Recent Times (c.1900 - present) Flashcards
1
Q
How has the standard of living changed since 1900, and what are 4 proofs of this?
A
- It has improved
- People are better housed, fed and clothed
- The welfare state keeps the most vulnerable people safe
- Absolute poverty has declined
- In the 1960s there were many changes in social attitudes
2
Q
List 5 reasons why the crime rate seems to have increased from 1900 up until the late 1990s.
A
- It has increased on its own
- It also appears to rapidly have increased as more people are willing to report crimes
- The police are more sympathetic, making it more likely for violent crimes and sexual offences to be reported
- By the 1950s more households had telephones, making it easier to report crime
- A lot of crimes used to be dealt with ‘informally’/off the record, but are now recorded consistently
3
Q
Describe acts on homosexuality, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 1967 Sexual Offences Act: decriminalised homosexuality for men over 21
- 2005 Criminal Justice Act: more severe sentences handed out for hate crimes
- Change
- A ‘sexual revolution’ took place in the 1960s; people had more liberal attitudes towards sex
4
Q
Describe acts on racial crimes, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 1968 Race Relations Act: criminalised refusing jobs, housing or public services due to ethnic background
- 2006 Race and Religious Hatred Act: criminalised spreading racial/religious hatred
- Change
- In the 1950s people from Commonwealth countries moved to Britain to work, and laws were needed for them to be treated fairly
5
Q
Describe acts on domestic violence, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 1976 Domestic Violence Act: victims of a violent partner could ask for an injunction (forbids an action/behaviour)
- 1991: rape within marriage recognised as a crime
- 2014: controlling/ coercive behaviour in a relationship was seen as a crime
- Change
- In the 1800s violence inside a marriage was seen as a private issue
- In the 1900s women had more rights and laws were passed to stop violence and intimidation in a marriage
- Even after that women were still expected to satisfy their husbands’ sexual demands
- 2 women in England and Wales are killed weekly by a current or previous partner
6
Q
Describe acts on abortion, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 1967 Abortion Act: legalised an abortion if: the child would have severe disabilities, or 2 independent doctors had agreed that the mother was at risk of serious mental/physical harm
- 1968: legal limit for abortion was 28 weeks as babies born before this could not survive
- Change
- Initially abortion was illegal except for few, strict medical reasons
- Women who wanted an abortion had to resort to dangerous ‘backstreet abortions’, or trying to abort the baby themselves
- Abortion was legalised due to health concerns and changing social attitudes
7
Q
Describe acts on driving offences, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 1925 Criminal Justice Act: made it illegal to drive a car while drunk
- 1967 Road Safety Act: set a maximum limit for the amount of alcohol a person could have in their bloodstream and drive
- Stopping dangerous driving: change
- Car theft: continuity in a new form
- By the 1930s cars were widespread and cheap, but very dangerous- drivers didn’t even need a licence
- 7343 people were killed on roads in 1934
- After 1935, tests, road tax, MOT and car insurance were required
8
Q
Describe acts on smuggling and drug offences, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 2015 Modern Slavery Act: allowed restrictions to be placed on those convicted (or waiting to be convicted) of modern slavery offences and other measures were introduced to stop modern slavery
- Smuggling and people trafficking: continuity
- In the 1800s poor girls were sold into prostitution
- Some immigrants pay to be smuggled into the country
- 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act: criminalised taking or supplying certain drugs
- Drug offences: change
- Better transport has made smuggling harder to prevent (millions travel by air, sea and land)
- The demand for illegal drugs has risen over the past 40 years
9
Q
Describe acts on terrorism, whether they’re a change or not, and an explanation why.
A
- 2000 Terrorism Act: first of a series of acts aimed at terrorism in general rather than that in Northern Ireland
- Continuity in a new form
- The Gunpowder Plot was also a plan to use violence, fear and intimidation to publicise a political cause
- In the 1970s and 80s the IRA used violence to campaign for Irish Nationalism
- Lately Al-Qaeda and Isis use terror in Europe
- Terrorists also use the internet to spread their message
10
Q
What type of crime is the biggest example of continuity but in a different form? Give 3 examples.
