Crime and Punishment 1900-Present Day

Crime and Criminals
1. 1900-1955
  1. Slow, gradual rise in crime rate
  2. Impact of WWII
    1. Blitz - criminals took advantage. Loot bombed houses
    2. Black market developed due to rationing.
    3. Crime rate expected to fall after 1945 - it didn't
  3. 1955 key turning point - significant increase in crime after this point
    1. Murder rate does decrease but only because medical advance keeps victims alive
2. Rapid rise 1955-Present
  1. Football Hoolilganism
    1. Peak in 1970s & 80s
    2. e.g. 1984 Heysel - Liverpool fans riot - wall collapses - 39 dead
    3. Reduced since late 80s
      1. CCTV
      2. prices rise = wealthier fans who don't want to fight
      3. Stadiums are now seated - numbers in grounds now strictly controlled
  2. Car Crime
    1. Alcohol limits first in place 1967
    2. 1983 - seat belts compulsory
    3. 1992 - speed cameras
    4. 1896 - first car crime. Speeding at 8mph! Speed limit in towns was 2mph!
  3. Race/hate crimes
    1. Became an issue after sudden rise in immigration following WWII
      1. Came from Commonwealth countries. HMS Windrush 1st ship.
    2. Race Relation Acts passed - 1965, '68 & '76
      1. Made it a crime to deny jobs on account of race
      2. Now a crime to encourage racial hatred
      3. However: Didn't change much - race crime continued
    3. Stephen Lawrence murder (1993) became turning point
      1. 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.
  4. Drugs
    1. Early issues: Cocaine sent to soldiers in WWI - army complained so banned in 1920
    2. Became big prob in 1960s -hippies etc.
    3. 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act
      1. Aim: stamp out growing drug culture
        However: Drug use and smuggling continued to rise.
      2. Harsh sentences: 14yrs for supply of Class A - increased to life in 1985
      3. Classes of drugs - A, B & C
    4. Causes lots of crime - theft to pay for drugs, assaults, organised crime gangs etc
  5. Cyber Crime
    1. Sparked by rise of the internet in 1990s
    2. Illegal downloading - films, music etc - makes otherwise honest people criminals
    3. Online banking - opportunities for fraud.
    4. 2015 - cyber crime included in crime stats for 1st time - official crime rate doubled!
Enforcement
1. Police force
  1. Reasons for less positive view since 1950s
    1. Police Cars - less 'bobbies on the beat'
    2. Traffic offences - lots of otherwise law abiding people caught for speeding, using mobiles etc
    3. Corruption - 1980s, West Midlands force revealed to be corrupt. 2014 - West Yorkshire force admitted covering up mistakes in 1989 Hilsborough disaster
  2. Important changes since 1900
    1. Organisation: used to be 200 seperate forces, 1964 this changed - now only 43
    2. Recruitment training and pay: 1900 - untrained, uneducated working class men. Now - men, women, well educated, decent pay
    3. Specialisation: Now have specialist teams for everything e.g. crowd/riot control, armed response, forensics, anti terrorism
    4. Use of weapons - ordinary spolice still dont carry guns. But 5% specialist offices now do. Also new weaposn like tasers, pepper spray.
2. Courts
  1. 1971 Courts Act: assizes, quater sessions, etc all abolished. Replaced by Crown Courts
  2. Women: 1919 - Women can be on juries. 1920 - 1st female magistrate (JP). Women now outnumber male magistrates
  3. Juvenile Courts: 1908 juvenile courts introduced for 7-16 yr olds
  4. 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.
  5. 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
3. New Technology
  1. Identifying Criminals
    1. 1901 - Discovery of diff blood groups
    2. 1902 - Finger prints first used in court
    3. 1984 - discovery all DNA is unique - DNA fingerprinting used ever since.
  2. Communication
    1. 1929 - Blue police tlephone boxes intorduced in London
    2. Mid 1960s - radios installed in cars, 1969 1st portable radios
    3. Computers mean that data can be stored or records checked quickly and easily
  3. Surveillance
    1. CCTV - monitors traffic and pedestrians
    2. phones, emails, texts are frequently monitored - 650,000 times in 2015
Punishment
1. Capital punishement
  1. Arguments for
    1. deterrent
    2. mistakes are rare
    3. Life for a life
  2. Arguments against
    1. mistakes can be made
    2. Killing is wrong - Govt shouldn't do it
  3. Moves towards abolition
    1. 1908 - banned for under 16s
    2. 1947 - House of Commons voted for abolition, House of Lords blocked it
    3. Derek Bentley - mental age 10 - executed - public outcry
    4. 1957 Abolished but kept for murder of police officer 1969 Abolished for all murders
2. Prison
  1. Prison reform
    1. Sir Alexander Paterson 1922-47
      1. 'prison is a punishment not for punishment'
      2. Reforms: Heads not shaved, silence rules relaxed, education of prisoners, meaningful work paid small amounts for work
        Move towards REHABILITATION
    2. Separate prison for mentally ill patients - Broadmoor Hospital
    3. By end of century still problems - overcrowding, riots, very expensive
  2. Young offenders
    1. Young offenders sent to 'Borstals' not full prison
      1. Still very tough
    2. 1988 - Borstals replaced by Young Offenders institutions for 18-20
      1. Lots of education
    3. 1908 - Parliament sets a minimum age you can be responsible for a crime - 7 yrs old
      1. Age changes over century - currently 10
  3. Alternatives
    1. Community service
      1. Unpaid work
    2. Electronic tags
    3. Parole - early release - return to prison if break conditions
3. Corporal Punishment
  1. Whipping - used as punishment for centuries.
  2. Moves towards end
    1. 1933 - ended for young offenders
    2. 1948 - abolished as a punishment for adults
    3. 1962 - abolished as punishment in prisons

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Crime and Punishment 1900-Present Day

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	Created by Tom Lea about 6 years ago