, quick! H elp!’

14
 T he jogger, Peter Jones, runs into Sue and she falls over.
T here are apples, m ilk and bread everyw here.
‘I’m sorry ,’ says the m an. ‘Let me help y o u .’
T he w om an takes Sue’s arm . ‘Are you O K ?’ she asks.
‘G o aw ay!’ she shouts at the m an.
But he sees the radio in Sue’s pocket. ‘W h at’s this?’ he
asks. ‘A police radio? Give m e the m oney, quick!’
H e takes the m oney and runs.

15
 T he w om an w ants to run after him bu t Sue holds her.
‘Stop!’ she says. ‘I’m a police officer. Y ou m ust stay here!’
‘But w hy?’ the w om an asks. ‘I w an t to help you. T h at
m an has your m oney —I haven’t got it!’
‘Is he your friend?’ Sue asks. ‘W here does he live?’
‘I d o n ’t k n o w ,’ the w om an says. ‘I d o n ’t know h in t.’
‘W ho are you?’ Sue asks. ‘W here do you live?’
‘L inda . . . L inda W ilks. I live at 14, O ld S treet.’

16
 o
D an runs up to Sue. ‘Are you O K ?’ he asks.
‘Yes, I’m O K ,’ she says. ‘G o on, D an - run!’
Sue calls a police car on her radio. D an runs after Peter
Jones. ‘Jim , he’s tu rn ing left into D ock Lane!’ he shouts.
‘C an you see him ?’

17
 Police TV

‘I can see him but h e’s running very fast,’ Jim says. T he
jogger sees Jim and gets into a boat. Jim runs to the river
and gets into the boat, too.
‘Stop!’ Jim says. ‘I’m a police officer —O h no!’
T he jogger, Peter Jones, hits Jim and he falls into the
w ater. T he bo at goes across the river.

18
 D an helps Jim o u t of th e w ater. ‘H e ’s going into a cafe,’
D an says. ‘C om e on —let’s run to th a t bridge!’
T hey go across the bridge and run to the cafe. Jim goes
behind the cafe and D an goes in.
‘Is he in there?’ Jim asks on his radio.
‘Y es,’ D an answ ers. ‘Jim - h e’s com ing out!’
‘S to p,’ says Jim . ‘I’m a police officer.’
But Peter has a knife in his hand.

19
 Police TV

Jim holds ou t his hand. ‘Give me the knife, P eter.’

‘Stay back!’ Peter says. ‘I can kill you w ith th is.’
Jim can see D an in the d o o r behind Peter. D an w alks out
of the d o or, very slow ly and quietly.
‘C om e on, P eter,’ says Jim . ‘Give me the knife.’
D an takes P eter’s arm s from behind, and Jim takes
the knife from his hand. D an finds the m oney in P eter’s
trousers.

20
‘I w an t to go hom e n o w ,’ says L inda. ‘M y baby is hungry
and tire d .’
‘D o you know Peter Jones?’ Sue asks. ‘D o you and Peter
steal m oney from people?’
‘N o , I d o n ’t know him . A nd I never steal m oney.’
‘D o you know this w om an, Peter?’ D an asks.
‘N o ,’ says Peter. ‘I d o n ’t know her. W ho is she?’

21
 D an and Sue go back to their office.
‘D oes L inda w ork w ith Peter?’ D an asks Sue.
‘Yes, she do es,’ says Sue. ‘W atch this video. L o o k -th e re
she is! She’s w atching me get the m oney, and now she’s
talking to som eone on her p h o n e.’
‘But w ho is she talking to?’
‘She’s talking to Peter, of course. N ow she’s follow ing
me and talking to him again. She’s talking ab o u t m e.’

22
 D an and Sue speak to L inda again.
‘C an I see your phone, please, M s W ilks?’ Sue asks.
‘M y phone? W hy do you w an t to see th at?’
‘W ell, it rem em bers a lo t of n u m bers.’
Sue presses 1 on L inda’s phone. P eter’s phone begins to
ring. Sue laughs. ‘Let m e ask you again, M s W ilks. D o you
kn ow Peter Jones?’
‘W ell, yes, OK . I know him . But I d o n ’t steal m oney.’

23
 Police TV

Sue and D an take Linda hom e. T hey go into her house.

‘T h e re ’s tw o hundred pounds under your bed, L in da,’
D an says. ‘A nd lo o k -th is is the old lady’s p u rse.’
‘T his is a nice photo of you and the b ab y ,’ Sue says. ‘But
w ho is the m an? Is he the b ab y’s father?’
‘O K , it’s P eter,’ says Linda. ‘A nd yes, I do steal the
m oney. I’m sorry, O K ?’
‘N o, L inda, it’s no t O K ,’ Sue says. ‘It’s no t O K at all.’

