Crime and Punishment 1750-1900 (continued) - created from Mind Map

why was there not a police force before 1789? citizens didnt want a police force as they didn't want to be caught for their crimes. they saw it as army-like and taking away their freedom and had a fear of the force of the government. too expensive as the wealthy government were unwilling to pay out and taxes were unpopular with citizens government were not too concerned as there was other methods to stop crime such as H&C, army and constables

how effective were the old methods of policing in new cities? HUE AND CRY = not very effective as narrow, complex roads and busy streets would make it hard to catch people Citizens = not very effective as untrained and unprofessional so would be ineffective despite large numbers REWARDS = quite effective as people want money but were not very good at catching criminals THIEF-TAKERS = understood from their experrience but often falsely accused ARMY = it is extreme, expensive and highlights weakness in the government (which was hated) and so wasn't very effective WATCHMEN AND SERGEANTS = quite effective as got to the source of problems and removed it but could only deal with drunks and may be outnumbered CONSTABLES = may be effective but large population and lots of crime reduce their effectiveness

STEPS TOWARDS THE FOUNDATION OF A POLICE FORCE 1=public used to existence of constable, watchmen, thief-takers and the use of the H&C 2=1789 the Thames River Police was set up to try to prevent and detect crime on the Thames and it was a forerunner for many other police forces around the world. 3=John and Henry Fielding set up a civilian horse patrol to stop highway men 4=1805 the Fieldings created the Bow Street Runners who were a team of paid thief-takers who patrolled london's streets in the evening 5=fieldings started a publication called the H&C newspaper which contained and passed on details of crime and stolen property. was shown to magistrates and public 6=1822 Sir Robert Peel appointed Home Secretary and supported ideas of Fieldings and increased work of Bow Street runners to include a day patrol too 7=Duke of Wellington said by 1829 there was 18 groups trying to stop crime in Lodon, but none of them ever worked togetehr.

why was the first police force set up in london in 1829? 1=GOVERNMENTS AND TAXATION government became more involved with trying to change life in britain through reform. after finding it easy to raise taxes for the war with france they realised they could raise taxes to be spent on reform. they gave permission for local authorites to collect taxes and spend it on policing 2=FEAR OF PROTEST after the revolution in france and protests in britain over unemployment and food prices the landowners wanted a way to prevent the breakout of riots 3=LONDON AND OTHER TOWNS eg liverpool and manchester had expanded rapidly and become centers for poverty and related crime such as theft, mugging and prostitution. they were so large and overcrowded they were impossible for constables and watchmen to police 4= INCREASED CRIME AND FEAR OF CRIME there was a sharp increase in violence and crimes after the wars with france and a fear among the public this would get out of control

aspects of 19th C policing uniform-wore reinforced blue top hats, blue coats, no decoration and carried a truncheon instead of a sword. although they could be avoided by criminals and recognised, they prevented opposition by not looking like soldiers who people believed would interfere with their civil liberties routine jobs-included clearing drunks and vagrants from the street and dealing with traffic issues and dangerous drivers. this dealt well with crime on streets but not other types eg homicide dealing with crimes-caught thieves and arrested them and stopped crime with their presence. they had limited power and ability so couldn't solve all crimes but knowledge of them and their power prevented crime staff turnover-was a problem as many people left due to dismissal for drunkedness, to go to their old jobs or better themselves in another. in 4 years only 562/2800 constables remained which reduced effectiveness of force pay-21 shillings a week, ten left over for single man after all necessities paid for. as pay improved police developed reputation of being trustworthy. allowed the force income and so resources and reputaiton but it was less than a skilled worker and still seen to be overpaying them making police force compulsory-it was made compulsory for every district to have a police force in 1856. some areas had remained unpoliced until then. making it compulsory meant crime could be stopped and police could benefit people on a large scale introduction of plain clothes police-in 1833 police raised issue of criminals avoiding them in their uniform and so a plain clothed force was introduced. it was 3x more effective and it removed the limitations uniform had caused. detectives were also introduced and they helped crime detection dealing with riots instead of the army-london police were used around country to stop riots or protests which sometimes caused injury or death. it led to less violence as the police killed less innocent people than the army but they may not have been as effective eg lack of weapons chnaging public attitudes-police became respected and accepted and by 1850's, insults had reduced. when PC Robert Culley was killed in 1833 the jury said it was justifiable homicide. suspicion of police reduced and meant they could work effectively without fear of harm unlike 1833 and so people were more willing to use the force for help police's effects on crime rates-crime fell steadily for 50 years from 1850-1900 as police prevented crimes such as robberies and so helped to reduce crime rates and make streets more safe and secure

why did the crime rate fall from 1750-1900 prisons kept people off the street, reformed criminals and separated children and adults fairer punishments were used as the bloody code was abolished and the number of crimes punishable by executeion reduced presence of police deterred people from committing crimes, arrested criminals, plain clothes couldn't be avoided and became accepted and respected increased employment meant people were off the street and earning money so weren't short of money and needing to steal better wages meant people could afford resources, support themselves and family without needing to steal and police could do job properly

why were protesters treated more leniently after 1850? 1=1850's and 1860's were times of prosperity and the government began improving conditions of work and tackling poverty but most men and all women couldn't vote. workers lacked working rights and had low wages. 2= different methods of protests were used and they were better organised and tried to win public support eg london dock strike 1889 union leaders made great efforts to welcome police and strikers were careful not to threaten non stricking workers and so only 20 arrests were made 3= lots of different groups protesting about lots of different issues and so the government could not force them all to stop. 4= parliament did not feel threatened because workers were just protesting against bad conditions and pay

how far did different areas reform? attitude to criminals - criminals became viewed as deserving of a 2nd chance and human beings with rights and backgrounds. rehabilitation was offered to them in prison treatment of male criminals in prisons-did not really change accept they were separate from women and children treatment of female criminals in prison-give rules, women wardens, clothing, furniture, education, work and shackling was abolished and women's only prisons were introduced treatment of children in prisons-received almost everything women did and education made compulsory until 10 yrs old (and later older). they made children only borstals which stopped them mixing with adults but they had poor conditions fairness of punishments-rules made punishments uniform and prevent gaolers choosing which made them more proportionate to crime and lass brutal. more criminals were effectively dealt with and fewer just killed. use of capital punishments-number of capital offences went from 200 to 5 and meant only major crimes were punished with execution and minor minor ones could be dealt with in a less harsh way. criminal reform was more common and effective due to regulatd punishment system.

Crime and Punishment 1750-1900 (continued)