18th and 19th century Britain c1700-1900

• Crimes against person and property

  • An increase in crimes such as street theft
  • burglary
  • drunk and disorderly behaviour
  • prostitution and public disorder
• Factors for an increase in crime

  • People become less tight knitted
  • Larger towns made it harder to catch criminals
  • Some criminals had become “professionals” within dens or gangs of thieves
  • Extreme poverty led to a rise in crime in order to “survive”
• Changes in highway robbery-crime against the person

  • The crime increased because:
  • Improved roads led to an increase in travel
  • An increase in trade between roads meant more goods and money were transported by road
  • Many of these goods were isolated, making it easier to get away with highway robbery
• • in 1772 to reduce the crime of highway robbery, it became a capital crime to be armed and in disguise on a high road
  • Mounted patrol on major roads and the growth of railway would ultimately reduce instances of highway robbery
  • Which in 1830 completely disappeared
• • Famous highwaymen like Dick Turpin was often praised despite committing many violent crimes
• Changes in poaching-crimes against property

  • Poaching increased in the 18th century, in the form of gangs that worked on large scales
  • Led to the 1723 Waltham Black Act, which made poaching a capital crime and made it illegal to carry snares or own hunting dogs within poaching areas
• Changes in smuggling- crime against property

  • Smuggling increased from 1740-1850 because of the tax on imported goods was so high
  • Smugglers made large profits by bringing goods without paying tax and selling items with it added on
  • Large gangs like the Hawkhurst Gang smuggled large volumes of goods
  • They were difficult to prosecute due to the large areas of coast to patrol
  • Taxes were cut in 1840 and smuggling decreased
• Public views on smuggling

  • many people though those who smuggled were heroes who brought them cheap goods
  • They believed the government were being unreasonable
• Crimes against authority

  • All laws concerning witchcraft were repealed by the Witchcraft Act of 1736
  • It stopped being a crime due to economic and social change becoming more politically stable
  • The royal society set up by Charles II, showed scientific experiment, which explained things previously believed to be witchcraft
• Law enforcement-continuity

  • Watchmen continued to patrol cities at night
  • Parish constables dealt with petty crimes
  • Soldiers would be used to put down large riots and protests across the country
• Law enforcement-change

  • From 1749 after the Bow Street Runners tracked down criminals law enforcement began to change
  • By 1754 the Bow Street Runners patrolled the streets
• Bow Street Runners

  • Established in London in 1749 by Henry Fielding, who was chief magistrate at Bow street Court
  • Was created to tackle the huge crime wave of the 17th century
  • By 1785 they were paid by the government
  • Introduced new methods of finding evidence to bring criminals to justice- becoming a modern “detective “
  • Branched out to patrolling major roads on mounted patrol :this was not as successful due to there being a lack of them to deal with the increasing force of crime
  • Began to network, by sharing information on crimes and suspects with other now known as “crime intelligence networking”
• Witchcraft

  • After the civil war number of prosecutions declined
  • All laws were repealed by the “witchcraft act of 1736”
  • People who claimed to use magic where subject to fines or imprisonment
  • However, as most peoples attitudes had changed, some people still clung to their superstitious beliefs
• Witchcraft-no longer a crime

  • Economic and social changes would cause prosperity and political stability
  • Some people still continued to believe in witches and the devil but others who were especially educated became less superstitious
  • The Royal Society set up by Charles II led to an increase in scientific research which explained why things that may have been previously thought to be the work of witches was not
• Significance of the Tolpuddle Martyrs

  • The incident highlights how authorities used laws to criminalise people they believed were a threat
  • It showed how the government would protect the interest of employers at the expense of workers
  • The pardoning showed the impact of public opinion
  • It inspired some to speak for workers‘ rights however due to the sentence of the martyrs some were put off
• Tolpuddle Martyrs-dates

  • 1834 a group of farm workers formed a “friendly society” to protest about their low wages compared to other farmers
  • The farm owners and government feared that they were now losing control over workers
  • This caused the 6 men to be arrested for taking a secret oath- an old law intended to stop naval mutinies
  • The 6 men were found guilty at their trial
  • They were given 7 year sentence of transportation to Australia
  • These caused large uproar and 200000 signatures were collected in opposition of such a harsh punishment
  • Yet the home secretary decided to continue their sentence
  • This would cause the protests to continue and in 1836 the martyrs were pardoned-and returned home
• 1829- Metropolitan Police Act

  • Peel set up a parliamentary committee to look into the issue of policing in London
  • This allowed him to create the idea of a centralised police force across the whole city
  • The crime wave resulting in the economic downturn in 1826 helped Peel get the act through parliament
  • Thus began Britain’s first professional police force in London
• 1835- Municipal Corporations Act

  • Borough councils could set up police forces in their area
  • Only around half did so
• 1839- Rural Constabulary Act

  • Counties could set up police forces
  • Which two-thirds of the counties did
• 1842- Detective department set up

