Crime & Punishment Revision Notes

8/11/2019 Crime & Punishment Revision Notes

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CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND PROTEST

Early Roman law

This set down what the Romans felt were crimes, and the punishments to be given to those who

committed such crimes.

When Roman was just a small city-state, an Assembly made the laws and conducted trials.

What were the principle o! early Roman "aw#

veryone !i.e. "ings and emperors as well as poor people and slaves# was under the law and had to obey

it or be punished.

The law should be made public so that everyone "new about it.

$aws should be rationally wor"ed out. %nli"e other ancient civilisations, the Romans did not base their

law on religion. This was an important change.

$aws should be enforced in public& as a result, court trials were open to the public.

'eople should receive fair treatment. (n serious matters, they could be tried by their e)uals and, if

sentenced to death, could appeal to the Assembly or the emperor.

The Twel$e Ta%let

(n *+1 the 'lebeian ouncil got a commission set up to record, in writing, all eisting laws. These were

inscribed on stone tablets and became the basis for all later Roman law.

(n /0* , it was decided that all new legal decisions had to be published.

$ater codifications of Roman $aw, legal decisions were recorded and summarised by legal eperts !jurists#.

The most important codifications were those made by Theodosius in */ and by 2ustinian in the years

+34-/*.

How &i& Roman law wor' in practice#

The people who dealt with the operation of the law in the city of Rome itself were the magistrates.

At first, only senators !who came from the upper class# could be magistrates. 2uries were made up of

members of the upper class.

(n the provinces, Roman law was administered by provincial governors.

5inor cases were dealt with by magistrates in small local courts. This system was applied throughout the

Roman mpire, which helped maintain order.


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The city had no police force. 6ictims of crime had to catch the criminals themselves, or with the help of

friends or by-standers. The victims of such crimes were also responsible for ta"ing the criminals to court5any criminals were never caught or punished.

(n A7 8, the mperor Augustus set up three bodies to help control crime in Rome.

The vigiles - 9000 men whose main duty was to prevent and put out fires.

The urban cohorts - /000 soldiers who were to stop or brea" up riots.

The 'raetorian :uard - an elite body of guards who protected the emperor.

Crime an& p(nihment in the Roman Empire

urglaries, and street-crimes involving robbery or simple violence, were common.

;ther serious crimes included arson, and stealing from temples and farms.

Riots at games, chariot races and gladiatorial contests also too" place from time to time.

The most serious crime of all, though, was to plot against or attac" the emperor, or to rebel.

The Romans did not record the overall amount of crime committed.


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2uries could be bribed, as well as magistrates. 'oor people, unli"e the wealthy, could not afford bribes.

5agistrates= legal decisions were influenced by ideas about religion and race, as well as social ran".

The collape o! the Roman Empire an& it le*acy

(n Roman ritain, all the Roman laws were introduced, with the governor dealing with the mostimportant cases, while magistrates dealt with minor cases.

The role of policing the province was underta"en by the Roman legions stationed in ritain.

Roman law and legal decisions had been written down, many of their ideas about law were able to

survive the con)uest by what the Romans called the barbarians.

specially important in this was the wor" by 2ustinian who became emperor of the astern mpire.


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?ome Anglo-?aon "ings - such as thelbert of Cent, (ne of Wesse, ;ffa of 5ercia and Alfred the :re

of Wesse - drew up and issued codes of law.

ut most Anglo-?aon law was customary and unwritten, and differed from "ingdom to "ingdom.

y about 1000, the "ings of Wesse were ruling the whole of ngland - apart from the area "nown as th

7anelaw.

This allowed a more unified system of law to develop in ngland for the first time since the end of the

Roman occupation.

(n 1018, nut became "ing of all of ngland, but a single code did not appear until after the Dorman

on)uest in 1088.

How &i& An*lo1Sa2on law operate in practice#

Anglo-?aon law was based on the local community, with the "ing presiding over the operation of the

law, and was centred on the ideas of peace and the "ing=s peace.

The Anglo-?aons believed that every man was entitled to peace, while the "ing=s peace applied to the

roads and all their users.

The "ing had his own court - the Witan - for dealing with cases involving the nobility and the most

serious crimes.

ngland was divided into shires - controlled by a royal official "nown as the shire-reeve !sheriff#.

?hires were divided up into hundreds. The hundred courts dealt with minor cases, while the shire court

dealt with more serious crime. The sheriff had to act on writs sent by the "ing.

(n towns there were also special burgh !borough# courts.

The free inhabitants of each small community had to belong to a thithing. The Anglo-?aons had no

police force, so it was the duty of all thithings to arrest criminals by raising the hue and cry.

How were cae )(&*e

Trial by the communityB this involved using a jury !made up of local men who "new the people

involved#.

The accused tried to prove his innocence by swearing he was not guilty, using oath helpers or

compurgators.

