Modern Flashcards
1
Q
What is Modern Britain like?
A
- By 2011, over 80% of the population lived in cities or large towns. For much of the 1900s, the poor lived in large estates in the centre of towns or cities and the rich and middle classes lived away from the city in suburbs.
- In 1948 Declaration of Human Rights protected people from discrimination and ill-treatment.
- The ‘welfare state’ began to emerge in 1906 and led to government intervention in the lived of the vulnerable.
- After the economic struggles of the first part of the 1900s, post-war Britain prospered. Britain became a consumer society (buying and selling goods is a key activity), with many people owning their own homes.
- Fewer people attended church as the 1900s progressed, with only 10% attending in 2000. New approaches to explaining human nature came from psychologists such as Sigmund Freud.
- Developments in science and technology transformed medicine, transport and people’s home lives.
- By 1928, every adult could vote.
- Immigration led to greater diversity and increased tensions.
- Changes in education, women’s rights and attitudes towards children outside marriage led to social improvements.
2
Q
What were the 1920-1955 economic problems that led to crime?
A
- There are problems with crime statistics in this problem, as in others: some crimes weren’t reported while some crimes were reported more than others.
- Some offences were no longer crimes, some new crimes were created and the systems for recording crime changed.
- We do know that economic problems in the 1920s and 1930s led to increased crime rates.
- Crime rates also rose steeply during WW2, during air raids, when criminals looted from homes, shops and even dead bodies. Stolen goods were often sold on the black market.
3
Q
What laws help reduce crime rates?
A
- On 28 January 1897, Mr Arnold became the first person to be caught driving over the speed limit after he passed a policeman while going at 8mph when the limit was 2mph.
- Subsequently laws included a limit on the amount of alcohol allowed in a driver’s bloodstream (1967), the compulsory wearing of seatbelts (1991) and the introduction of fixed roadside camera’s to capture speeding (1992).
- Road deaths have fallen since the 1960s and car thefts have reduced since 1990s with improved car security.
- Football hooliganism reached a peak in the 1970s and the 1980s which led to changes in security at matches.
- The introduction of CCTV in the late 1980s, crowd control and high ticket prices have led to a reduction in football-related violence in and around stadiums.
4
Q
What were the new crimes?
A
- Increased immigration to Britain after WW2 led to clashes and violence between different groups.
- Drug taking became a problem in the 1960s.
- In 1998 and 2003, a new category of offence known as a ‘hate crime’ was introduced, which gave greater protection to victims of crime based on their race, gender, religion or disability.
- The emergence of the internet in the 1990s led to new types of crime including illegal downloading, phishing and cyber criminals hacking big businesses.
- In 2015, cyber crime was included in Britains national crime statistics for the first time which meany the crime rate doubled on the previous year.
5
Q
How did the government try to reduce crimes?
A
- The government introduced new laws to tackle discrimination, such as the Race relations Act of 1965, 1968 and 1976.
- The case of Stephen Lawrence, murdered in Eltham on 22 April 1993, led to changes in Britains approach to race related crimes, although it took 19 years for changes to happen.
- Despite Parliament’s attempt to deal with the problem in 1971 by listing illegal drugs according to categories (A, B and C) and ensuring class A drugs carried the harshest penalties, the ‘war on drugs’ has continued.
- Governments today struggle to keep up with the invention of new chemical mixtures known as ‘legal highs’.
6
Q
How did the views on police change?
A
- From 1955 to 1976, the TV drama Dixon of Dock Green reflected public affection for the police.
- Yet in 2005, only 58% of the population said they trusted the police.
- Changing attitudes could be the result of fewer police on foot, as officers today such as speeding.
- Some resent the police for punishing them for what they see as petty driving offences such as speeding.
- Police are also criticised for their use if force when controlling large crowds.
- Police corruption, such as in the Hillsborough football disaster (1989), also caused people to disrupt the police.
7
Q
How did police force develop?
A
- In 1900, officers were poor, working-class men with little training or education. Today, male and female officers receive starter training from the National Police Training College (set up in 1947).
- Since 1900, forensic science, predicting and investigating terrorist attacks and investigating complex ‘white collar’ fraud are all included in police work.
- From 1964, the 200 separate police forces of Britain were merged. There are now only 43. Since 2013, Scotland has just one national police force.
- The modern police force keeps the community aspect of policing alive by visiting schools and encouraging neighbourhood watch schemes.
- The policeman’s truncheon is now aided by pepper sprays and tasers; only about 5% of officers ate qualified to use firearms.
