Crime and punishment

• Causes of crime in the Middle Ages

  • Short, hard and brutal lives
  • Lived in poverty which as a main cause
  • Famine e.g. The Great Famine of 1315
  • Disease created poverty and a demand for higher wages as people had to do the work to replace the high death rate e.g. Black Death 1340s
  • High taxation led to rebellion such as the poll tax which led to the Peasants Revolt 1381
  • Warfare contributed to poverty as ordinary men fought, families lost their providers and taxes were high to pay for wars e.g. Wars of the Roses
• Poverty led to theft, rebellion but also there was a lot of violent crime linked to access to dangerous weapons and farming tools
• 20% of crimes were linked to death e.g. murder / manslaughter
• Causes of crime in the Early Modern Era

  • Continuation of poverty as a main cause
  • Population doubled which led to demand for food, housing, work
  • Rising inflation
  • Bad harvests
  • Sheep farming
  • Many people left their homes to look for work
  • Vagrancy therefore increased – wandering beggars
  • Changes in religion in this era
• Causes of crime in the Industrial and modern eras

  • Poverty continued to be a cause
  • Population increase esp in towns and cities = led to demand for jobs, houses etc.
  • Urbanisation – poor living and working conditions led to protests
  • Changes in trade – led to highway robbery
  • Government taxes on items – led to smuggling
  • Mass production of the car led to a variety of car related crimes
  • The rise of the computer and internet led to rise in computer related crimes – this can also be linked to the rise in people having mobile phones in the 21st century
  • Increase in violence to achieve political objectives e.g. terrorism in Northern Ireland
  • Availability of alcohol and drugs led to increased violence at football matches in the 1970s and hooliganism
  • Drug addiction is a key cause of crime in this era – linked to dependency and gangs
  • Rise in juvenile gang culture esp in London caused by poverty and breakdown of traditional families
• Common crimes in the Middle Ages

  Disturbing the king's peace
• Specific crimes in the Middle Ages

  • Treason, revolt, sheltering criminals, blasphemy, heresy
  • Forest Laws – hunting, cutting down trees in the kings forest as it was his property
  • Scolding – use of offensive language in public
  • Treason which included defying the authority of the head of the family
  • Outlaw gangs – criminals on the run
  • Rebellion – Peasants Revolt 1381 or Cornish Rebellion 1497
• Crimes in the Early Modern Era

  • Increase in vagrants – vagabonds used tricks to gain money from people
  • Heresy due to religious changes known as the Reformation e.g. Mary 1 burned over 280 protestants
  • Treason
  • Henry VIII passed specific laws related to his changes in the Chrurch e.g. said or wrote things against the king, his wife or heirs or displayed support for the Pope
  • Elizabeth and Henry associated with
• Crimes in the Industrial Era

  • Smuggling – gangs of 50-100 used
  • Highway robbery – linked to increased trade and secluded areas of road outside London
  • Footpads: highwaymen on foot who attacked pedestrians
  • Urban crime – theft
  • Thimble screwers: stole pocket watches
  • Drag sneaks: stole goods/luggage from carts
  • Protest crime - linked to industrialisation
  • Luddites 1813 – attacked machines
  • Rebecca Riots – poor farmers
• Crimes in the Modern Era

  • Statistics show crime has increased but may be due to better reporting and recording of crime
  • Car crime – increase in cars = new laws
  • Dangerous driving, car theft, not wearing a seatbelt, drink driving
  • Cyber crime – hacking, cyberbullying, phishing scams, identity theft
  • Phishing attacks cost victims over £170 million in 2015
  • Terrorism - range of methods to push their political demands
  • Hijackings, assassination, hostages, bombings and suicide attacks
  • 7/7 attacks in 2005 London
  • IRA attacks in 1980s
  • 2017 Westminster Bridge attacks killed 5 people
  • Hooliganism - linked with gangs
  • Football in 1970s and 80s a key problem
  • 1985: British and Italian fans fought causing a wall to collapse and 38 killed
  • Drug crimes: linked to gangs and poverty
  • Gun and knife crime: linked to juvenile gangs in urban areas
  • Linked to drugs & turf wars
• Law enforcement in the Middle Ages

  • Community and family responsibility
  • Adult men grouped in tithings – if 1 broke the law the others had to bring him to court
  • Hue and cry – anyone who heard it was expted to help catch the criminal
  • Sheriff could raise an armed posse to track the criminal down
  • Manor courts – judge petty crime in the local area each manor had it's own local laws e.g. regarding land disputes
  • Church courts – for churchmen who had committed a crime e.g. adultery or drunkeness and more lenient
  • Royal courts – heard the most serious cases
• Law enforcement in the Early Modern Era


  • JP – 30-60 in each county who oversaw law and order
  • Parish constable and watchman – keep law and order, challenge strangers, carried a bell and lamp
  • 1660s – Charles II introduced patrols called Charleys
• Law enforcement in the Industrial Era