Trial by ordealB if the accused was a suspicious character and had often been accused of crimes, or had

ever been found guilty of perjury !lying under oath#, or the jury simply could not agree, the defendant ha

to undergo trial by ordeal.

There were three types of ordealB cold water, hot water, and hot iron.


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An*lo1Sa2on p(nihment

The most common form of punishment was the payment of compensation and fines.

5ore serious crimes !treason, betrayal of your lord, murder, arson and house-brea"ing# were punished b

death and the confiscation of all the criminal=s goods and property.

The most common form of eecution was death by hanging.


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Towns also came under the "ing=s mund. To set up a new town, people had to get a charter from the "ing

which allowed them to have their own borough court.

Royal law an& Ch(rch law

(n 11+*,


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Approvers !informers# who had committed an offence could offer evidence against wrongdoers in return

for a lighter sentence. Dew petty juries were increasingly used to decide on the guilt or innocence ofaccused people.

What happene& a!ter Henry II#

%nder Richard (, a new legal official was introduced - this was the coroner, who had to deal with all

suspicious deaths.

After 131+ the system of trial by jury was etended during the thirteenth century.

(n 131+, 5agna arta !The :reat harter# added to the legal system and the laws to be enforced.

(n 139+, the first ?tatute of Westminster imposed the punishment peine forte et dure !strong and severe#

on those who refused a trial by jury.

(n 13+, dward ( passed a new law which said that men had to help form a posse comitatus !force of th

county#, which was to help the sheriff to chase and catch criminals.

7uring the fourteenth century, trial by jury became the normal method of deciding guilt. 7ecisions shou

be unanimous and that no one should serve as a juror if the accused objected to them.

(n 1/81, the 2ustices of the 'eace Act appointed three or four 2. '. s in each county to help run the local

justice system.

Type o! crime

The most common types of crime dealt with in the 5iddle Ages were theft and murder. Almost 0E of

all cases dealt with theft or the handling of stolen property.

About 1E of cases dealt with murder. ases dealing with rape and other crimes !such as arson and

treason# were much rarer.


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The spar" for the Revolt, though, was provided by Richard ((=s imposition of a poll ta to pay for the


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What were the lin' %etween crime an& po$erty#

5any of the laws in this period were designed to contain the threat= which the wealthy middle classes

believed now came from the lower orders of society.

'rotestant religions, especially alvinism and 'uritanism, saw wealth as the result of hard wor" and

:od=s blessing - the poor came to be seen as la>y and sinful.

Wages fell in the 1+*0s and 1++0s. There was rapid inflation. (ncreased rents and the enclosure of

common and waste land forced many ordinary people off the land.

The 7issolution of the 5onasteries increased unemployment and poverty. This increased poverty alarme

the respectable= wealthier classes, especially when robberies and thefts seemed to increase.

6agabonds and sturdy beggars=B wealthier members of society were particularly worried by the

emergence of various types of vagrants, who wandered from place to place, begging for food and money

These beggars - or vagabonds - were seen as a real threat to the community, and so laws were passed to

ma"e begging and vagrancy criminal offences.

The p(nihment o! $a*rant

etween 1+/1 and 1+4, various laws were passed which set down the punishments for vagrancy - these

included whipping, being branded with the letter 6= on their forehead, or being sent into slavery for two

years.

Those convicted of a second offence of vagrancy could be eecuted, or sold into slavery for life. $ater,

some of these punishments were repealed as being too harsh.

ventually, the authorities realised there were genuine cases of poverty. They tried to distinguish betwee

impotent poor=.

(n 1+93, 2. '. s were given powers to collect a wee"ly poor-rate !ta# from each parish to help provide fo

poor people who were genuinely ill, disabled or too old to wor".

(n 1+4, a system of overseers of the poor= in each parish was introduced.


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(n the period 1*+0 -19+0, courts did not distinguish between manslaughter !unintentional or accidental

"illing# and murder !deliberate "illing#.

;verall, the homicide rate appears to have gone down during this period, although there was a high leve

of violence in the home against women and children.

;rganised gangs of young pic"poc"ets or burglars also began to appear, and the number of house-

brea"ing offences increased.

;rganised crime received much attention. This was particularly true of $ondon, which grew from about

+0 000 in 1+00 to about 9+0 000 in 19+0.

Three types of crime mainly committed by ordinary people caused particular concernB these were the

growth in robbery on the streets and on the roads& smuggling& and poaching.

$arge numbers of people were often involved, so it was difficult for the authorities to stamp them out.

This is also an eample of how government=s can create= crime by introducing new, or altering eisting

laws.

Why &i& the hi*hwayman emer*e#

Robbery on the streets by footpads, in large towns and cities, had been a problem for a long time.