24
 GLOSSARY
arrest (v b ) w hen the police find a bad m an and take him to
the police station
bridge a road or p ath th at goes over w ater
buy get som ething from a shop w ith m oney
cafe a place w here you sit and drink coffee or tea
dangerous som ething th a t can h u rt you is dangerous
follow w alk behind som eone
idea som ething you think
jogger a runner
let m ake it easy for som ething to happen
officer a m an o r w om an in the police
purse a sm all bag for m oney
shout talk very loudly
steal take som ething th a t is n o t yours
tu rn go left or right

25
 Police TV
A CTIV ITIES
 AC T I VI TI ES
Before Reading
1 Look at the front and back covers and then answ er the
questions. Tick one box for each question.
1 W hen does the story happen?
a EH In the present.
b EH In the future,
c EH Long ago.
2 W ho is the story about?
a EH Young people.
b EH O lder people,
c EH Children.
3 W ho steals money from people?
a EH Dan.
b EHI A robber,
c EH The police.
4 W hat kind of story is this?
a EH Frightening.
b EH Exciting.
c EH (You can w rite your ow n answer.)

29
 AC TIVITIES
While Reading
1 Read pages 1-3 and then answ er these questions.
1 W hat happens every day near the shops?
a D a w om an likes running there.
b EH Someone takes money from people,
c EH D an and Sue go shopping.

2 W hat does the young m an do to the old wom an?

a EH H e puts his hand on her arm.
b EH He puts his hand on her leg.
c EH He takes her bag.

2 Read pages 4—6. W ho says this in the story?

1 ‘H ave you got all your money?’
2 ‘M y purse isn’t here!
3 ‘I like running.’
4 ‘OK. But d o n’t come back!’

3 Read C hapter 2. Answer these questions.

1 W hat does Sue see over the shop door?
2 W hat do D an and Sue do in the shop?
3 H ow m any people come to help the old lady?
4 W ho goes to the bank and takes some money out?
30
 a c t iv it ie s : While Reading

4 Read C hapter 3.
Are these statem ents true (T) or false (F)? T F
1 T he man w ith the long hair picks up the money. EH EH
2 T he m an w ith the long hair takes the money
from Sue. EH EH
3 Sue is following a w om an w ith a baby. EH EH
4 It’s very quiet in Dale Avenue. IE] EH
5 Peter Jones takes the radio from Sue’s pocket. □ □
5 Read C hapter 4. Answer these questions.
W ho
1 . . . calls a police car on her radio?
2 . . . hits Jim?
3 . . . helps Jim out of the water?
4 . . . goes behind the cafe?
5 . . . takes Peter’s arm s from behind?

6 Before you read C hapter 5,

can you guess w hat happens? YES NO
1 The police take Peter to the police station. □ □
2 Linda know s Peter. □ □
3 Linda tries to help Peter. □ □
4 Linda is angry w ith Peter. □ □
5 Peter runs away, but Linda finds him. □ □

31
 ACTI VI TI ES
After Reading
1 Use these w ords to join these sentences together.
and but so became

1 Peter Jones runs into the old w om an. She falls down.
2 The old w om an looks in her bag. She can’t find her purse.
3 D an has a radio. H e can talk to Sue.
4 Peter is afraid. He sees a radio in Sue’s pocket.
2 Put these seven sentences in the right order.
a CD Peter Jones runs into Sue.
b CD She drops the money in the street,
c CD Sue walks into Smith Street, Peg Lane, and Dale Avenue,
d □ H e sees the radio in her pocket, takes her money,
and runs.
e CD The blue-haired m an picks up the money and gives it
to her.
f □ T he w om an with the baby follows her.
g CD Sue takes some money out of the bank.

32
 a c t iv it ie s : After Reading

3 Look at each picture, then answ er the questions after it.

W ho is this?
W hat is she doing?

2 W ho is this?
W hat is she doing?

3 W ho is this?
W hat is she doing?

4 W ho is this?
W ho is she talking to?

5 W ho is this?
W hat is he doing?

6 W ho is this?
W hat is he doing?

33
 ABOUT THE A UTHOR
Tim Vicary is an experienced teacher and writer. He has written
many stories for the Oxford Bookworms Library. These include
White Death (Stage 1, Thriller & Adventure) and The Elephant
Man (Stage 1, True Stories). He has two children, and keeps dogs,
cats, and horses. He liyes and works in York, in the north of
England. He has published two long novels, The Blood upon the
Rose and Cat and Mouse.

34
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35
Police TV
'Every day so m e o n e takes m oney from
people near the shops. We m ust stop this,'
sa y s Dan, a police officer.

The police use TV ca m e ra s but it is not easy

because there are so m any suspects. W ho
is the ro b b e r? (Word count 1,500)

CRIME I AUDIO
B & MYSTERY I AVAILABLE

Cover image by Mediacolors

courtesy of Alamy
STARTER 250 Headwords
< STAGE 2

< STARTER

«/>
T HE OXFORD B O O K W O R M S L IB R A R Y : GET M O R E F R O M YO UR R E A D I N G
X
O X FO R D E N G L IS H
OXFORD ISBN 978-0-19-423425-2
U N I V E R S IT Y P R E S S
9780194234252

9 780194 234252
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