The 1900s, especially from the mid-1900s onwards, can be seen as a time when changing social attitudes led to former crimes being decriminalised.

Race Crime:

In the 1950s, there was a major influx of people from Commonwealth countries. Britain was became a multicultural hotspot and new laws were needed in order to cope with the growing number of minority groups in the country.

1968 - Race Relations Act: illegal to refuse jobs, housing or public services to anyone on the basis of their race, ethnicity or country of origin
Increasing immigration led to further defining of race crime in 2006, when, racial and religious crime was labelled a criminal offence

Abortion:

This was an action that became no longer seen as a crime in the 1900s. There are many views about abortion in society and people hold varying opinions. Further, there was a majority opinion that laws surrounding abortion should be changed. Up until 1967, it was illegal for a mother to terminate a pregnancy. However, a mother could terminate a pregnancy in the case that she might die as a result of the pregnancy.

If a women wanted an abortion for various other reasons she would resort to a 'backstreet abortion'. This led women to receiving abortions from someone who did not have proper medical training. Moreover, some women attempted to end their own pregnancies: alcohol, poison, and wire coat hangers were used. These methods were dangerous to a woman's health and could often result in death.

Growing liberal attitudes in the 1960s and mounting public opinion led MPs to change the law on abortion in 1967. The 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion under the following circumstances:

the child would have serious disabilities
the mother was at serious mental or physical harm if she continued with the pregnancy
the limit for a legal abortion was 28 weeks in 1968
this limit has lowered over time with the advances in health and medicine

Abortion is still a hotly contested topic in the public sphere today and both sides of the debate remain strong.

Homophobic Crime:

Homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom up until 1967. In 1967, the Sexual Offences Act decriminalised homosexuality for men over the age of 21. This period of history has been described by many historians as the sexual revolution, beginning in the 1960s.

The introduction of the Criminal Justice Act in 2005 gave courts the right to punish more severely for hate crime such as homophobic crime. This new law meant that anyone attacked for being gay would be treated more severely by the authorities. Previously, such crimes were treated the same as any other crime.