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Wealthy landowners and the aristocracy saw poaching as an attac" on their property rights

The first law against poaching was passed in 1/4, and many more followed over the centuries. The mo

important one was the :ame Act of 1891.

5any gangs of poachers also operated - for profit, li"e the smugglers. And, as with smuggling, gangs

often used violence.

(n 1909 a law made buying, selling or possessing game an offence, as well as hunting or trapping it. ut

the fines and even prison sentences did not stop people poaching.


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The p(nihment o!


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Traitor an& heretic= Why wa treaon een a o erio(#

Rulers saw treason as a threat to their own power, and also as a crime against :od - the 7ivine Right of

Cings=.

At the same time, most wealthy people feared any rebellion would wea"en their own position and their

property rights by leading to unrest and even civil war.

(n fact, the period 1*+0 -19+0 saw a large number of rebellions and other acts of treason.

(n addition to a full-blown rebellion, the authorities often had to deal with riots and protests against low

wages or high prices.

P(nihment !or treaon

ases of treason were usually decided in the ourt of ?tar hamber.

There were also the special courts of the ouncil of the Dorth and the ouncil of the Welsh 5arches.

%pper class people were usually beheaded with an ae or sword, especially if they were in any way

related to the royal family.

;rdinary people !commoners# were usually sentenced to a much more gruesome - and painful - method

of eecution "nown as hanging, drawing and )uartering.

Herey (n&er the T(&or


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4ett5 Re%ellion, /0>

Why &i& the re%ellion ta'e place

(n 1+*9, ing rights, and also led to unemployment.

Dorfol" was one of the wealthiest counties in ngland at this time. There were many relatively

prosperous farmers and merchants who were not prepared to be completely downtrodden by their social

superiors.

(n Wymondham the local people were also unhappy that the new prayer boo", only recently introduced,

contained no mention of ec"et, to whom their parish church was dedicated.

The people began to pull down the fences of Robert Cett, who had also recently enclosed part of the

common land.

After listening to the people, he helped them pull down his fences, and then persuaded them to return to

pull down other fences.

This protest had now grown into a small-scale riot. ;n 4 2uly, Cett put himself at the head of several

thousand protestors who marched to Dorwich to present their grievances to the crown officials based in

the city.

They set up camp outside Dorwich, and, as news of the rising spread, more people joined in the protests

and five more rebel camps were established in other parts of Dorfol" and ?uffol".

The re%el5 or*aniation

Cett and his rebels made a great effort to point out that they were not rising against dward or ?omerset

They were objecting to the way in which larger landowners were gra>ing their growing numbers of shee

and cattle on common land.


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Cett and the rebels refused an order to disperse and, on 11 2uly, the rebels too" several gentlemen

prisoner and, on 13 2uly, set up camp on 5ousehold


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(n the end, however - perhaps to warn the locals - they were ta"en bac" to Dorfol". ;n 9 7ecember 1+*

William Cett was hung from the steeple of Wymondham Abbey, while Robert Cett was hanged from the

walls of Dorwich astle.

"ocal law en!orcement

%nder the Tudors, about 0E of crimes were various forms of theft, with most of the rest being crimesagainst the person.


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;nce these religious and political conflicts had died down, the witchcraft cra>e subsided almost as

)uic"ly as it had arisen.

Why &i& witchcra!t cae %ecome o m(ch more common#

oth atholic and 'rotestant rulers and church leaders called for action against suspected witches.

The economic problems of this period caused several periods of poverty for many people, and the gap

between rich and poor tended to widen during this period.

5any turned to magic and charms as a way of trying to improve their luc"& many blamed bad luc" on ev

spirits and the spells of witches.

The role o! the tate

@rom medieval times to the siteenth century, witchcraft was rarely prosecuted - only about 1+ women

were eecuted for witchcraft in this period.


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(n ngland, witchcraft continued to be a crime into the eighteenth centuryB the last official trial was in

1913, but the last eecution for this offence was in 183.

(n 19/8, all laws concerning witchcraft were abolished, mainly as the result of changing attitudes which

were associated with the nlightenment.

Women an& the common law

Women were not supposed to trade or own property& on marriage, all they possessed became the legal

property of their husbands.

They couldn=t divorce and, if their husbands divorced them, they had no legal right to custody of the

children.

Women were also ecluded from professions such as medicine, parliament and the church, and were not

allowed to go to university.

Women who murdered their husbands were burned rather than hanged, as this was seen as petty treason

against their lord.

The laws on inheritance were altered in the seventeenth century, to allow all heirs - including women - to

receive an income from the estate of a dead husband or father.

Women an& crime

According to the records, women made up about 1+- 30E of all those accused of crimes during this

period - this compares to a current figure of about 10E.

5ost female crime seems to have been petty theft on a small scale, such as pic"-poc"eting andshoplifting.

Women were often easier targets for theft, robbery and murder.

Women also found it difficult to get justice, as all the legal officials were men.

