modern period

• Hate crimes

  • The Government introduced a new law in 2007 covering ‘hate crimes’, where victims are targeted because of their race, sexual orientation, religion or because of a disability.
• Terrorism

  • Terrorism became a bigger threat in the twentieth century. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) carried out a number of bombings in Britain during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
  • Religious extremist groups have also carried out suicide bombings in London which have resulted in many casualties.
• Conscientious Objection

  • Conscientious Objection became a new crime of the period.
  • This was when people refused to take part in war for moral reasons.
  • They were often accused of cowardice and in many cases had to attend a tribunal where they were punished.
• Cars

  • The invention of the car in the late 1800s has lead to more and more offences being committed.
  • Cars are stolen, dangerously driven and people are injured in accidents frequently in Britain today.
• Computers

  • The invention and widespread use of the computer had led to a changing approach to criminal activity.
  • Fraudsters now target their victims using phishing email scams to steal money from bank accounts and steal peoples’ identification.
• Modernisation of smuggling

  • Smuggling is a crime that has adapted over the period. Legal items are smuggled, like tobacco and alcohol as they are cheaper to buy in other areas of Europe.
  • New technology, like air travel has made this crime easier to commit and more difficult to detect.
• Smuggling

  • Smugglers also make lots of money from bringing drugs into the UK.
  • People smuggling has also become a huge problem in the 20th century with more and more immigrants who may not be allowed to enter the country through legal channels pay to be smuggled in.
• • Police officers prior to 1900 walked the beat and had a whistle to attract attention to themselves and call for help.
  • In 1930 the two-way radio was introduced enabling Police Officers to communicate with each other easily. 
  • Every officer carries a Pepper Spray or CS Gas which can be used in serious situations.
• • CCTV is now used to help prevent crime but also is used to identify and help convict suspects in criminal cases. 
  • Since 1901 the police have used fingerprinting to identify suspects of crime. DNA testing and profiles have begun to be used more recently.
  • The first murder conviction using DNA evidence was in 1988.
• • Since the 1930’s vehicles have become a large part of police work as they allowed the police to respond to crime more quickly.
• Neighbourhood Watches

  • There continues to be an element of community-based policing still today with Neighbourhood Watch schemes.
  • These were formally introduced in 1982.
  • This enabled areas to assist in reporting crime and being vigilant regarding suspicious behaviour.
• Training police officers

  • Since 1947 all new recruits have undertaken 14 weeks of basic training at the National Police Training College.
  • Local force based training continues once the initial training is complete.
• • Women were permitted to join the police in 1920 and there has been a steady rise in female officers ever since.
• • The Police National Computer was established in 1974 as a central database for all information like fingerprints, vehicle registrations and missing persons.
  • Officers can access the information 24 hours a day.
• • Due to the changing nature of crime in the 20th century, specialised police units have been established.
  • Highly trained officers focus on a particular area of criminal activity, for example, the Fraud Squad, counter-terror units, dog-handling units and the Drugs Squad.
• Changing nature of prisons

  • The early 1900s saw a move away from hard labour in prisons.
  • In 1922 the practice of solitary confinement was also ended.
• • Prisons were the main method of punishment but due to rising prison populations and understaffing the way prisons were used had to change.
• • Open Prisons were first introduced in 1933.
  • Those who had committed minor offences, or were serving the last of their sentence or simply not deemed to be a threat to society were allowed out of prison during the day to work and had to return in the evening.
• • Suspended sentences were offered to first-time offenders in 1967.
  • You could suspend your sentence and not be incarcerated, but if you committed another crime within a specified time period you would be ordered to go straight to prison.
• • Community service was introduced in 1972 where offenders were required to do between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work to benefit their community.
• • New technology saw the introduction of the electronic tag in 1990. These tags enabled courts and the police to track the movements of offenders and place curfews upon them too.
• • By 1902 attitudes had changed and many felt that young adults were able to change.
  • Borstals were introduced to encourage reform.
  • Young offenders were placed in borstals, which were similar to an extremely strict boarding school.
• Youth Detention Centres

