noun
1A removal and tidying away of rubbish or obstructions.
‘It could be that someone has a bit of spare space in a greenhouse, or it may be that people want to help with litter clear-ups.’- ‘Parishioners had been left baffled by the regular clear-ups around their church.’
- ‘The lorry was finally righted at 1.30 am and the clear-up went on till 2.30 am, as the rubbish was loaded onto new lorries, and the road was finally re-opened to traffic.’
- ‘Calls have been made for an urgent clear-up of several streets after complaints about rubbish and fly-tipping.’
- ‘He feared the taxpayer would have to pay the ‘significant’ cost of the clear-up of the bi-annual event.’
- ‘We're just pleased that the clear-up has started and that these fridges are moving.’
- ‘He said that there was no reason for residents to have to take part in a litter clear-up on April 6 when home owners were paying more council tax than ever.’
- ‘The owner of a rubbish-strewn Rochford site has been told to pay £10,000 for a clear-up after district council officers decided to remove the waste themselves.’
- ‘But the 70 boys returned on the weekend after a massive clear-up and repair operation costing around £70,000.’
- ‘On Sunday there will be a village clear-up.’
- ‘It is a great opportunity for everyone to do their bit - sort the front garden, help with a local clear-up, and get those bits and pieces to the dump.’
- ‘If your garden is looking rough round the edges and you can't find a thing in the shed, start 2005 with a therapeutic clear-up.’
- ‘After the tragedy, most local residents had volunteered to help in the clear-up in some respect or other.’
- ‘This means it's a wise move to have a clear-up in the garden, while keeping hedges neat and fences vertical.’
- ‘An emergency clear-up was carried out in a park after scores of dead fish were spotted in a pond.’
- ‘But after a clear-up, inspectors said children could play there again.’
- ‘A great crowd of volunteers turned up on Saturday to participate in the clear-up of the Bog.’
- ‘If she never tidies her room, there'll come a point where she feels so frustrated at not being able to find things that she has a massive clear-up.’
- ‘No-one was hurt either in the accident or in the clear-up operation.’
- ‘They have been funding the clear-up operation and are trying to make the building clean and tidy.’
2mass noun The solving of crimes by the police.
as modifier ‘Welsh police had one of the most successful clear-up rates’- ‘It is understood the investigation will consider claims that officers have asked convicted crooks to take the blame for unsolved crimes to improve the police clear-up rate.’
- ‘The campaign to drive up police detection and clear-up rates was announced at a police conference.’
- ‘With DNA evidence, the average crime clear-up rate increases from 24 per cent to 43 per cent.’
- ‘In terms of funding we are also among the lowest ranked in the country but we have enviable crime clear-up rates.’
- ‘One British study has attempted to quantify the relationship between possible increases in manpower and likely improvements in clear-up rates.’
- ‘The clear-up rate for car crime was 4.5 per cent and only 8 per cent for street crime.’
- ‘Britain has an extremely high clear-up rate for murder: more than 80% of cases are solved.’
- ‘This means that not just imprisonment rates, but clear-up rates and conviction rates were all falling at the same time as the crime rate was rising.’
- ‘The aim of it is to give people a chance for a clean slate and to give police the opportunity of a clear-up rate.’
- ‘The perceived clear-up rate for motoring offences is vastly higher, because, with a few obvious exceptions, motoring crimes are logged by the police themselves, who are immediately and accurately able to identify the car involved.’
- ‘While there were 274 more acts of violence in the county compared to the previous year, the detection rate was almost 90 per cent - one of the highest clear-up rates in the country.’
- ‘The clear-up rate increased from 55% to 60% last year, but police admit they are fighting a holding operation at best.’
- ‘Yet those very same communities also want a higher clear-up rate for committed crimes and, ideally, effective crime prevention.’
- ‘The clear-up days, in which Wiltshire Fire Brigade took part, were organised partly to try and tackle a spate of arson attacks, which have plagued the estate.’
- ‘In addition, the clear-up rate for these offences fell in Brandenburg to only 39 percent, far lower than for other types of crime.’
- ‘The burglary rate in the county remains well below the national average, although the clear-up rate is five per cent lower than the national average.’
- ‘Overall crime is down in the area by 35% - but that isn't the same as a good clear-up rate.’
- ‘Meanwhile, the clear-up rate has declined significantly in recent years.’
- ‘Only by redirecting the efforts of officers can we achieve what many police forces are still singularly failing to achieve - a high level of clear-ups.’
- ‘They indicate that prison interviews still account for 4 per cent of clear-ups.’
solving, clear-up
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