3. Methods Of Combatting Crime Flashcards
Who was responsible for enforcing law & order in medieval times?
Responsibility of each community (self policing)
In the medieval era, who was the judge/ jury, what crimes did each court deal with?
Royal court- King judged most serious crimes against king & state (treason) + oversaw when any of his noblemen on trial.
Jury made up of men from criminals home area.
Shire court- local Lord judged on the more serious crimes in the community e.g murder.
Hundred/private landowner/manor courts- petty local crimes, often a jury of local people supporting a local Lord or JP.
Church court- bishops&priests judged cases against the church or moral crimes like adultery & drunkeness. Never sentenced people to death
Advantages and disadvantages of the varied court system
Adv-Community&people +people who crime relates to have a say.
Disadv- unfair as not all crimes judged the same or at all.
What was a tithing& their role in hue & cry-what is it
Group of 10 families responsible for policing problems e.g disturbances, fire and wild animals.
Hue & cry raised by tithingman(leader of tithings) to pursue suspected offenders
Who was his sheriff and his posse
Royal official responsible for public order in his shire (county), could raise a posse (group of armed men) to capture criminals that had escaped the tithing.
How was law & order enforced in early modern era (16th&17th century)
Remained down to each community (self policing) but rise in civic responsibility & duty (as a citizen). Roles of lesser officers e.g parish Constable, night watchman and also JP came with greater responsibility and eventually burden.
How effective were the lesser officers?
Effective:
Parish Constable and watchmen served as front line of policing in their communities and did maintain low& order as well as act as a deterrent to crime.
Watchmen served as main law enforcement in growing towns and their presence provided eesssursnce residents needed.
Ineffective:
Unpaid work impacts both popularity and productivity of the individual in the role.
Few could perform their role properly and devote enough time as was done alongside their everyday paid work as a tradesman or farmer.
When they were paid a wage, too low to attract decent applicants so many were too lazy or old to perform role properly.
How was law & order enforced in industrial era, why did it change?
Policing structure of early modern period became increasingly strained. Civic roles such as lesser officers struggled to keep up with the changing world including rising population and rise in crime.
Various new methods were tried:
Thief takers, private bodice forces e.g bow street runners and eventual formation of a formal police force.
What were thief takers? We’re they effective
Individuals hired to capture criminals, newspapers reported crimes daily and they would go find the criminal and claim a reward.
Not really that effective, although captured criminals also allowed for extreme corruption & organised crime.
Who were the thief takers Jonathan wild and Charles hitchin
Wild worked for hitchin as a thief taker, grew his own organised crime empire. His gangs surveyed London as spies, reporting where riches were to plan robberies. Gov was angry with his corruption but struggled to arrest due to lack of evidence, finally arrested & hanged 1725.
Hitchin bought the position of under city Marshall for London. Policed cit6 for prostitution, vagrants and unlicensed tradesmen. Demanded bribes to prevent arrest, pressuring thieves to sell stolen goods through him+ negotiated fee with owner.
Why was there a need for the bow street runners (private police force), how did they work. How effective?
Thief takers were ineffective and contributed to rise in crime as corrupt criminals.
BSR set up in order to reduce crime, tried to prevent crime rather than dealing with it once committed. They established a newspaper called the public hue & cry, calling the public to help catch criminals.
Partially successful . V good at enforcing law & order but only worked in a small area.
When was the met established and why
1829, mps became convinced that an organised police force paid for by the government was needed in London. Each patrolled a section of the city.
What 3 acts were passed once the met was proved to be effective
Municipal corporations act 1835 allowed police forced to be set up in larger borough towns. By 1837, only 93/171 boroughs has organised a police force.
Rural police act 1839 enabled police forces to be set up in more rural areas do the country. Only 55 counties established own force
Therefore, the county and borough police act 1856 made it compulsory for all counties to establish own police forces
How did the police change in the modern Rees (20&21st centuries)
Number of police forces reduced from 200 in 1900 to 43 in 2000 I’m order to spread resources more effectively and be more cost effective.
Pay rose for police to attract wider range of applicants + trained at colleges set up in 1947.
Community policing given a boost through initiatives e.g neighbourhood watch schemes from 1982.
Women in the police force officially appointed in 1919.
Forensic science e.g dna & finger prints
