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c1900–present: Crime and punishment in modern Britain (Change and…
c1900–present: Crime and punishment in modern Britain
Change and continuity
Terrorism was not a new crime- simply the methods to commit them were. The gunpowder plot of 1605 and the Clerkenwell Prison bombing in 1867 are examples of this.
Smuggling was also not new as it had been around since the later medieval period but the things being smuggled had changed over time. From tea, brandy and lace, it became drugs and even people more recently.
Violent crimes are not new, only the weapons used to commit them are different.
Cyber crimes are simply new versions of old crimes eg, theft, fraud and extortion.
In the 20th century, Britain developed into a society that was multicultural and more equal. As attitudes changed, new laws were needed to ensure that all people were treated fairly and equally. Similarly, some activities that were previously illegal had been decriminalised eg homosexuality.
Timeline of the changes:
1922- Infancide Act
1957- Homicide Act
1965- Death penalty abolished for most crimes
1967- Abortion Act
1967- Sexual Offences Act
1968- Race Relations Act
1999- Formal end of the Death Penalty.
2005- Criminal Justice Act
2006- Racial and Religious Hatred Act
The 1968 Race Relations Act and the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act both made certain acts race crimes. If a crime is committed against someone because of their race, religion or sexuality, the criminal can receive harsher punishments than if the crime was committed for another reason.
Drug crimes are widely debated in the UK as they've been illegal since the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1971. The decriminalisation of drugs is controversial since some thing they should be illegal to clarify it's wrong while others see it as a personal choice.
Driving offences are totally new since the number of vehicles on the roads today has increased and the technological advances of modern transport. eg. driving while under the influence, driving without insurance or licence, speeding, ignoring traffic lights or signs and also driving while using a phone.
Law enforcement in Modern Britain
Changes in policing occurred since the attitude is now about catching criminals and preventing crime rather than simply deterring it like before.
Motorised transport means that the police can get to crimes quicker. But this meant that fewer police officers on the streets which some people don't like.
Some police officers are now armed and look like soldiers but not everyone supports.
Modern police force includes women and officers from different ethnic groups
From 1982, the Neighbourhood Watch groups have used volunteers to help prevent and detect crime in their neighbourhood. The idea was to increase vigillance and education to prevent crime as well as to reduce the fear of crime.
Much of modern policing is about preventing crimes as well as catching criminals. PCSOs were introduced in 2002 who work with schools and community groups to educate people.
Special police units:
NCA or National Crime Agency is involved in large scale drug trafficking.
Economic Crime Unit- investigates large scale fraud
PCeU or Police Central e-crime Unit- tackles most serious types of cyber crimes and raises awareness on e-safety.
Special Branch- each local force has a special branch which aims to prevent all forms of terrorism.
Rapid advances in technology have greatly impacted policing and crime prevention from the 1900 to now.
1901- national fingerprint system keeps a record of fingerprints from everyone arrested.
1980- Police National Computer is launched, keeping the records of 25 million individuals.
Speed cameras introduced
Better microscopes led to better dna testing.
Punishment in modern Britain
The abolition of the death penalty was gradual- it was last used in 1964 but formally abolished in 1999.
There were controversial cases in the 50s such as Timothy Evans, Derek Bentley and Ruth Ellis which led to people questioning the use of the death penalty.
There was the 1965 act which abolished the death penalty for most crimes- all but 5 cases.
Different prisons were introduced in the 1900s- open prisons were prisoners aren't locked up and there are also high security prisons were the inmates are locked away from each other for most of the day.
Since 1907, prisoners have been released on probation
In 1948 hard labour and corporal punishment in prisons were abolished.
Separate 'prisons' have been established for young people. Borstals were set up in the early 1900s. They used work and education to try to reduce re-offending rates. Today's Young Offender's Institutions have high reoffending rates.
There's been a recent rise in female prisoners despite the fact that only 6% of all prisoners are female.
New types of punishment have been developed in the last two decades as non custodial alternatives to prison. eg. Community sentences- working on community projects, Antisocial Behaviour Orders or ASBOs, electronic tagging and restorative justice.
Prisons today focus more on the rehabilitation of criminals to avoid reoffending since almost half of prisoners are recidivists. They have mixed success rate and mixed public opinion.
Derek Bentley
In 1953, Derek Bentley was hung for murder.
He had serious mental health issues and the mental age of 10. He and a friend, Christopher Craig decided to burgle a warehouse. The police arrived when they were on the roof so there was no escape.
Bentley was detained by PC Fairfax. Craig had a knife and a gun and shot DC Fairfax in the shoulder. According to Fairfax and two other policemen, Bentley later shouted 'Let him have it Chris' before Craig shot and killed PC Miles. When Craig ran out of bullets. he jumped off the roof and broke his back. Bentley stayed with the injured Fairfax. Both Bentley and Craig were tried and convicted of murder. Craig was sentenced to a long prison term since he was under 18. Bentley was sentences to death by hanging, after a failed appeal, he was hung on the 28th January 1953.
There was a huge public outcry against the sentence at the time. A motion in Parliament to reprieve Bentley was supported by 200 MPs but it was never debated in parliament. He was pardoned posthumously in 1993 and in 1998, his conviction for murder was overturned.
The Bentley case was important because it, along with other controversial cases, helped to increase the amount of people who were critical of the death penalty as a fair and just punishment.