Crime and Punishment - Industrial, c.1700-1900 Flashcards
What were the main changes to crime in the period c.1700-1900?
- HIGHWAY ROBBERY (criminalised)
- POACHING (considered the “biggest problem” by the 1700s)
- SMUGGLING (seen as a “big problem” for the government c.1650-1780)
- THE TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS
- WITCHCRAFT laws are repealed in 1736
When could someone found disguised and armed in a road be punished? What punishment was this?
1722.
The person could be sentenced to capital punishment.
Reasons for the rise of highway robbery?
- There were many open roads with people travelling in personal coaches, leaving them alone and vulnerable.
- De-mobilised soldiers became highwaymen as they were unable to find work
- Horses became cheaper to buy and handguns easier to obtain.
- Highwaymen could hide their loot in taverns
- There was no police force and local constables wouldn’t follow highwaymen across the country
Reasons for the decline of highway robbery?
- The open land was built on and people travelled in stagecoaches, giving fewer opportunities to find vulnerable people. The roads also became much busier, making it difficult for highwaymen to get away with their crime
- JPs refused to give licences to taverns who harboured highwaymen
- Mounted patrols were set up across London to catch highwaymen
- People no longer carried large amounts of money as the number of banks increased
Who were the Bow Street Runners? When were they set up and by who?
The Bow Street Runners were a team of thief-takers who patrolled London.
Set up in 1749 by the Fielding brothers (John and Henry)
What was the Hue and Cry Magazine and when was it set up?
A magazine which shared information about criminals and stolen property. Set up in 1772
What police force was set up? When? Who was credited with setting it up?
London’s first police force.
1829.
Robert Peel
What was the difference between London’s first police force and the Metropolitan Police force? When did this happen?
The Metropolitan Police force was the merged force of the Bow Street Runners and all other policing groups.
This merging of forces occurred in 1839.
When did the Met set up the first detective force?
1842
When was the Police Act passed? What did it impose?
1856
All areas now had to have a centrally controlled, professional police force that would be inspected by government officials.
When was the CID set up? What does this stand for and what was it?
1878.
The Criminal Investigation Dept. This was a force of 200 detectives (800 by 1883) that employed new methods of detection like handwriting and fingerprint evidence.
What were the four reasons for the decline of the Bloody Code?
R - Robert Peel. This was the Home Secretary, and was against the use of capital punishment for minor crime. He instead worked on lowering crime rates by introducing an effective police force.
I - It didn’t work: (a) Juries didn’t convict, as they were unwilling to have death on their conscience. They even let some criminals off. (b) It pushed criminals further - if they knew they’d be hanged, they might kill any witnesses
P - Problems with public executions. Many saw them as holidays to party on (some factories even closed on execution days) as opposed to a lesson on how to behave - what the government wanted
E - Enlightenment. People realised that execution wasn’t working as a deterrent of crime
Why did poaching happen?
Some claimed they had a natural right to hunt; the laws were unfair. The law said you could only take game if you had land worth £100 per annum - only the rich could hunt
Some of the poor lost the ability to use the common land to keep animals after enclosure happened (when farmers put fences round land to keep sheep). They were therefore driven to hunt in order to feed their familie
Some hunted purely for profit, as a huge profit could be made on the black market as the demand for game grew. Gangs were an example of this
How was poaching dealt with?
The 1723 Waltham Black Act made hunting punishable by death. Anyone found armed would be assumed to be poaching and executed.
Possessing dogs or snares that could be used for hunting resulted in a 3 month prison sentence, or a fine
Why did smuggling increase?
The government imposed high taxes on foreign goods, in order to promote British produce. However, this just ended up increasing smuggling, as items smuggled and sold on the black market were much cheaper
What goods tended to be smuggled?
Tobacco (16th century)
Tea (17th century)
Spirits, wine, silk and lace
Who was involved in smuggling?
Farm labourers (they could earn 6 times their normal wage)
Those in an industry where seasonal unemployment was high (e.g. fishermen)
Gangs - e.g. the Hawkhurst gang
How was smuggling dealt with?