INDUSTRIA" 6RITAIN, /;- 1 />--

In&(trialiation an& crime

Crime an& tatitic

According to local crime statistics !statistics were not collected nationally until 10+# crime increased

gradually from 19+0 to about 11+ and the end of the Dapoleonic Wars, then rose dramatically from theuntil about 1*0, when there was gradual decline.

Dew laws also automatically increased crime statistics as, before these laws, such behaviour hadn=t been

illegal.

(ndustrialisation also brought new crimes - such as stealing water from the standpipes placed in some

streets in the industrial towns.


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Also, crime was increasingly reported and recorded, whereas in the past many petty criminals were

simply given a beating.

rime and class

(nvestors fre)uently lost their money to embe>>lers and croo"ed business people.

The great increase in wealth also increased the opportunities for bribery and corruption amongst those in

the upper ran"s of society

Ca(e o! crime 1 chan*in* $iew

Wa there a lin' %etween po$erty an& crime#

'overty in the period 19+0 -1400 was generally widespread, but increased greatly during times of

economic and trade difficulties, "nown as depressions or recessions.

;verall, statistics of recorded crime in the first half of the nineteenth century do show large increases at

times when poverty and distress were at their highest levels, and people convicted of theft fre)uently

claimed poverty as the reason for their crime.

According to statistics, there would appear to have been increases in crime during times of economic

distress and poverty& particularly affected at such times were women and married men.

Chan*in* attit(&e

ontemporaries in (ndustrial ritain were more ready to blame alcohol as the cause of the increase in

crime.

;thers argued in favour of a vicious circle, in which people turned to crime in order to pay for alcohol.

'ublic houses were also seen as places where criminals met, and were able to recruit new members to th

criminal classes=.

?amily li!e

?ome contemporaries and later historians saw rapid industrialisation and urbanisation as destroying the

closeness of family life, and so ma"ing crime more li"ely and easier to commit.

The long hours of factory wor", fre)uently involving father and mother, and older children, meant young

children were often unsupervised.

;ut on the streets all day !and especially night when parents spent evenings in the many pubs#, it was

easy for many to drift into crime.

The


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The general belief was that most of the poorer classes were potential criminals. @ears of such a criminal

underclass were heightened by evidence that criminals lac"ed religious "nowledge and values, and had

)uite different moral standards.

?ome contemporary eperts= went so far as to claim there was a definite criminal type=, which could be

identified by certain physical characteristics, such as s"ull-shape, brain weight, stoc"y build and

closeness of eyes.

Roo'erie

These were the areas of poorest housing, with narrow streets and alleyways, with interconnected cellars

and lodging houses - these roo"eries= provided ideal hideaways.

5iddle-class writers were particularly concerned about the number of young people apparently living a

life of crime in these roo"eries.

The police, though, found the concentration of criminals in such small areas actually made their job of

law enforcement easier.

Pic'poc'et,


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As long as riots did not threaten the government, governments in the second half of the eighteenth

century often treated participants )uite leniently. There were real causes of economic distress and

hardship.

;ne problem was that still only the wealthiest people !as in the past# had the right to vote and so ma"e

laws.

The only way ordinary people could hope to change things was by trying to persuade the ruling classes t

change things for them.

They could either do this peacefully - via meetings, petitions, letters, etc - or violently, with attac"s on

property or people, arson or riots.

ut stri"es - and even trade unions - were illegal for much of this period, hence opportunities for peacefu

protest were limited.

+o$ernment repreion

'eaceful protests and demonstrations by the $ondon orresponding ?ociety in the mid-1940s led to the

passing of several acts - the Treasonable 'ractices Act& the ?editious 5eetings Act& and, in 1944 - 100,the orresponding Act and the ombination Acts.

(n 114, following protests and riots in 118 and 119, the ?i Acts gave magistrates wide powers,

including to search houses, ban meetings and demonstrations, and to stop trial by jury.

Protet mo$ement an& campai*n

The $uddites - this was essentially a protest against the new technology which was being introduced intthe tetile industry in the 5idlands, and the Dorth of ngland.

The ?wing Riots - these too" place in southern and eastern ngland during 1/0-/3..

The Rebecca Riots - these too" place in Wales in the years 1/4-*/.

The 'eterloo 5assacre, 114 began as a peaceful protest, by 114 - just after the end of the wars against

revolutionary and Dapoleonic @rance - the ruling and owning classes had a great fear of revolution.

(n 119, the government had suspended the


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3 7uring 1/1-3, ritain seemed on the verge of revolution as middle and wor"ing class people joined

together to etend the franchise !right to vote#.

The :reat Reform Act of 1/3 still left 43E of all adult males !and all women# without the vote.

