1750-1900 Flashcards
Why did crime increase from 1800-1850
Population growth Growth of industry and trade Growing towns and cities Overcrowded lodgings Crowded streets and alleyways Poverty High unemployment High price of bread End of Napoleonic Wars (1815)
Why did crime increase from 1800-1850?
Rapid rise in population after 1750 means many more potential offenders and victims.
Growth of industry and trade means there were more goods for people to steal.
City centres became over crowded so assault became more common. Poor lodging houses crammed together made it easier to steal people’s possessions. Crowded neighbourhoods were more difficult to police.
Poverty and the distress people faced during times of high unemployment created a steep rise in crime.
In 1815 the Napoleonic wars ended and thousands of soldiers returned to Britain without work. Between 1815 and 1822 wages fell by 1/3. The rising price of bread also added to the distress of labouring families
Why didn’t people want a police force?👮♀️
- Many people didn’t want a police force as they thought this would end their freedom to criticise the government.
- Others thought it wold cost them too much.
- Other people thought that a police force wasn’t needed and that making punishments harsher would work.
What was the old methods of policing?👴🏻👮♀️
Policing
Policing before 1829.
During the 1700s old methods of policing continued such as constables and watchmen. In small villages and towns they could be effective but in larger cities they did not have enough time or support to be effective. They still had full time jobs.
Who were John and Henry fielder?🥸😎
John and Henry Fielding were London magistrates based at Bow Street in London. They created a civilian horse patrol to stop highwaymen. In 1805 a patrol of 54 men was set up.
They introduced the Bow Street Runners who were thief takers who patrolled the streets of London in the evening.
They published the hue and cry newspaper which contained details of crimes, criminals and stolen goods which helped pass on information about criminal activities.
When was was the first professional police force set up
Sir Robert Peel was appointed home secretary in 1822.
1829 = PAID PROFESSIONAL POLICE FORCE
Why was the police force set up?
- Paid for through tax
- Fear of crime/urban population - Fear of revolution
- Ineffective old system of police
Why was the police force set up?
- The Government was raising more money in taxes, they allowed local authorities to raise local taxes such as those that paid for the police.
- There was increased crime and a fear of crime following the years of the French wars.
- After the French revolution the government and landowners were afraid of a revolution in Britain. After 1815 there were many protests in Britain. People were afraid this was the start of a British revolution.
- The rapid growth of towns had made the old system of constable and watchmen ineffective.
What were the police like? 👮♀️🤨
What were the police like?
The police force were dressed in blue unlike the army who dressed in red so people didn’t see them as an armed forces for the government.
They were originally given a baton and a whistle – although this was later changed to a pistol as people saw them as inadequately equipped.
Most of their time was spent on routine tasks such as dealing with drunks and traffic problems.
Not very well paid – less than a skilled labourer earned.
Police took over the job of gathering evidence and prosecuting criminals. This had been the job of the victim since the Roman period.
Police were used to stop riots
What were the main changes in capital punishments?
A number of changes to capital punishment. 1780s hangings were moved inside and a more humane form of hanging known as the ‘new drop’ was introduced – A trap door opened and the person fell through.
There were also fewer execution 1800-09 871, 1830-39 297.
1832 – 1837 the government removed a number of capital offences such as sheep, cattle and horse theft (1832), letter stealing (1834), forgery and
coining (1836), arson, burglary and theft from a house (1837)
1872 – Long drop is introduced. – Exact amount of rope to snap the neck is calculated. During the 1870s, the ‘long drop’ was gradually introduced by gaols across Britain.
Why did the government use transportation?✈️🚎🚛
- Hanging was thought to be too extreme, an alternative was needed.
- It reduced the number of criminals in Britain.
- Australia was unknown it was thought that the
unknown would deter people. - It would help to claim Australia as part of her
empire. - Transportation would reform criminals. They
would have to work hard.
Transportation
1750 – People who did not deserve the death penalty were
Why did the government use transportation?
1750 – People who did not deserve the death penalty were transported to America and forced to work on plantations. In 1776 America gained independence so this was no longer possible. At first the government imprisoned people on ‘hulks’ but these were crowded and filthy and many people died of diseases such as dysentery and typhus.
The government began transporting people to Australia for a number of reasons: Australia was an unknown place on the other side of the world – being transported there may deter potential criminals. Transportation got rid of people from the ‘criminal classes’ and would therefore reduce crime. The convicts would provide the Labour needed to build Britain’s new territory. May 1787 – The first 11 ships, carrying 736 convicts set off for Australia. Eight months later they arrived in Botany Bay. 48 convicts died on the journey.
Between 1787 and 1868 around 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Transportation reached a peak in the 1830s when 5000 people a year were sent to the convic
Why did the government use transportation 📝
1750 – People who did not deserve the death penalty were transported to America and forced to work on plantations. In 1776 America gained independence so this was no longer possible. At first the government imprisoned people on ‘hulks’ but these were crowded and filthy and many people died of diseases such as dysentery and typhus.
The government began transporting people to Australia for a number of reasons: Australia was an unknown place on the other side of the world – being transported there may deter potential criminals. Transportation got rid of people from the ‘criminal classes’ and would therefore reduce crime. The convicts would provide the Labour needed to build Britain’s new territory. May 1787 – The first 11 ships, carrying 736 convicts set off for Australia. Eight months later they arrived in Botany Bay. 48 convicts died on the journey.
Between 1787 and 1868 around 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Transportation reached a peak in the 1830s when 5000 people a year were sent to the convic
The convict colony📝
80% of convicts had stolen food, clothing or items of small value. The average age of a prisoner was 26 although some were as young as 11.
All convicts who were transported received 7 years, 14 years or a lifetime of hard Labour. Convicts worked in gangs digging ditches, felling trees, planting crops, putting up buildings and constructing roads. They would often work with heavy chains around their ankles. At night they were locked up in convict barracks. Road-building gangs slept in prison huts on wheels which were dragged behind them as the roads were made. The colony was based on harsh punishment.
Convicts who broke the rules were given 25, 50 or 100 lashes. Some convicts tried to escape but few survived long in the harsh environment. Prisoners who had served their sentence usually worked for one of the free settlers. Few could ever afford the journey home.
1830s Criticisms of transportation: Conditions on the ships and in colonies was cruel and inhumane, it could be seen as a soft option as a new life could be started after, authorities in Australia complained about the dumping of criminals. 1840s onwards fewer convicts transported. Stops in 1868.
Was transportation a success or failure ?
Success or failure?
Costing £0.5 million a year
Courts were prepared to use this form of punishment Branded as ‘no more than a summer excursion’ Crime rate had not fallen in Britain
Many reformed criminals lived peacefully in Australia Australia was clearly part of the British Empire
Seen more as an opportunity rather than punishment Gold rush in Australia meant that people wanting to go