A
- Cybercrime
- Fraud, theft and extortion are all old crimes, but can now be done digitally
11
Q
What are 2 examples of social crimes in the 20th and 21st centuries?
A
- Drink driving and speeding were initially not taken seriously, even as late as the 1970s
- However government advertising campaigns have caused peoples’ attitudes to change
- Copyright theft has become extremely widespread in the 21st century as on the internet people have access to a huge selection of media quickly and easily
12
Q
When did Conscientious Objectors (COs) first appear and why?
A
- At the start of WW1 the government relied on volunteers to fight, and over 1 million signed up
- In March 1916 the Military Service Act introduced wide-scale conscription for the first time in Britain, as casualties were mounting as the war went on
- At first unmarried men between 18 and 41 had to go, then married men too (May 1916), and after that up to age 51 (1918)
- This meant that people who did not believe in this war (or war in general) did not get a choice
- Usually this was due to the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ in the Bible, but could also be as they felt the war was a fight between Europe’s ruling classes or strongly believed in individual liberty
- Out of the 2.5 million men conscripted, around 16,000 refused to fight as COs
13
Q
How could COs object to join the armed forces? What 2 types of COs were there?
A
- COs could appear before a tribunal (a special court) for a certificate of exemption
- Tribunals were usually extremely biased as they were made up of retired soldiers, used emotional manipulation, and greatly varied from area to area
- Absolutists (over 6000): refused to support the war even indirectly, as it meant the conflict could continue
- Alternativists: would support the war effort without joining the military or using a weapon (e.g. stretcher bearers, ambulance drivers)
14
Q
How were COs treated in WW1?
A
- COs were treated harshly by the government as they didn’t want pacifist ideas to spread
- Some absolutists were imprisoned to do hard labour for a long sentence, and 73 died as a result
- After the war COs couldn’t vote until 1926
- The press presented them as cowardly and unpatriotic
- Members of the public often had serving/dead family members, and felt that COs were unfairly shirking their responsibilities
- COs were sent hate mail and white feathers
15
Q
How were COs treated in WW2?
A
- The government tried to give alternative work such as farming or working in munitions factories
- Prison was used as a last resort
- Forcing COs to fight was hypocritical in WW2 as people were fighting against Hitler, a tyrant
- However COs were verbally and even physically attacked, and sacked
16
Q
List 4 areas in law enforcement in which science and technology were used by the police to be more effective.
A
- Detection
- Records
- Transport
- Communication
17
Q
How have detection methods developed to help the police?
A
- 1901: National Fingerprint System set up
- 1901: blood samples used
- 1988: first murder convictions based on DNA samples
18
Q
How have recording methods developed to help the police?
A
- 1900s: cameras used to record crime scenes
- 1980: Police National Computer launched, capable of holding the records of 25 million individuals
- 1995: National Automatic Fingerprint Identification System and National DNA Database set up to share information used to identify criminals
19
Q
How has the police’s use of transport developed?
A
- 1909: police bicycles introduced
- 1930s: cars and motorbikes
- Helicopters
20
Q
How have communication methods developed to help the police?
A
- 1930s: two-way radios introduced to police cars
- 1930s: 999 emergency number started
- All police officers now carry two-way radios
21
Q
Describe how the numbers of police officers have changed.
A
- March 2015: 126, 818
- First female officers appeared in 1920
- 7% (1977) to 28% (March 2015)
- Ethnic minorities: 1% (1989) to 5.5% (March 2015)
22
Q
How are police trained, and give 3 examples of areas of specialisation.
A
- Since 1947 new recruits have to go through 14 weeks of training at the National Police Training College
- Local forces’ specialists then train them further
- 1971: Metropolitan Police Bomb Squad
- 2013: National Crime Agency (drug trafficking/production)
- 1938: Dog Handling Units
- Sniff out drugs
- Find explosives
- Track and catch criminals
23
Q
List 2 ways that crime is prevented.