A group of reformers formed the hartist 5ovement - so-called because they drew up a 'eople=s harte

The hartists are important as they were the first genuine wor"ing-class movement in ritain - and, by

141, all ecept one of their demands !for yearly elections# had been met.

The Tolp(&&le Martyr

?ince 13*, it had been legal to form or join a trade union as, in that year, the ombination Acts had bee

repealed.

5any employers were against them as they feared they would stop them running their farms or factories

as they saw fit.

(n 1//, of the :rand Dational onsolidated Trades %nion !:DT%#.

mployers tried to force their employees to sign The 7ocument= - a form by which they promised they

were not members of the :DT%.

About *0 farm labourers in the small village of Tolpuddle in 7orset met in secret to join the :DT%, an

decided to swear an oath to "eep their union secret.

According to the 5utiny Act of 1949, it was illegal to swear oaths.

@armers found out about the union, and decided to brea" it. The magistrates ordered the arrest of thoseinvolved.

(n 5arch 1/*, they were all sentenced to seven years= transportation to Australia, and became "nown a

the Tolpuddle 5artyrs=.

Trade unionists and others organised a massive protest campaign against their conviction and sentences.

The government finally overturned their convictions in 1/8 and allowed them to return home.

The "on&on Doc' Stri'e, /99>

$arge sections of the wor"ing class - especially the uns"illed and semi-s"illed - still suffered from low

wages and periodic unemployment, even in the 10s, when times were generally good.

The $ondon doc"ers who were amongst the lowest paid wor"ers in the country.

They were inspired by the success of two earlier stri"es by uns"illed wor"ers - the 5atchgirls= ?tri"e in

1, and the :aswor"ers= ?tri"e in 14, the doc"ers decided to go on stri"e.

They wanted three things, an increase in pay from +d. to 8d. an hour !the 7oc"ers= Tanner=#, a

guaranteed minimum of four hours wor" a day and overtime to be paid at d. an hour.


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The stri"e lasted five wee"s and the victory gave a big boost to the campaign to unionise the uns"illed,

and what became "nown as the Dew %nionism=.

"aw en!orcement an& the


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The &eath penalty

(n 19+3, the 5urder Act instructed judges to include dissection after death as part of the punishment - th

was intended to ma"e hanging even more of a deterrent.

(n 18, it was finally decided that public hanging should be ended, and be replaced by hanging behind

prison walls.

Alternati$e to han*in*

The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw an increase in the use of imprisonment in


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3 efore the nineteenth century, law enforcement had continued to be based on the old system of local

policing=.

This depended on 2ustices of the 'eace !2's#, appointed by the rown from 1/81 onwards. These were

helped by part-time constables !from Dorman times# and watchmen !after the ?tatute of Winchester,13+# - based on the old Anglo-?aon system where everyone was supposed to serve as one for a year.

(n the late seventeenth century, harles (( had passed some laws on their operation - since then, they hadoften been "nown as harleys=.

The ?iel&in* an& the tart o! chan*e

(n 19*,


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These policemen were under the control of two ommissioners based at ?cotland Fard, who had to repo

directly to the


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3

ohn Howar&

(n 199/, he was appointed


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Sir +eor*e Pa(l

(n 190, he became


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3 This Act of 18+ closed 0 of the smaller prisons. This left 11/ prisons - but these were still under local

control.

Dot until the 199 'risons Act did all prisons come under the


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@rom 10/, the penalties for abortion were increased and, in 181, the woman see"ing an abortion was

punished as a criminal, as well as the person carrying out the abortion.

;ne of the most harshly judged female crimes= was prostitution. 6ery few reformers were prepared to

campaign on behalf of such women. ;ne notable eception was 2osephine utler, who wor"ed hard to

get them fair treatment in prisons.

A ?elect ommittee was set up which reported in 13 that agents provided girls for H13 a head to

brothels in elgium, where they were "ept as virtual prisoners.

The journalist W. T. ?tead who in 1+ pointed out how rich men demanded, and eploited, an endless

succession of young girls - often brought into $ondon from rural areas such as Dorfol".

MODERN 6RITAIN7 />-- to the preent &ay

Po$erty, properity an& crime tatitic

@rom 1400 - in fact, from the late nineteenth century - to 141*, there was a general increase in prosperity

in ritain, though not necessarily for all sections of society

The late 1430s and the 14/0s were mar"ed by the :reat 7epression, with almost 3+E of adult wor"ers i

ritain being unemployed.

After the ?econd World War, the Welfare ?tate was developed.

@rom the late 14+0s, the living standards of most people rose considerably, with almost full employment

ut high unemployment reappeared from the late 1490s, and by the mid-1440s, millions were stillunemployed.

5any of the new jobs created during and after this period were often low-paid and part-time. As a

conse)uence, wider gaps began to reappear between the poorest and the richest sections of society.

Crime an& tatitic

@rom the mid-nineteenth century to 1400, recorded crime had fallen by */E.

