Summary GCSE Edexcel History Crime and Punishment 1900- Present Notes
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Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History Crime and punishment through time, c1000-present Student Book
Concise summary notes of GCSE edexcel crime and punishment covering Crime, Punishment and Law enforcement between the years 1900-Present (Recent times) based on the Pearson textbook.
GCSE Edexcel History Crime and Punishment Whitechapel notes
GCSE Edexcel History Crime and Punishment Notes 1700-1900
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4.1 Crime and definitions of crime
Changing definitions of crime
th
In the 20 century, especially 1960s, was an era Homophobic crime
when there were many changes in social attitudes; -Up until 1967, homosexuality was illegal in the UK. In that year the
many activities that were formerly crimes were Sexual Offences Act decriminalised homosexuality for men over 21. -
decriminalised, while some activities were newly There were liberal attitudes towards sex in the 1960s. These
defined as crimes. attitudes had an impact on how laws changed.
-In the 21st century, the Criminal Justice Act (2005) gave courts new
powers to issues more severe sentences for hate crime including
homophobic crimes.
-This law meant that attacking a gay person would be classed as a
hate crime and treated more seriously by the authorities than a
normal crime.
Hate crime= A crime motivated by prejudice against the victim’s race,
gender, disability or sexual orientation.
Homophobic= Prejudice against people who are gay.
Race crime
-In the 1950s, many people from Commonwealth countries (former
colonies of the British Empire) moves to Britain to work.
-As Britain became more multicultural, some new laws were needed
to ensure that people from minority groups were treated fairly.
-In 1968, the Race Relations Act made it illegal to refuse jobs, housing,
or public services to anyone on the basis of their race, ethnic
background or country of origin.
-In 2006, the law was extended to define spreading racial or religious
hatred as a crime.
Domestic violence Abortion
-During the 20th century, new laws were created to tackle -When there is a range of views in society, and different
violence and intimidation between people who were, or had opinions about whether the law should change or stay the
been, in a relationship. same, changes to the law can be controversial.
-In the 19th century, the common view in society was that men -Terminating a pregnancy was illegal in Britain until 1967, but
were the dominant partners in relationships. If there were there were exceptions for medical reasons. For instance, if the
violent towards their partners that was their personal business mother is likely to die as a result.
and authorities did not interfere. -Some women would resort to ‘backsteet abortion’ which was
-These attitudes changed. The campaign for women’s votes at dangerous as it was carried out by someone without proper
the beginning of the 20th century, women’s contribution to medical training.
WW1 and 2, and campaigns for equal rights for women, all -Some women would try to end pregnancies themselves, with
influences the views of society. alcohol or poisons which could lead to their deaths.
-New laws were passed that made violence and abusive -Growing liberalisation attitudes in the 1960s led to protests
behaviour in relationships a crime: from some people that the law should be changed. These
The Domestic Violence Act was passed in 1976. It gave protests combined with health concerns, resulted in MPs
victims the right to ask for an injunction against a changing the law.
violent partner. -The 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion if conditions were
In the past authorities had been reluctant to criminalise met:
rape within marriage. But, in 1991, the law in Britain The child was going to have serious disabilities
recognised rape in marriage. The mother was at risk of serious physical or mental
In 2014, the law changes to make controlling and harm if the pregnancy continued
coercive behaviour (using force or threats) towards a -In 1968, the legal limit for abortion was 28 weeks, as babies
partner a crime. Including: telling a partner who they born earlier did not survive outside the womb. However, with
can see, what they can wear, stopping access to money advances in medicine, the limit has been lowered over time.
and controlling when they leave home. -However, many people still believe that abortion should be
illegal in most cases- and both sides of the debate remain
Despite these laws, two women in England and Wales a week strong even today.
are killed by their current or former partner.
, Attitudes towards social crimes Driving offences
‘Social crimes’ are crimes that many people in -Society’s attitudes about the seriousness of a crime can sometimes
society accept to some degree. For instance, tax change over time. Drink driving and speeding are examples of this.
evasion, using illegal drugs, copyright theft and -In 1872, driving a horse-drawn coach while drunk became illegal.
minor driving offences. Smuggling and poaching -In 1925, it became illegal to drive a car while drunk.
are examples of social crimes which have existed -In 1967, a new law set a maximum limit for the amount of alcohol a
for many years. person could have in their bloodstream and legally drive. Despite these
laws, it was considered normal to drunk drive, as late as the 1970s.
An example is copyright. Lots of people download -Attitudes have changes considerably as awareness has grown because
music, games and films from the internet although of the highlighted risks of drink-driving. Today, drink-driving is generally
they are subject to copyright laws. It is difficult to condemned by the public.
enforce laws when they are not supported by -Attitudes towards speeding have also changes over time. Government
society, because often offenders are not reported. advertising the dangers of speeding, have played a part in making
speeding less acceptable to the general public.
Drug-taking
-Many drugs first became illegal in 1971 when the
Misuse of Drugs Act was passed.
-The legalisation of some classes of drugs is a
New opportunities for old crimes
controversial issue. Some people argue that taking
a drug should be a personal choice as long as it Crimes may appear to be new but are actually older crimes that
does not harm others. are carried out using different means.
-Others argue legalisation is needed to help tackle
crimes associated with illegal drug-dealing, Terrorism
including sex trafficking and gang-related violence. -Terrorism is the use of violence, fear and intimidation to publicise a
political cause. Terrorists want to recruit others who are sympathetic to
their cause and intimidate those who do not share their views.
People-trafficking -In the 17th century, the Gunpowder plotters challenged the power and
-This involves people from poorer countries being authority of the state using violence. The plot to blow up parliament with
brought to the UK and being forced to work for explosives would be describes as terrorism
very low wages, or no wages at all. -In the 20th century, various terrorist organisations have operated in the UK
-Some women and children are forced into -In the 1970s and 80s, the best-known group was the IRA (Irish Republican
prostitution Army), which used violence to campaign for Irish nationalism,
-Often criminal gangs control these people using independence from the rest of the Uk.
physical confinement, blackmail, coercion and -In recent years, the prevention of terrorism has focused on Al-Qaeda and
fear. Isis which have been responsible for acts of terror in Europe
-This is not a new crime. In the 19th century poor -Modern-day terrorists use the internet to communicate and spread their
girls were sold into prostitution. message.
Copyright theft
Cybercrime
-Copyright is the right of an artist or company to be recognised
Is any crime that is carried out using the internet and
and paid. Copyright applies to books, music, films and games.
other digital technologies. New technologies allow
-Earlier in the 20th century, before computer tech was
criminal to commit crimes on a much bigger scale than in
widespread, copyright theft could involve making a photocopy, or
the past. Sometimes the crimes are on a global scale.
a video recording without paying the creator.
-In the 21st century, copyright theft is committed when people
Fraud make available illegal downloads of music and films.
-Fraud means impersonating other people or -The internet make is much easier for people to access a huge
businesses to make money illegally. selection of media more quickly and easily than ever before.
-In the past, this was done by approaching a person
and tricking them into revealing their details Extortion
-Today, it can be done by sending an email to a large -Extortion involves making someone pay money by
number of people and hoping a few will reply with using threats or blackmail
their bank or credit card details. -In the past, this could have been done using
- The crime of fraud is mostly the same, but the letters, the telephone or in person
methods used to carry it out have changed. -Today, the internet enables criminals to make
threats on a wider scale
-Some criminals extort money by threatening to
hack businesses’ computer systems and databases
unless they pay.
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