A
- Police Community Support Officers: work with police officers and have some of their responsibilities
- They work to cut down on the factors that lead to crime
- The Neighbourhood Watch was set up in 1982 and 3.8 million households are thought to take part
- It was introduced during a time of increasing crime to encourage vigilance and report crime trends
24
Q
List 5 steps that lead to the abolition of the death penalty.
A
- 1933: hanging of under-18s stopped
- 1956: abolition of death penalty passed but rejected by House of Lords
- 1957 Homicide Act: limits death sentence to 5 types of murder, known as ‘capital murders’
- 1965: death penalty abolished for most crimes
- 1998: death penalty fully abolished
25
Q
What was the story of Timothy Evans?
A
- Hanged in 1950 and posthumously pardoned in 1966
- Evans and his wife were lodgers in the house of John Christie, an undiscovered serial killer
- Christie killed Evans’ wife, faking the reason to be a failed abortion
- Evans guiltily confessed to murder, but afterwards changed his story several times
- He was found guilty and hanged
- In 1953 it was discovered that Christie was a serial killer, and that Evans had been innocent
- This was a ‘miscarriage of justice’
26
Q
What was the story of Derek Bentley?
A
- Hanged in 1953 and posthumously pardoned in 1998
- Bentley was 19, but with a mental age of 11
- He and Chris Craig (16) were robbing a warehouse when DS Fairfax arrested Bentley, who did not try to attack or escape him
- Craig shot DS Fairfax in the shoulder
- Later PC Sidney Miles climbed onto the roof, and Craig immediately shot and killed him
- Craig was too young to hang, but Bentley was found guilty and sentenced to death, although he hadn’t fired any shots or resisted arrest
27
Q
What was the story of Ruth Ellis?
A
- Hanged in 1955 and was the last woman to be hanged
- Ellis was guilty of a ‘crime of passion’; she had shot her abusive boyfriend who often beat her, and even caused her to miscarry
- Although she was obviously guilty, 50,000 signed a petition asking for leniency, which was ignored
28
Q
List 4 reasons for supporting the death penalty.
A
- It was a good deterrent
- Life imprisonment was more cruel in a way, and expensive
- Murderers could kill again once released
- It avenged the life of the victim
29
Q
List 5 reasons supporting the abolition of the death penalty.
A
- Other European countries had abolished the death penalty without an evident increase in crime
- High-profile cases such as that of Timothy Evans publicised miscarriages of justice
- Most murders occurred on the spur of the moment, meaning that deterrents were useless
- Execution was against the Christian idea of the sanctity of life
- Execution was seen as inhumane after the Holocaust
30
Q
List 6 changes to prisons since 1900.
A
- 1902: hard labour ended
- 1907: alternatives to prison used
1922: - Increased focus on prisoner welfare
- Solitary confinement ended
- Educational opportunities introduced, and teachers employed
- 1933: first open prison built to focus on life after sentence
31
Q
List 5 problems with prisons since 1947.
A
- An increased fear of crime caused an increase in the number imprisoned as: there has been an increase in the number of prison sentences handed out, their length and people awaiting trial in prison
- Reduced budgets have led to understaffing
- Prisons have been overcrowded every year since 1994
- Deaths in custody reached a record number in 2014
- In 2014 over 50% of prisons were deemed inadequate
32
Q
List 4 non-custodial alternatives. What is their purpose?
A
- Paying fines (offenders were given longer to pay in 1914)
1967: - Parole introduced; if they behaved well in prison, criminals were released earlier
- Suspended sentences introduced; as long as the offender did not re-offend, they were not sent to prison
- 1990s: electronic tagging introduced; the offender is restricted in their movements, has a curfew and can be tracked
- To encourage reform and rehabilitation
33
Q
List 4 schemes that were introduced in the 1900s to deal with young offenders.
A
- 1900: borstals introduced
- Borstals were for young convicts alone and were very disciplined, causing the reoffending rates to be 30% in the 1930s, compared to 60% nowadays
- 1948: detention centres introduced
- They were more relaxed than borstals
- 1948: attention centres used for young convicts who committed minor crimes
- They visited on the weekend instead of being detained
- 1982: youth detention centres introduced, with increased discipline to act as a deterrent
- Reoffending rates actually increased
