Causes of crime

Question 1

Cause of crime in medieval England

Answer 1

Poverty
Increase in trade and business
Access to dangerous weapons

Question 2

Causes of poverty in medieval times

Answer 2

Great famine due to poor harvests
Black Death causing deserted villages + poor harvests
Warfare meant increased taxes and loose soldiers
High taxes meant people couldn’t afford to pay

Question 3

How does poverty cause crime in medieval England

Answer 3

People are more desperate and steal to survive
Demobbed soldiers stole
More villages deserted meant more opportunity for theft by hiding
= more petty theft

Question 4

How does an increase in trade and business cause crime in medieval England?

Answer 4

More roads for merchants used
Also more deserted villages due to disease allowed robbers to use houses as a base to attack unsuspecting merchants
= more highway crime

Question 5

How does an access to dangerous weapons cause an increase crime in medieval England?

Answer 5

More murder no shit
20% all crimes in early 1300s = murder
More able to threaten people in armed robberies

Question 6

Peasants revolt in medieval times

Answer 6

As a result of high poll tax (tax that doesn’t change based on income)
Peasants had a violent revolt also due to more dangerous weapons

Question 7

Causes of crime in early modern England

Answer 7

Poverty
Religion

Question 8

Causes of poverty in early modern era?

Answer 8

Rising food prices
Overpopulation
Unemployment
Homelessness
Less poor relief

Question 9

What causes a rise in food prices in early modern era?

Answer 9

Bad harvests caused a large rise in food prices
Which wages couldn’t keep up with = inflation

Question 10

What causes unemployment in early modern era?

Answer 10

Dissolution of monasteries = monks unemployed
Change in farming methods = people keep sheep rather than crops as it’s more profitable but that means less farmers employed
Cloth industry meant many workers out of work

Question 11

What causes homelessness in early modern era?

Answer 11

Rack renting meant extortionate rent prices as landlords raised prices following inflation
Unemployment and rising prices meant more vagrants

Question 12

How does an increase in poverty cause crime in early modern era?

Answer 12

Laws meant simply being homeless and begging was a crime
Caused more desperation as people stole for food

Question 13

Treason laws in early modern era

Answer 13

Henry Viii said all these = treason:
Wrote about him his family/divorce
Supported pope
Said beliefs against the king
Said king misused power
Kept silent when questioned on authority of the King

Question 14

Religious turmoil in early modern era

Answer 14

Changing monarchs and laws meant those unwilling to adapt to the religious changes could be a heretic
Eg Henry Viii’s treason laws
Remained a Protestant under Mary’s reign
Didn’t agree with Elizabeth’s religious settlement

Question 15

How did religion cause crime in early modern era?

Answer 15

Many accused of being a heretic if they broke specific laws under the different monarchs
As this changing from extremes wasn’t accepted by some they broke treason laws = increase in heretics

Question 16

What caused an increase in crime in industrial era?

Answer 16

Poverty/ poor living conditions
Increased population rapidly
Political unrest
Industrialisation and urbanisation
Economic problems

Question 17

Industrialisation

Answer 17

The change from traditional agriculture to machinery and factories

Question 18

Urbanisation

Answer 18

Expanding city areas

Question 19

What caused people to move away from the country side during the industrial era?

Answer 19

Overpopulation there
Caused a shortage of farming jobs
Income relied on the seasons = not consistent
Poor harvests caused starvation

Question 20

What caused people to move to cities during the industrial era?

Answer 20

More workers were wanted in factories and mines
Houses were close to workplace
More reliable income than agriculture
Jobs for everyone, also children
If one family member moved the rest would

Question 21

How did urbanisation cause crime in industrial era?

Answer 21

Caused overcrowded cities
Which meant many lived in squalor in packed neighbourhoods
The poverty meant more were desperate
Criminals could escape through the narrow alleyways
Less people knew each other = got away with it easier

Question 22

How did industrialisation cause crime in industrial era?

Answer 22

Workers felt they were being replaced by machines so began holding protests
Which involved vandalism/ riots

Question 23

How did economic problems in the industrial era cause crime?

Answer 23

Demobbed soldiers from napoleonic wars were laid off = poverty = desperation = crime
Bad harvests and food shortages = poverty

Question 24

Why did crime increase in contemporary England?

Answer 24

Ownership of cars
Invention of new technology
Popularity of football
Drugs like cocaine now illegal
Joining gangs = knife crime
New motivation for terror offensives

Question 25

How did car ownership cause crime in contemporary England?

Answer 25

Caused a new type of crime that’s as common
Eg carjacking
Joyriding
60% of all crimes involve this

Question 26

How did new technology cause crime in contemporary England?

Answer 26

Invented cyber crime
More scams, phishing, cyber terrorism, hacking
More connections motivated terrorists as it meant their cause would get more attention

Question 27

How did popularity in football increase crime in contemporary England?

Answer 27

Gangs of rival football teams began to attack each other and riot against the police

Question 28

How did changes in drug laws cause crime in contemporary England?

Answer 28

Certain drugs became illegal
So increase in smuggling and dealing
Also addicts more likely to commit crimes like stealing to feed the addiction

Question 29

How did gangs increase crime in contemporary England?

Answer 29

More joining due to:
Poverty
Sense of belonging
Family problems
Which caused knife crime and turf wars

Question 30

What is a continuous cause of crime in all eras?

Answer 30

Poverty

Question 31

What was a continuous case of crime between industrial and contemporary era?

Answer 31

Housing problems and inner city areas were perfect places for crime

Question 32

What was a continuous cause of crime between medieval England, early modern England, and industrial England?

Answer 32

Demobbed soldiers experiencing poverty turn to crime out of desperation