@rom 1400, statistics show this lower level of crime remained fairly static or even fell slightly.

7uring the 14/0s and the :reat 7epression there was a very slight rise again.

7uring the 7epression, many people were etremely poor, especially after benefits were means tested.

Fet, though there was a slight increase in crime during it, much of this was due to increased motoring

offences.

(n the hard-hit areas, there was no really significant increase in crime. This was mainly because those hi

by unemployment hardest were middle-aged semi-s"illed or s"illed wor"ers.


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/ ?tatistics suggest that as living standards improved during the 14+0s and 1480s, crime also dramatically

increased.

y the 1440s, there were 30 times the number of reported crimes than there had been for the 14+0s.

As in the past, 40E of the crimes were crimes against property - though crimes against the person also

increased greatly.

5ost of those who committed crime were young men - 8+E of crimes were committed by males under

3+ and +0E by those under 30.

The


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/

The number of murders in ritain has slowly increased since 1400& this was a trend which began before

hanging was abolished in 148+.

5ost murder victims are "illed by members of their own family, or by a friend or ac)uaintance - very fe

fall victim to a madman or a serial "iller.

Another crime of violence which has increased is terrorism.

efore 1400, violence was often the only way to persuade those who ruled to change the laws, as there

was little or no democracy or freedom for most people.

The groups who use terrorism include the (RA who believe ritish rule of Dorthern (reland should be

ended, and groups such as the Animal $iberation @ront, protesting against eperiments on animals.

New technolo*ie, new crime

The two most important changes are connected to the car and the computerB

The two main types of car crime are motoring offences - such as speeding, drun" driving, and licence an

insurance offences and theft - either of the car !for profit or joy-riding#, or of goods from the car.

The increasing use of computers has also led to a great variety of new crimes - several of which, though

are simply modern versions of old types of crime.

The main types of computer crime are stealing computers, using computers to steal money from other

people=s ban" accounts, industrial or commercial espionage, sabotage and destroying or hiding=

information

(n 3001, the government set up the Dational


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/ The


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/ At the end of the war, all ;s were denied the right to vote for five years, and many found it impossible

to get jobs& some were beaten up when they returned home.

The Secon& Worl& War

There were many more ;s during the ?econd World War, mainly because when the full details of the

tremendous slaughter in the trenches was revealed, many people became pacifists after 141.

About 34 000 did wor" in factories or on the land. ?ome ;s agreed to do non-combatant wor" in the

armed forces - very often acting as ambulance drivers or doing other medical wor".

5any ;s, though, were part of the 'eace 'ledge %nion which was opposed to war and which tried to

encourage people not to fight.

The +eneral Stri'e, />@

The T:W%, D%R and 5@: - the three main unions - had formed the Triple (ndustrial Alliance !T(A#.

This was an agreement to stri"e together and not settle until all three unions had been able to obtain

satisfactory agreements.

7uring the war, the 5@: had come to li"e the temporary control of the mines which the government

had ta"en in order to ensure high production.

ut, after the war, the government rejected the ommissions recommendations - the private owners,

faced with increased competition from abroad and falling prices, immediately drew up plans to cut wageand increase hours.

@urther wage cuts in 143+ produced a strong response from the T(A, so the government gave a nine

month subsidy to the private owners to prevent the wage cuts - this became "nown as Red @riday=.

The government also began to prepare for a possible general stri"e when the subsidy would come to an

end in 5ay 1438

(n April, the employers made it clear that, once the subsidy came to an end, they would be reducing

wages by 10E and increasing the hours from seven to eight a day - with no etra pay.

The T% leaders reluctantly called a :eneral ?tri"e in support of the miners for * 5ay 1438.

The stri"e was very successful, and public transport came to a complete stop in many areas. ut,

suddenly, after only nine days, the T% called the stri"e off.

This left the miners on their own - finally, in Dovember 1438, they were forced bac" to wor" by hunger

and poverty.

5any who had participated were victimised and blac"listed= - despite the government=s promise that thi

would not happen.

(n 1439, the government passed the Trades 7isputes Act which made all general and sympathy= stri"es

illegal.


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/

The Poll Ta2 Protet, />>-1@

These began in the late 140s and became increasingly widespread during the early 1440s, when the

government introduced the ommunity harge - or 'oll Ta=, as it came to be called.

This was etremely unpopular because most people !apart from the very wealthy# had to pay much more

than they had paid with the previous system of council rates

(n ?cotland many local communities and housing schemes in ?cotland decided that a stronger resistance

would be needed.

(n :lasgow, the Anti-'oll Ta %nion= was set upB it was the first organisation to call for non-payment.

?everal leftwing political organisations, such as the 5ilitant Tendency, and ommunity Resistance

Against the 'oll Ta= also supported the campaign of non-payment.