Whilst the punishment depended on the amount smuggled, capital punishment was often used as a deterrent
Customs officers were on the coast to try and catch smugglers
Eventually overcome when the government reduced import taxes, and used the army to catch smugglers
Which courts dealt with local minor crimes (e.g. public drunkenness)?
Manor courts
Which trial system was used in this period?
Trial by jury
What were Quarter Sessions?
Where Justices of the Peace would meet up four times a year to discuss more serious crime.
What were county assizes?
Courts held by royal judges to hear cases of serious crime.
What is a magistrate?
A judge who deals with minor offences
Who were the Tolpuddle Martyrs? When was their episode?
5 farm labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset
February 1834
Why were the Tolpuddle Martyrs arrested?
For ‘administering an illegal oath’ (an old law made to stop sailors in the Navy from mutinying)
In reality, they were arrested to stop their political activities - they’d formed a trade union to protest against their low wages
Why were the Tolpuddle Martyrs a threat to the government?
If the workers were given improved rights, too much power might be put into the hands of workers. Employers were worried that this’d threaten their business and harm their interests
How were the Tolpuddle Martyrs punished? How did the public react?
They were sentenced to 7 years’ transportation in Australia
However, after news of their sentence spread quickly, mass protests were organised, and a petition with 200 000 signatures handed to Parliament. They were only pardoned, however, after 4 years
Why did the use of transportation decline in this period?
GOLD - gold was discovered on the “Gold Coast” in 1851. People now actually wanted to go there to find their fortune; it was no longer punishment!
AUSTRALIA GREW INTO A UNIFIED COUNTRY - as the nation become more unified and stronger, they realised they neither needed nor wanted Britain to treat it as a dumping grouund
PRISONS - After the 1823 Gaol Act, prisons were run more efficiently, and were used more widely
MONEY - between 1810 and 1812, transportation cost the equivalent of £16 mn
Info about prisons?
Before the 18th century, prison was rarely used as a punishment by itself - it was used more as a place for waiting for trial or execution
Many believed that prison was the suitable alternative, after the decline of the Bloody Code
Prisons would help punish criminals and act as a deterrent, whilst rehabilitating criminals. But the conditions were extremely poor (poor quality food, disease was common) and prisoners would have to perform hard labour
Info on Elizabeth Fry?
Quaker
Visited Newgate prison in 1813 and was shocked - women and children were living alongside hardened criminals
She encouraged rehabilitation by teaching sewing and Bible classes, as well as organising education
She set up a campaign group for better conditions at Newgate, which led to female wardens being employed to work with women/children
Info on Thomas Howard?
Outraged at conditions in the prisons he initially visited, as well as prisoners not being able to pay their release fee to leave once their sentence had been completed
Toured other prisons, and wrote a report in 1777 - ‘The State of Prisons’
He recommends clean, decent food and water, Christian teaching, private cells and wages for gaolers so they can’t take advantage of prisoners
1815
Gaolers paid out of taxes
1835
Prison inspectors appointed
1842
Pentonville is built
+ the Met set up the first detective force
1857
End of hulks (prison ships)
1864
Penal Servitude Act (prisoners should face the harshest punishment possible. Corporal punishment - beating - is reintroduced).
1877
The government took control over all prisons
What were the changes to punishment during this period?
The Bloody Code ends (1820s - 1830s)
Transportation begins and ends
Prisons start to be used as punishment (mid 1800s)
In terms of policing, what happened in 1869? What did this mean?
The first National Crime Records were set up.
This allowed the police force to communicate quickly an d effectively in order to share information
In the early 1800s, what methods of policing were used? Why were they ineffective?
Parish constables - only held the job for a year before someone else was elected. There was therefore no continuation of skills
Watchmen - poorly paid, therefore of ill-discipline and little use
Why do we see a police force being set up between 1700 and 1900?
80% of the population now lived in large cities, making it harder for citizens to catch criminals
Due to poverty, there was more petty crime such as pickpocketing
Between 1750 and 1900, the population had increased by 30 million people
There was a general dear that the people of England would riot (food prices and taxation were high after the French wars of 1810)
