Social construction of criminality: time

Question 1

What are the changes over time for homosexuality?

Answer 1

Made a crime in 1885 – legalised at 21 in 1967 in England and Wales, 18 in 1994 and16 in 2000

Question 2

What was one reason for the changes to homosexuality?

Answer 2

Wolfend report: recommended that private acts over 21 be legalised in 1957

Question 3

What is another reason for the changes to homosexuality?

Answer 3

Campaigns: successful campaigns by Homosexual Law Reform Society, Stonewall and Campaign for Homosexual Equality

Question 4

What is a third reason for the changes to homosexuality?

Answer 4

Politicians: Roy Jenkins, Home Secretary, and others supported campaigns for change

Question 5

What is a fourth reason for the changes to homosexuality?

Answer 5

Human rights: belief that the state has no right to control citizen’s private lives

Question 6

What are the changes over time for physical punishment?

Answer 6

Death penalty offences reduced until it remained for just murder and treason, Capital punishment abolished in 1965, corporal punishment abolished in 1967

Question 7

What is one reason for the changes to physical punishment?

Answer 7

Human rights: capital punishment is a breach of the right to life

Question 8

What is another reason for the changes to physical punishment?

Answer 8

Miscarriages of justice: if a person is wrongly found guilty and executed, nothing can be done to correct it

Question 9

What is a third reason for the changes to physical punishment?

Answer 9

Not a deterrent: most murders are committed in the heat of the moment without thought of possible punishment

Question 10

What is a fourth reason for the changes to physical punishment?

Answer 10

Decline in violence?: Norbert Elias argues society has undergone a civilising process in the last 500 years – physical punishment has been replaced by self-control

Question 11

What are the changes over time for drug laws?

Answer 11

From 2001 possession became a civil offence if quantity less than 10 day personal supply in Portugal

Question 12

What is one reason for the changes to drug laws?

Answer 12

Revolution: in 1975 changed from dictatorship to democracy – increased openness led to influx of drugs

Question 13

What is another reason for the changes to drug laws?

Answer 13

Public health: state sees drug use as a public health issue and focuses on harm reduction

Question 14

What is a third reason for the changes to drug laws?

Answer 14

Scale of the problem: sudden and rapid growth in the problem since 1975 – 1/100 of population addicted by the 1990’s

Question 15

What is a fourth reason for the changes to drug laws?

Answer 15

Economy: belief that new law would reduce costs of drug use by 18%

Question 16

What are the changes over time for gun control laws?

Answer 16

Following Hungerford shooting in 1987 and Dunblane in 1996 laws governing access to firearms were tightened. All handguns are now banned in UK

Question 17

What is one reason for the changes to gun control laws?

Answer 17

GCN campaigns: set up by lawyers, academics, and parents of victims to campaign or tighter gun control laws

Question 18

What is another reason for the changes to gun control laws?

Answer 18

Snowdrop campaign: started by bereaved Dunblane parents and their friends, organised a petition and collected 750000 signatures calling for a change in the law

Question 19

What are the changes over time for laws relating to children?

Answer 19

Children today are seen as innocent and needing protection but they used to be treated the same as adults in work and by the law

Question 20

What were the laws relating to children and work?

Answer 20

In 19th century young children worked – a series of Factory Acts gradually excluded them from the workplace

Question 21

What were the laws relating to compulsory schooling?

Answer 21

Introduced in 1880 ensured basic education and kept children out of the workplace

Question 22

What were the laws relating to child protection and welfare?

Answer 22

2004 Children Act made child’s
welfare fundamental principle
underpinning the work of social
services

Question 23

What were the laws relating to children’s rights?

Answer 23

Parent now have responsibilities
rather than rights – UN convention on the child lays down basic rights for children

Question 24

What were the laws and policies that only apply to
children?

Answer 24

Such as minimum ages for a wide range of activities from sex to smoking reinforce the idea that children are different to adults and subject to different rules