Crime and Punishment 1900-Present Day

Crime and Punishment 1900-Present Day

1. Crime and Criminals

   • 1900-1955
     • Slow, gradual rise in crime rate
     • Impact of WWII
       • Blitz - criminals took advantage. Loot bombed houses
       • Black market developed due to rationing.
       • Crime rate expected to fall after 1945 - it didn't
     • 1955 key turning point - significant increase in crime after this point
       • Murder rate does decrease but only because medical advance keeps victims alive
   • Rapid rise 1955-Present
     • Football Hoolilganism
       • Peak in 1970s & 80s
       • e.g. 1984 Heysel - Liverpool fans riot - wall collapses - 39 dead
       • Reduced since late 80s
         • CCTV
         • prices rise = wealthier fans who don't want to fight
         • Stadiums are now seated - numbers in grounds now strictly controlled
     • Car Crime
       • Alcohol limits first in place 1967
       • 1983 - seat belts compulsory
       • 1992 - speed cameras
       • 1896 - first car crime. Speeding at 8mph! Speed limit in towns was 2mph!
     • Race/hate crimes
       • Became an issue after sudden rise in immigration following WWII
         • Came from Commonwealth countries. HMS Windrush 1st ship.
       • Race Relation Acts passed - 1965, '68 & '76
         • Made it a crime to deny jobs on account of race
         • Now a crime to encourage racial hatred
         • However: Didn't change much - race crime continued
       • Stephen Lawrence murder (1993) became turning point
         • Inquiry found police were 'institutionally racist'
           • New laws - 'hate crimes' introduced - tougher sentences if crimes motivated by racism, homophobia etc
           • Caused police to take new approach - training, recruitment etc.
     • Drugs
       • Early issues: Cocaine sent to soldiers in WWI - army complained so banned in 1920
       • Became big prob in 1960s -hippies etc.
       • 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act
         • Aim: stamp out growing drug culture
           • However: Drug use and smuggling continued to rise.
         • Harsh sentences: 14yrs for supply of Class A - increased to life in 1985
         • Classes of drugs - A, B & C
       • Causes lots of crime - theft to pay for drugs, assaults, organised crime gangs etc
     • Cyber Crime
       • Sparked by rise of the internet in 1990s
       • Illegal downloading - films, music etc - makes otherwise honest people criminals
       • Online banking - opportunities for fraud.
       • 2015 - cyber crime included in crime stats for 1st time - official crime rate doubled!

2. Enforcement

   • Police force
     • Reasons for less positive view since 1950s
       • Police Cars - less 'bobbies on the beat'
       • Traffic offences - lots of otherwise law abiding people caught for speeding, using mobiles etc
       • Corruption - 1980s, West Midlands force revealed to be corrupt. 2014 - West Yorkshire force admitted covering up mistakes in 1989 Hilsborough disaster
     • Important changes since 1900
       • Organisation: used to be 200 seperate forces, 1964 this changed - now only 43
       • Recruitment training and pay: 1900 - untrained, uneducated working class men. Now - men, women, well educated, decent pay
       • Specialisation: Now have specialist teams for everything e.g. crowd/riot control, armed response, forensics, anti terrorism
       • Use of weapons - ordinary spolice still dont carry guns. But 5% specialist offices now do. Also new weaposn like tasers, pepper spray.
   • Courts
     • 1971 Courts Act: assizes, quater sessions, etc all abolished. Replaced by Crown Courts
     • Women: 1919 - Women can be on juries. 1920 - 1st female magistrate (JP). Women now outnumber male magistrates
     • Juvenile Courts: 1908 juvenile courts introduced for 7-16 yr olds
     • Crown Prosecution Service: police used to decide if a case went to court. 1986 - CPS introduced, their job to decide if evidence is good enough to have a trial.
     • Juries: 1974 - no longer have to own property (be rich basically!) to be on a jury. Internet causes problems - trials have to be restarted if jurors are found to have researched the crime online
   • New Technology
     • Identifying Criminals
       • 1901 - Discovery of diff blood groups
       • 1902 - Finger prints first used in court
       • 1984 - discovery all DNA is unique - DNA fingerprinting used ever since.
     • Communication
       • 1929 - Blue police tlephone boxes intorduced in London
       • Mid 1960s - radios installed in cars, 1969 1st portable radios
       • Computers mean that data can be stored or records checked quickly and easily
     • Surveillance
       • CCTV - monitors traffic and pedestrians
       • phones, emails, texts are frequently monitored - 650,000 times in 2015

3. Punishment

   • Capital punishement
     • Arguments for
       • deterrent
       • mistakes are rare
       • Life for a life
     • Arguments against
       • mistakes can be made
       • Killing is wrong - Govt shouldn't do it
     • Moves towards abolition
       • 1908 - banned for under 16s
       • 1947 - House of Commons voted for abolition, House of Lords blocked it
       • Derek Bentley - mental age 10 - executed - public outcry
       • 1957 Abolished but kept for murder of police officer 1969 Abolished for all murders
   • Prison
     • Prison reform
       • Sir Alexander Paterson 1922-47
         • 'prison is a punishment not for punishment'
         • Reforms: Heads not shaved, silence rules relaxed, education of prisoners, meaningful work paid small amounts for work
           • Move towards REHABILITATION
       • Separate prison for mentally ill patients - Broadmoor Hospital
       • By end of century still problems - overcrowding, riots, very expensive
     • Young offenders
       • Young offenders sent to 'Borstals' not full prison
         • Still very tough
       • 1988 - Borstals replaced by Young Offenders institutions for 18-20
         • Lots of education
       • 1908 - Parliament sets a minimum age you can be responsible for a crime - 7 yrs old
         • Age changes over century - currently 10
     • Alternatives
       • Community service
         • Unpaid work
       • Electronic tags
       • Parole - early release - return to prison if break conditions
   • Corporal Punishment
     • Whipping - used as punishment for centuries.
     • Moves towards end
       • 1933 - ended for young offenders
       • 1948 - abolished as a punishment for adults
       • 1962 - abolished as punishment in prisons