Bent copper, crime etc: I activated measure (5,10)

I believe the answer is:

cubic centimetre

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'measure' is the definition.
(cubic centimetre is a kind of measure)

'bent copper crime etc i activated' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'copper' could be 'cent' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'cent' is located in the answer.
'i' could be 'me' and 'me' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for cubic centimetre that I've seen is " Small volume".)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.

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