- Police officers continue to carry out a range of work: a survey from 1993 showed that only 18% of calls were crime related.
8
Q
What were new technological advances?
A
- The discovery of blood groups in 1901 enabled the police to narrow down suspects.
- In 1902, fingerprints were first used to identify suspects.
- In 1984, it was discovered that each persons DNA is unique, but as it can be contaminated, it isn’t always a guarantee that the crime will be solved.
9
Q
How did police communication, data storage and surveillance improve due to technology?
A
- Police telephone boxes appeared in Glasgow in 1891 and London in 1929, enabling the police to call for help.
- Radio systems were installed in patrol cars in the mid-1960s and portable radios were first used in 1969.
- Computers store huge amounts of data, which the police can access when at a crime scene.
- CCTV is central to police investigations (as well as cameras in cars, on drones and on officers uniforms).
- Monitoring of emails, text messages and internet usage had also increased.
10
Q
What changes were made to the court system?
A
- The Courts Act (1971) replaced the assizes, the quarter sessions and other ancient local courts with the new Crown Court, where judges hear the most serious case.
- Less serious cases are tried in magistrate courts.
- The workings of all the courts are organised by the government under the Ministry of Justice, as the system of local courts has become more of a national system.
- However, this only covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems.
- From 1986, the Crown Prosecution Service took on the responsibility of bringing trials to court. This had previously been done by the police.
11
Q
How did the the roles of women, juries and juvenile court change?
A
- Following the Sex Disqualification Removal Act (1919), women took their place on juries.
- In 1920, Ada Summers became the first JP.
- Psychologists argued that the best way to improve society was to improve care for young people. Juvenile courts were introduced in 1908 to try children aged 7-16.
- Juries now reflect the breadth of British society as since 1974 there have been no property restrictions on who can sit on a jury.
- Recently, the government had tried to reduce the number of trials by jury as they’re expensive.
- The internet can cause problems in trials by jury if jurors are tempted to look up the case online.
12
Q
What happened to corporal punishment?
A
- In 1900, corporal punishment was widely used; many argued that it was quick, cheap and an effective deterrent; mole liberal-minded people argued that it was preferable to a brutal prison sentence.
- There were also special restraining birching benches, which had been introduced to hold the offender in place during whipping.
- However, corporal punishment ended for young offenders in 1933, ended for a punishment for all offenders in 1947 and ended as a punishment for prisoners who misbehaved in 1962.
13
Q
What happened to Capital Punishment?
A
- Capital punishment was ended in stages, beginning in 1908 with the abolition of execution for anyone under 16.
- In 1953, there was a public outcry after the hanging of Derek Bentley, a 19 year old who had a mental age of 10.
- This led to the abolition of the Death penalty Act in 1965, followed by the permanent abolition of the death penalty got all murderers in 1969.
- Arguments for the death penalty include: it is a powerful deterrent, it brings peace to the victims families, and the British justice system can be trusted to convict the right criminal.
- Arguments against the death penalty include that most murders are committed in the heat of the moment and therefore deterrents won’t work.
- In 2012, it was found that over 60% of the British public favour the reintroduction of hanging but MPs don’t want it brought back.
14
Q
What were reformers beliefs?
A
- Rehabilitation became a more popular way to deal with criminals in the 1900s.
- In 1902, the first borstal was opened: this was a separate prison for offenders under the age of 21, where they were educated and trained in skills.
- In 1988, borstals were replaced by young offender institutions for offenders between 18 and 20. Offenders between 10 and 17 are kept in secure children’s homes, where they also receive education and support.
- In 1908, children aged 7 and above were to be held accountable for committing a crime. Nowadays this is age 10 and above.
- Between 1979 and 1990, young offenders were subjected to a ‘short, sharp shock’ treatment to stop them reoffending. Since then, the focus has been on education.
- In 1896, Broadmoor Hospital was set up as a separate prison for mentally ill offenders.
15
Q
What are prison problems?
A
- Alexander Paterson was responsible for changes between 1922-1947, including a relaxation of the silent system and more meaningful paid prison work.
- Paterson included a clause in the Criminal Justice Act (1948) which stated that a prisoner could be kept for longer than their original sentence if they posed a danger to the public.
- There has been a rise in prison populations since 1940: many more prisoners receive short sentences; some criminals can’t pay the fines so have to go to prison; people awaiting trial spend months in prison.
- Prisons are now very overcrowded: in 1990, a 25-day riot in Strangeways Prison led to 2 deaths.
- The government built 25 new prisons between 1985 and 2006 and allowed low-risk prisons to be run by private firms to cut costs.