As the number of such groups spread, the ?cottish Dational 'arty and then the ?cottish T% decided to

support a non-payment campaign.


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/ A small minority then tried to climb over, or pull down, the barricades at the end of 7owning ?treet&

soon, violent clashes between the police and a minority of the demonstrators began.

When mounted riot police baton-charged the crowd, bottles, roc"s and stic"s were thrown at the police.

About /000 demonstrators fought bac" and a major riot then bro"e out, which eventually spread to muc

of the West nd.

The en& o! the Poll Ta2

The campaign continued to grow in strength& by 2uly 1440, there were 1* million non-payers.

A second national demonstration too" place in ;ctober 1440& again, there were violent clashes between

some demonstrators and the police.

ventually, many onservative 'arty leaders and 5's became concerned about their growing

unpopularity. ;n 30 Dovember 1440, 5rs Thatcher was eventually forced to resign& a wee" later, she wa

replaced by 2ohn 5ajor.

The new 'rime 5inister finally announced, on 3/ April 1441, it would be replaced by a new ouncil Ta


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/ 1491 - Anti-Terrorist ! or omb# ?)uad

1493-/ - the Dational 7rugs (ntelligence %nit& the Dational (mmigration (ntelligence %nit& and the

5urder ?)uad.

?cotland Fard also set the pace in the use of new e)uipment. the telegraph and then the telephone

finger-printing& further improved by the use of 7DA printing=

the Dational omputer Record

security cameras

radios in cars and police telephone boes& then personal radios for policemen on the beat

a more modern type of truncheon

. ?. gas canisters, dart guns, rubber bullets, electrified water jets and water cannons

new riot gear !which ma"es the police loo" very similar to the army#

Police power

(n the main basic police powers in practice have not increased greatly over those which eisted in 1400.

The 'olice and riminal vidence Act of 14* did ma"e legal some of the methods which the police had

been using unofficially.

;ther people have been concerned by the new powers given to police by the 'ublic ;rder Act of 148,

and there has been growing concern over the way some demonstrations are policed.

P(%lic attit(&e

?ome people have become increasingly concerned about the discovery of police corruption and abuses o

power.

The 'olice omplaints Authority was set up in 14+ to deal with complaints by the public against police

actions.

>7 Chan*in* attit(&e to p(nihment

(n the period 1400-+0, when crime was falling, attitudes towards criminals and their punishment began t

change. more people were given shorter sentences, or were put on probation or, from 141*, given longer

to pay fines.

As a result, the number of people in prison in ritain in the period 1400-/0 fell by almost a half - and

about 0E of these were serving short sentences or were first-time offenders.

--

?ince 1400, the main reforms have been

1403 - the treadmill and the cran" were abolished.

1409 - the 'robation ?ervice began.

141* - offenders were given time to pay a fine.


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/ 1433 - solitary confinement was abolished.

14/8 - the first open= prison was set up in Wa"efield.

14* - flogging and hard labour were abolished

1483 - birching was abolished.

1489 - suspended sentences were introduced.

1493 - ommunity ?ervice ;rders were introduced.

;nce, sentences of 10 years were rare& now, those of 1+, 30 or even more are less unusual for the more

serious crimes such as armed robbery or arson.

There has been an increase in the proportion of offenders sent to prison for certain crimes.

There has been a large increase in those remanded into custody while waiting for their trial - some peopl

spent as much as a year on remand.

5any people have also begun to argue that prison has become too soft=.

The introduction of private companies into the running of prisons was at least in part based on theassumption that companies run for profit would be less li"ely to be influenced by liberal and reforming

ideas.

The average number of prisoners in 1400 was nearly 1 000.

This fell to 11 000 in 143+, in large part as a result of the reforms brought in the period 1400 -1*.

(t has steadily risen since the ?econd World War - in 14+0, there were 30 000. There were over +0 000 b

14 and 80 000 by 1449.

'risons then only had room for *0 000 prisoners. The %C now has almost the highest prison populationper 100 000 of the population in the whole of urope.

(n 143, the riminal 2ustice Act replaced orstals with Fouth ustody.

'lans by the onservative government to set up special oot= camps, where young offenders would be

given a short, sharp shoc"= were )uietly abandoned when a report showed that after five years, there ha

been no noticeable effect on reconviction rates.

The impact on prion

The continually increasing prison population has led to serious over-crowding,

There has also been an increase in the number of terrorists and se-offenders in prison - ma"ing prisons

much more difficult to manage.

The result has been an increasing number of prison riots& some have been especially serious e.g. in 144

in Wandsworth, $ondon and in 1440 in ?trangeways, 5anchester.

(n 1449, the first new prison ship was placed in 'ortsmouth harbour - many saw this as a return to the

hul"s= system of the nineteenth century.


