Crime and Punishment(3)
1750-1900
During this period there was considerable change in punishment and
policing :
 Bloody Code was swept away by 1850 – only treason & murder remained
as capital crimes. Public executions ended and transportation finished
too.
 Prison became the most common punishment
 Professional police forces were set up
Why did these changes take place?
 The work of reformers such as Elizabeth Fry and Sir Samuel Romilly
 Changing attitudes to the Bloody Code and punishment in general
 The role of government – increasing intervention and greater wealth
Changes during the Industrial Revolution made life very different:
 Population in 1750 was 9.5 million, in villages throughout the country
 By 1900 population was 41.5 million – now mainly living in towns.
Conditions for many were awful!
 Wealth in the country increased – government able to collect higher
taxes which meant more reforms
 In 1750 only 1 in 8 men could vote – by 1885 nearly all men could vote –
governments now had to improve conditions to win votes from the
working classes
 In 1750 farming was main occupation – by 1900 most people were
working in factories or workshops
 By 1900 95% of the population could read or write
 People began to accept that the government should be involved in
improving people’s lives
The End of the Bloody Code – why?
 Public executions not working – idea was to act as deterrent. Instead
crowds grew larger, people laughed and joked while executions were
being carried out.
 Juries were refusing to find people guilty because the punishments
were so severe – system was not protecting the property of the
wealthy & middle classes
 Ideas about punishment were changing – perhaps criminals could be
reformed
Transportation to Australia was introduced in the 1790s.
 It was an acceptable alternative to execution – cheaper than
imprisonment and more severe than whipping
 Nobody knew anything about Australia – perhaps it would be a major
deterrent
 Crime in Britain would be reduced
 Britain could claim Australia as part of her Empire
 Transportation would reform criminals
Changes in prisons
In the 1700s conditions in English prisons were appalling:
 Prisoners had to pay for their food and lodgings – sometimes they could
not afford to pay what they owned to the gaoler even though they have
served their sentence!
 First time criminals were mixed in with serious criminals
 The cells were tiny, overcrowded and filthy
 Men, women & children were kept together in the same cells
 Some prisoners were kept in old ships called hulks – in 1840 over 70%
of prisoners were kept in them. One in three prisoners died because of
the conditions
Thanks to work by people like Elizabeth Fry & Romilly conditions changed.
It was felt that criminals could be reformed rather than simply just
punished. 3 main issues were now under debate:
a) Should prisoners be silent, separate or be allowed to mix?
b) Should the work they do be worthwhile or pointless?
c) Should the well-behaved and cooperative prisoners be allowed time
off for good behaviour?
New Policing
 Old system of policing continued in the 1700s – constables &
watchmen – not very effective
 Problem more acute in London because of the size of the population
 The Fielding brothers set up the Bow Street Runners –n a team of
thief-takers who patrolled the streets of London at night
 A civilian horse patrol set up to stop highwaymen
 Despite the work of the Fieldings, there was no coordinated control
of the various law keeping groups. There was a lot of opposition from
the people who feared that they would lose their freedom
 1829 Sir Robert Peel (Home Secretary) passed the Metropolitan
Police Act – 3,200 men recruited
 ‘Peelers’ wore uniforms and were lightly armed (to be different from
the Army)
 Many were ex-army (sergeants)
 It took a long time for the police to win the support and the
sympathy of the public