Crime and Punishment

• Crimes of Medieval Period

  homicide

  arson

  robbery

  treason

  moral crimes

  theft
• Features of Medieval Period


  King

  • not enough money
  • no police force

  Land owned

  • knew eachother
  • war of the roses (1400s)

  Harvest

  • worked with sharp tools
  • out of homes
  • famines (1315-1318)
• Features of Early Modern Period 


  Reformation (1530s)

  • heresy
  • catholic to protestant
• New crimes of the Medieval period 


  Vagrancy

  • shortage of workers after black death (1348) where 60% of the population died

  Scolding

  • restricting womens rights

  Heresy

  • The Lollards challenged Roman Catholic teachings
• Medieval Courts


  Royal Courts - felonies (replaced by county assizes)

  Manor Courts - petty crimes

  Church Courts - moral crimes

  Quarter Sessions - replaced the hundred courts

  County Assizes - from 1293 judges visited twice a year
• Medieval Punishment 


  Fines

  Public Humiliation - cucking and ducking stools

  Gaols

  Death
• Medieval Law enforcement 


  King - king’s peace

  Sheriff - unpaid and appointed by the king , called a posse and in charge of shires

  ordinary people - hue and cry
• Demonologie 


  A book written by King James in 1597 which explained how to find a witch
• The English Civil War

  1646-1660
• New crimes in Early Modern Period 


  Witchcraft - demonology and lack of scientific knowledge

  Smuggling - lack of patrol

  Highway Robbery - quiet roads and no banks
• Changes in the law enforcement in Early Modern Period 


  Larger towns employed watchmen

  Thief takers used to reclaim stolen property

  JPs replaces sheriffs

  BUT the people were still used
• Gaols Act 1531


  forced JPs to build prisons
• Vagabond Act of 1609


  Build Bridewells to house vagrants
• Bloody Code


  1688

  220 crimes punishable by death by the end of the 18th century

  only 40% of those convicted were killed
• modern crime


  football crime

  • Hillsborough disaster 1989
  • CCTV introduced

  Drug crime

  • popular music promoted drug use in 1960s
  • drug classification by Misuse of drugs act 1971
• modern crime


  Car Crime

  • 1968 breathalyser introduced
  • 1983 seatbelts introduced
  • 2000s ban on texting while driving

  New crime

  • Cyber crimes
  • hacking
  • rise of technology
• Features of the Modern Period

  Technology

  • invention of the internet January 1st 1983

  Immigration/ Racial tensions

  • Steven Lawrence case 1993
  • British Nationally Act 1981
  • Race Relations Act 1975
  • Hate Crime Laws in 2005
• Industrial Punishments


  Transportation

  • From 1787
  • Humanitarians wanted to reform prisoners
  • 160,000 were sent , 80% were theft criminals
  • had to farm and dig ditches
  • ended by 1830s as it was seen as inhumane

  Prison Reforms

  • John Howard - 1774 Discharged Prisoners Act which abolished the discharge fee
  • 1774 Health of prisoners act - fixed hygiene conditions
  • Elizabeth Fry - Formed the association to reform womens prisons where she provided clothing and education
• Industrial punishments


  Bloody Code was abolished

  • less necessary
  • humanitarian ideas
  • executions were celebrated
  • executions moved inside

  New drop

  • 1783 at Newgate Prison
  • on a platform and fell through doors

  Long drop

  • 1874 by William Marlwood
  • measured an exact length of rope to break the neck
• Modern Punishments


  Strange ways Riot 1990

  • Racist drunk officers
  • lead to reforms such as more time outside , education programs and toilets

  Reforms

  • Alex Patterson 1922 - 1947
  • meaningful work
  • silent system ended

  Youth

  • Borstals introduced 1902 but replaced by Young Offenders institution in 1988
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998 raises the age of criminality to 10
• Industrial Law enforcement


  National Crime Record set up 1870

  Metropolitan Police set up

  • 1829 by Robert Peel
  • in London since it was a big city

  Criminal Investigation department 1878

  Municipal corporation set up 1835 - set up police forces in big towns. 1856 all towns had to have a police force

  1748 Bow Street Runners set up by Henry Fielding

  • volunteers and paid by rewards
  • used newspapers
• Fingerprinting first used


  1902
• Radios used in police cars

  1960

  portable radios in 1969
• 700,000 requests to monitor emails


  In 2015 only 50,000 accepted
• DNA used to catch a criminal

  1984 by Professor Alec Jeffreys
• Police Act that sets up police in every town

  1856
• Municipal Corporations Act sets up police in big cities


  1835
• CID set up (detective unit)

  1878
• National Crime Records set up

  1869
• Bowstreet Runners set up by Henry Fielding


  1748
• Abolishing of the death penalty after Derek Bentley Case


  1964
• Corporal Punishment ends in all schools

  (private schools) 1998

  (state schools) 1962
• Strangeways riot


  1990
• Borstals introduced


  1902
• Lawyers used


  1720
• Rapid population increase


  1650
• Women given the right to vote

  1928
• NHS set up


  1948
• Drink Driving became a crime

  1967
• Required to wear a seat belt

  1983