  • Opposition to police force
  • Fielding Bros created Bow Street Runners – part time, paid constables who worked for Bow St Magistrates Court
  • Met Police established in 1829
  • Extended in 1835 to larger towns in England
  • Rural Police Act 1839 established police forces in the countryside
  • JPs were replaced by police
• Law enforcement in the Modern Era

  • Role of police in this era was to maintain public order and prevent crime
  • 1900 – police training introduced
  • 1919 – first female police officers appointed
  • 1973 – female officers could become detectives
  • 1982 – Neighbourhood watch schemes set up –return to community policing
  • 2000 – 200 police forces reduced to 43 for better coordination of resources
  • Forensic science - helped to catch criminals
  • 1995: National Fingerprinting Identification system established AND DNA database
  • Scene of crime officers now attend crime scenes to collect evidence and carry out tests on hair, skin, blood etc.
• Thief Takers


  • Acted as unofficial policemen in towns and cities
  • Captured criminals and claimed the reward
  • Or charged a fee for the return of stolen goods
  • Jonathan Wild was "Thief taker General" but built a crime network
• Parish Constable and Watchman

  • Appointed by JP
  • From local traders/farmers
  • Meant to deter thieves, strangers, beggars
  • No uniform and no weapon
• As towns grew, Parish Constable and Watchman became less effective at carrying out their roles
• Metropolitan Police (MET)


  • Set up in 1829 by Robert Peel
  • Full time professional force to investigate crimes, patrol and catch criminals
  • Called Peelers / Bobbies
  • Run by 2 commissioners
  • Headquarters at Scotland Yard
  • Covered a radius of 7 miles
  • 144 police constables
  • Must be able to: read, write, work 7 days
  • Wore a uniform and carried a truncheon and rattle
  • Extended to a river and horse patrol by 1839
• Thief Takers


  • Acted as unofficial policemen in towns and cities
  • Captured criminals and claimed the reward
  • Or charged a fee for the return of stolen goods
  • Jonathan Wild was "Thief taker General" but built a crime network of planned thefts and burglaries to profit from the return of "stolen" goods
  • Criticism of other thief takers who were often corrupt
• Bow Street Runners


  • Henry Fielding appointed magistrate (judge) of Bow St Court
  • He appointed 6 paid, trained officers to combat crime in the area
  • His brother, John continued the work of these "runners" who pursued criminals as well as deterred them
  • Extended to a horse patrol to deal with highway robbers
  • Also published a newspaper called the "Quarterly Pursuit" which contained a list of criminals descriptions & their crimes
  • Introduced the idea of preventative and professional policing
• 20th Century Policing Developments

  • Development of police transport: cars used commonly from 1930s before then it was bikes. Helicopters introduced in the 1980s
  • Communication and technology: Radio first used from 1910s and direct police telephone boxes appeared in 1920s
  • 1937 – 999 introduced
  • 1901 – 1st police photographer employed and now all police cars are fitted with cameras
  • In the 21st C police wear body cameras
  • Specialisation of police: CID, Fraud Squad, Anti-Terror Branch, Hi-Tech Crime Team
• 21st Century has seen a return to community policing
• 5 Methods of Punishment in the Middle Ages

  • Whipping
  • Stocks & pillory
  • Mutilation
• Trial by ordeal


  Held before the punishment in Saxon times
• Wergild


  Fines used in Saxon times
• Punishments in the Industrial Era

  • Transportation
  • Hulks
  • Penal colony in Australia
• Transportation ended by mid 19th Century due to growing resentment of Australia being used as a dumping ground
• Punishments in the Modern Era (20th/21st Century)

  • Borstals
  • Young Offenders Institutions
  • Open prisons
  • Probation
  • Parole
  • Community service
  • Electronic tagging
  • Education for offenders
• Abolition of corporal and capital punishment in 20th Century resulted in changes to punishments
• Prison Reform Movements


  • Howard, Fry and Paul
  • Separate System
  • Silent System
• Both the Separate and Silent Systems failed as re-offending rate was high, suicide common and expensive
• Purpose of punishment in the Middle Ages

  Deterrence, retribution and to keep order
• Attitude to punishment in the Industrial Era

  Major change was the introduction of transportation and the attitude of banishing criminals as well as an alternative to the death penalty
• Attitudes to crime and punishment in the Modern Era (20th/21st Century)


  • Retribution
  • Rehabilitation
  • Restitution
• Corporal and capital punishment abolished in the 20th Century
• Rehabilitation - belief that education & training, treatment for addiction, counselling a criminal could learn to be a useful member of society and not return to a life of crime
• Restitution - doing something for the victim or community to pay them back for the crime committed e.g. meeting with the victim, repairing the damage or helping the community
• Attitudes to crime and punishment in the Early Modern Era (16th/17th Century) continued from the medieval period
• Increase in crime rate meant more public punishments such as whipping vagabonds through the streets
• Element of humiliation in branding, stocks and pillory