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/ The authorities have also eamined ways of reducing the prison population, some of which were

considered before 1400. These include parole and suspended sentences, introduced in 1489, ommunity?ervice, introduced in 1493, 7ay trainingI 'robation day centres, set up by the riminal 2ustice Act, 14

and electronic monitoring - tagging.

The &eath penalty an& the cae o! Dere' 6entley

apital punishment - the death penalty - had been seen and used as the ultimate punishment anddeterrent.

y the mid-1900s, some people began to )uestion its usefulness as a method of controlling crime and

criminals.

The loody ode= was gradually reformed and, by the late 1/0s, hanging had been abolished for all

offences ecept murder and treason.

(n 18 hanging in public was ended.

(n 190, the hanging, drawing and )uartering of traitors was ended.

There were several unsuccessful attempts to abolish hanging completely during the second half of the

nineteenth century - in 1*, 1*4, and again in 1+0.

The &eath penalty ince />--

(n 140, the minimum age for eecution was raised to 18 and, in 14//, to 1.

(n 1433, an act abolished the death penalty for a mother "illing a baby under the age of one.

?erious crime did not greatly increase after 14+0 but the number of eecutions did. @rom 14*+-++, 1+1

people were hanged.

(n 14+9, the


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* This campaign lasted *8 years, and was led by his sister, (ris. (n 2uly 144, $ord hief 2ustice ingham

)uashed the guilty verdict.

?ome newspapers began to comment on how the whole system of reprieves by the


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*

Ca(e o! )($enile crime

ecause of the increase in the rate of divorce and single-parent families& the problem of psychological,

physical or seual abuse by a small minority of parents& and greater geographic mobility.

The growing gap between rich and poor which emerged in the 140s, and which continued during the

1440s, as being, at least in part, lin"ed to poverty and high unemployment.

5ost crime is committed in urban areas where poverty and unemployment tend to be highest. ?uch

deprived sections of the population have been described as forming a distinct and large underclass.

?ome eperts blame not poverty as much as the frustration caused by living in the large bloc"s of flats

which often have no recreational facilities at all.

6ery often, such housing areas are in poc"ets of poverty, and many such children truant from school,

leading to poor, inade)uate education and hence a vicious circle of poverty, low )ualifications,

unemployment and crime of one sort or another.

T6 and videos are seen by many as having influenced impressionable young people to imitate what they

see on the screen.

P(nihment o! yo(n* o!!en&er

?ome people blame the punishment system for the increase in young offenders. They see it as failing to

ade)uately punish young people because they claim it is too slow and too soft on juvenile offenders.

(n the early nineteenth century, juveniles were punished as if they were adults - the punishments include

hanging, as well as imprisonment or transportation.

(n 140, an age of criminal responsibility= !when the law says someone is responsible for their criminal

actions# was established for the first time.

(t was set at seven& this rose to eight in 14//, to ten in 148/ and to 1* in 1484. (n 14*, 7etention entre

were set up, and in 1484, juvenile courts, supervision and care orders were introduced.

(n 14/, 7etention entres and a system of youth custody replaced orstals and prison for all those und

31.

(n 144, in an attempt to reduce juvenile crime, youth offending teams were set up. Among other things,

it tries to speed up court cases, and ma"es young offenders meet their victims and give some "ind ofcompensation.

The S(!!ra*ette

(n 140/, mmeline 'an"hurst, and her daughters hristabel, ?ylvia and Adela, set up the Women=s ?oci

and 'olitical %nion !W?'%#.

(ts members soon became "nown as the suffragettes=. The 'an"hursts argued that in order to get the vot

women would need to adopt the same militant - and sometimes violent - methods which many men and

their organisations had used.


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*

At first, the W?'% used a variety of methods, hec"ling members of the government at public meetings,

chaining themselves to the railings outside 7owning ?treet and government buildings, organising large

demonstrations and dropping thousands of leaflets from balloons.

The campaign was then stepped up to include, setting off fire alarms and smashing the windows of large

department stores

?uffragettes began to refuse to pay fines and, from 1404, several went on hunger stri"e in prison. When

prison authorities force-fed hunger-stri"ing suffragettes, there was a public outcry once the W?'%

publicised details of the methods used.

(n 1413, hristabel 'an"hurst went to 'aris, from where she organised an even more violent campaign.

y 141/, ?uffragette methods included arson attac"s on post boes, attac"s on famous paintings, diggin

up or pouring acid on golf greens and bombs placed in empty buildings and even in railway stations.

At the 141/ 7erby, mily 7avison tried to stop the "ing=s horse as a protest, but was "noc"ed down and

later died.

(n 141/ the government decided to end forced feeding, and instead passed the at and 5ouse Act.

?uffragette activity increased but, in 141*, was suspended because of the approach of war.

(n 141, the Representation of the 'eople Act gave votes to women householders, or women married to

householders, over the age of /0.

Crime & Punishment Revision Notes

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