  • In the Metropolitan Police Force Headquarters in London
• 1856- Police Act

  • Forced all towns and counties to set up a professional police force all forces were funded by the government and were regularly inspected by official employees
• 1878- Criminal Investigations Department

  • The CID set up for the metropolitan Police Force
• Changing views on the purpose of punishment

  • Due to the rapidly growing rate of crime, the government decided to increase the Bloody Code
  • This would reach a peak of 222 in 1810
  • However the deterrent was not working and it was clear a new strategy was needed
  • The 19th century saw a change and need for punishments to be about retribution and deterrence
  • This would ultimately lead to the decrease in the bloody code and an increase in other forms of punishments
  • First would be transportation and then imprisonment
• Transportation to Australia

  • The increase in the crime rate increased the rate of transportation in Australia
  • Once there the criminals worked for settlers for 7 years providing free labour to build infrastructure
  • Most would end up staying for they could not afford the fare home
• Transportation ending- In 1868

  • Australia no longer needed forced labourers, after the discovery of gold, it was made an attractive place to go
  • Yet they did not want criminals
  • Some felt transportation was too expensive and was not a strong enough deterrent to crime
  • Some felt that it was too harsh for both the criminals and their family
  • More prisons were now being built and were being used instead
• Prisons and prison reformers

  • Many thought that prison conditions should be poor with hard labour but several reformers thought differently and believed that prisons should be improved to increase the likelihood of rehabilitation
• • John Howard’s work led to the 1774 Gaol’s Act, which suggested how health and sanitation should be improved in prisons
  • Elizabeth Fry began visiting women in Newgate Prison in 1813
  • She set up education classes to reform female prisoners
  • She got them better food and clothes, and treated them with kindness and respect
  • These would go onto influencing Peel’s prison reforms
• Pentonville Prisons

  • Built in 1842 it was a model for new ideas on how prisons should be built and run-also known as the separate system
• The model

  • The wings housed dozens of individual cells and a staff base
  • Walls were thick to prevent conversations between cells
  • There were secluded areas for prisoners to gain fresh air and exercise, masked once again to prevent communication
• Each cell

  • The cells were 4m by 2m
  • Small, barred windows
  • Wash basin and a toilet
  • Bed, mattress and blanket
  • Each room contained a loom for working on
  • Prisoners would undertake monotonous and repetitive work, done in cells
• Chapel

  • A prison chapel was built in 1862
  • It contained individual cubicles so prisoners were unable to see one another
• Reasons for separate systems

  1. For rehabilitation, solitude was believed to be the best way for prisoners to reflect on their crimes, allowing them to turn to religion and reform their ways. It also allowed prisoners to not be influenced by others within the prison
  2. For retribution, the isolation and boredom made criminals “pay” for their crimes
  3. For deterrence, it was a serious punishment and therefore it was thought to act as a deterrent to others committing serious crimes
• Strengths of separate system

  • Compared with previous prisons, it was clean and there were far less diseases
  • Many thought it provided the right level of punishment-it was seen as harsh but not overly so
• Weaknesses of separate systems

  • The continuous isolation led to mental illness and a high suicide rate
  • There was no education or instructions to provide new skills for prisoners to use when they were released
• Robert Peel

  • Was home secretary during the 1820s
  • Had a huge influence on both punishment and law enforcement
  • Ended the Bloody Code by reducing the amount of death penalty offences and tried to reform the prison system
  • In 1829 he persuaded the parliament to pass the Metropolitan Police Act
• Reforming Penal Code

  • After 1810 there was an unprecedented amount of capital crimes
  • By law someone could receive the same punishment for murder as they could for petty theft-resulting in the death penalty
  • Yet in practice the death penalty was rarely used for petty crime, as judges believed it was unfair
  • For other forms of retribution were preferred e.g. transportation or prison
  • This therefore meant the penal code made little sense
• • In 1825, Peel reduced the number of capital crimes by 100 because he wanted:
  • Less harsh punishments for petty crimes
  • To try and reform petty criminals rather than kill them
• Prison Reform

  • Partly due to the influence of reformers like Elizabeth Fry
  • Peel tried to improve conditions in prisons by persuading parliament to pass the 1823 Gaols Act
• 1823 Gaols Act

  This stated that:

  • Chaplains should regularly visit prisoners
  • Gaolers should be paid
  • Prisoners should not be put into chains
  • Yet this was limited because there was no inspector to enforce the act
• Metropolitan Police officers

  • Aim to prevent crime and disorder, and to be entirely impartial and objective
  • Recruits were carefully selected and trained
  • Was a full-time and fairly well-paid job
  • All had a uniform, so they could be identified
  • Trained to use minimal force only as a last resort
  • Members were also usually unarmed
  • The force were focused on area with high crime rates, this would successfully reduce street crime and disorder
  • At first they were not entirely recognised by the public, yet after they were seen as honest and trustworthy