Prisons and Policing

Prisons in the 1700s

• Warders were not paid enough by the government. They made their money by charging the prisoners fees for rooms and food.
• They were also charged for seeing doctors, and many died in prison as a result of disease.
• Criminals told each other how to break the law
• In the 1770s, there were only 4,000 people in prison in the whole country, most of which were there because of debt or for awaiting trial, transportation or execution.

Why did the use of prisons increase?

• From the 18th century, prisons became the main way of punishing criminals. Reforming the criminals became an aim of punishment, and the whole system was completely revamped.
• The idea that people should be reformed was increased due to the enlightenment in the 1700s. This also was a reason why the bloody code was ended- 1820s and 1820s. Juries were unwilling to convict people.
• Transportation ended in 1868 and public executions were banned in 1869.

John Howard

• Appointed Sherrif of Bedfordshire and was appalled by conditions in the local prison.
• He Travelled around Europe in the 1770s and 80s, trying to find out what the best way was to run a prison. He wrote a book, published in 1777 and this pointed out many problems. Many prisoners could not get out of prisons as they couldn't afford the discharge fee, and there were few warders. Prisoners already in cells forced new prisoners to pay a fee.
• He showed the danger of prisons, and how prisoners learned from each other. He showed how bad the conditions were, and suggested that hygiene should be improved, fees to gaolers should be ended and there should be visits from churchmen and long times in silence.
• The government backed his ideas. The Gaol act was passed which suggested ways for improving health and sanitation.
• Some ignored this act and national reform didn't start until long after he died
• Later reformers built on his work.

Elizabeth Fry

• She was a Christian, and motivated by her faith.
• In Newgate, she was shocked at the conditions. 300 women were crowded together in two wards and two cells with their children.
• They slept on the floor, it was filthy and many drank alcohol. Some were 'nearly naked'
• She campaigned to improve women's prison conditions so they could be reformed.
• In 1817, she formed an Association for the Improvement of Female Prisoners in Newgate and visited other prisons and set up women's associations at each one.
• She suggested ideas that were introduced at Newgate: there were rules for women to obey, female warders, and schools for women and children that focused on religious education.
• These ideas were also introduced to other prisons. She published her ideas which helped to spread her views and changed attitudes.
• Her work persuaded Robert Peel that action was needed, and The 1823 Gaol act paid gaolers and provided work for prisoners, introduced inspections and visits by churchmen

Diapositiva 5

What happened?

• New prison programme started
• Pentonville Prison built in 1842, and by 1877 there were 90 new prisons that were built
• The separate system (individual cells) and the silent system (prisoners worked together but in silence) were introduced in the mid 1800s.
• They aimed to reform criminals, however, this increased insanity and suicide rates
• There was conflict over whether prisoners should do useful work (such as making clothes and boots) or pointless work (including walking to make a treadmill turn, pulling apart and cleaning a rope, turning crank handles)
• In the 1850s prisons became tougher due to highly publicised crime such as the Garrotting crisis- these were blamed on new prisons.
• Hard labour and harsh punishments in prisons such as whipping, solitary confinement and electric shocks.
• Garroting Crisis- garotters were street criminals who strangled victims with a rope and then robbed them. Newspapers spread fear in the 1850s.

Policing before 1749

• No official police force
• People thought that policing might be used to limit freedom and invade people's privacy.
• Constables couldn't cope with the increase in crime- the industrial revolution meant that more people were living closely together, and poverty increased.

The Bow Street Runners

• John and Henry Fielding were magistrates based at Bow Street, London.
• They founded the Bow Street Runners in 1749 to try and track down criminals
• They published the Hue and Cry newspaper as well, which published details of crime and stolen property.
• The Bow Street Runners didn't patrol the streets.
• In 1754 John set up a horse patrol to stop highwaymen.

The Metropolitan Police Force

• Set up by Robert Peel- the same guy who did the Gaol act of 1823
• He immediately set up a day patrol of the Bow Street Runners in 1822 when he was appointed Home Secretary.
• In 1829, he set up the Metropolitan Police Force to replace the Bow Street Runners
• 3,000 men joined the force, most of which were ex-soldiers, and they were given a uniform. They had to be young, healthy, and able to read and white. They had to walk a 20-mile 'beat' around London, seven days a week.
• He was able to set it up, as he was a politician, the government could afford it, there was a belief crime was rising, and constables couldn't cope.
• This new police force helped to deter criminals and catch them. In 1842, A detective department was set up.
• Soon, other towns set up their own forces. In 1835, towns and cities could set up their own forces. By 1856, it was compulsory.

Attitudes - 19th Century

• Mixed reactions
• Peel didn't want to make them look like soldiers so he gave them a blue uniform instead of a red one.
• Many policemen were accused of drunkenness.
• At the great exhibition of 1851, they were very visible and many people's opinions changed.
• In 1888, they couldn't catch Jack the Ripper. He brutally murdered women in London, at least 5 of them. Newspapers exaggerated the murders. They couldn't catch him despite training bloodhounds and interviewing thousands of people, because witnesses gave different descriptions, there was never a reward, no forensic evidence as DNA and fingerprinting wasn't invented in 1888, and the murder locations crossed the area where there were 2 different police forces, which didn't co-operate well.

Success or Failure?

• Effective at catching criminals
• Prevented crime as they patrolled the streets
• Learned from their mistakes- police started a plain-clothes force so criminals didn't know who they were
• Detective branch
• Could collect evidence and make prosecutions
• Crime fell from 1850-1900
• Policemen didn't stay in the job very long
• Poor pay
• Drunkenness
• Violent reputation- riots
• Didn't solve the problem of crime overnight