  • The use of borstals was ended in 1982.
  • They were replaced with Youth Detention Centres.
  • These were designed to offer a short, sharp, shock to those detained within them.
  • The programme of military drill and strict discipline did not work as planned and re-offending rates increased.
• Youth courts

  • Nowadays sentences may start with parents being fined for not controlling their offending children.
  • Youth Courts work with young people with the aim of preventing a young person resorting to a life of crime.
• • Public execution ended in 1868 but the death penalty continued to be used in prisons until 1965.
  • In reality, however, there were a low number of executions each year.
  • An average of 14 people a year were executed for murder.
• • Following the Second World War attitudes towards capital punishment began to change.
  • As a result of the Holocaust, there was an increasing feeling that the death penalty was un-Christian and barbaric. 
  • The 1948 Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations stated that ‘everyone has a right to life’.
• • In 1957 the British government abolished the use of the death penalty for all cases except the murder of a police officer, murder by shooting or explosion, murder whilst resisting arrest, murder whilst carrying out theft and murder of more than one person.
• • Capital punishment was abolished in 1965 for all crimes except treason in times of war and piracy. 
  • This was initially for a 5-year trial but the government abolished its use permanently in 1969.
  • Capital punishment could still legally be used in cases of treason and piracy, however, this was also abolished in 1998, making Britain fully abolitionist.
• • The last woman to be hanged was Ruth Ellis in 1955 for the murder of her lover David Blakely in a crime of passion.
• Arguments for capital punishment

  • It was the greatest deterrent against crime possible.
  • Criminals would be more likely to carry weapons if there was no danger of them being hanged for murder.
  • Life imprisonment costs a lot and in many ways is more cruel to an offender.
  • Those who have completed a sentence for murder are likely to kill again.
  • Execution proved how serious the crime of murder is and furthermore it avenged the death of the victim.
• Arguments against capital punishment

  • Sometimes mistakes are made and the wrong person is executed.
  • Examples of this include:
  • The case of Timothy Evans who was hanged for murder in 1950 and posthumously pardoned in 1966.
  • The case of Derek Bentley who was executed for murder in 1953.
  • Many murders are spur of the moment things.
  • This means that capital punishment is not really a deterrent in these cases.
  • Execution is not Christian and goes against the idea of the sanctity of life.
• Timothy Evans was sentenced for murdering his wife and child. He accused his neighbour, John Christie. Evans was hanged in 1950. In 1966, Christie was discovered to be a serial killer and Evans was posthumously pardoned.
• • As many as 16,000 men refused to enlist as they were Conscientious Objectors.
  • They refused to fight mainly on moral grounds.
  • They often cited religious reasons to support their refusal.
  • These men were frequently accused of cowardice.
  • They were often made to wear a white feather and sometimes even beaten in the streets by others.
• • Special tribunals were set up to hear the cases of CO’s.
  • Often the people that heard the case at the tribunal were retired soldiers and as a result, were not sympathetic. 
  • Many convicted CO’s were placed in prison, where they undertook hard labour and a long sentence.
• • By World War 2, the treatment of CO’s had changed a little.
  • Tribunals would still hear the case but often those convicted would be found alternative non-combat roles to fight the war.
  • For example, working on farms or working within the munitions industry.
• Derek Bentley

  • Bentley was hanged for the murder of a police officer in 1953. 
  • Bentley suffered from epilepsy and severe learning difficulties, as a result, he struggled to find work and make friends.
• • Both Bentley and Craig were charged with murder.
  • Craig was under 18 and therefore was too young to hang for murder but Bentley would face the death penalty if found guilty.
  • The phrase ‘Let him have it’ caused controversy as it was claimed that Bentley could have meant Craig to hand over the gun not actually shoot the weapon.
• • Many wondered whether he should actually have stood trial due to his low intelligence and learning difficulties. 
  • There was public outcry at the sentence and people called for a pardon or reduction in sentence.
  • This was refused and Bentley hanged. Many believed this to be a miscarriage of justice.
  • The whole principle of the death penalty looked cruel and outdated and the case fuelled campaigns against capital punishment.