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Period: 800 to 1215
Trial by Ordeal
Innocent of guilty supposedly decided by God. Included: trial by hot iron, trial by hot water, trial by cold water, trial by consecrated bread (priests only). -
1000
England population 1,700,000 - 2,000,000
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Period: 1000 to 1500
Medieval England
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1066
Murdrum
Anglo-Saxon Weirgild of paying money to wounded or their family but now all money payed to King and law only applies if Saxon kills Norman. -
1066
Trial by Combat introduced
Fight to the death or one yields. Loser if not already dead is killed. -
1066
Church courts set up
dealt with moral crimes -
1066
William I crowned King of England
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Period: 1066 to 1087
William takes control of England
Many Saxon uprisings so William was brutal, causing 100,000 to die of starvation. -
Period: 1066 to 1536
Sanctuary
church can shelter criminal for 40 days and then they either have to go to court or leave country. Henry VIII ended -
1072
Forest Laws introduced
30% of England’s forests were now property of the King and could not be used for hunting, scavenging or as a source of wood. However many people saw this as a social crime so everyday people didn’t care if others disobeyed it. -
1164
Constitutions of Clarendon
Introduce by Henry II, they aimed to limit ecclesiastical privilege and curb the power of the Church courts and the influence of the papacy in England. -
1194
Coroners introduced
To investigate suspicious deaths -
1195
Knights as ‘keepers of the kings peace’
By Richard I in areas where it was hard to keep law and order. -
1215
Pope ordered priests to stop helping to organise trial by ordeal
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1284
Hung, Drawn and Quartered for high treason
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Period: 1290 to 1300
English Jews forced to convert to Christianity or banished
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Period: 1320 to 1340
Folville Gang (inspired for Robin Hood)
Up to 50 outlaws who carried out serious crimes led by Eustace Folville who’s dad was a Lord of the Manor. -
1327
‘Keepers of kings peace’ everywhere
By Edward III. They were men that were ‘good’. -
1348
Black Death
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1351
Statue of Labourers
Now a max wage for workers and a crime to ask for more. Illegal to move elsewhere for better work. -
1361
‘Keepers of kings peace’ rebranded ‘Justices of the Peace (JPs)’
meet 4x a year to carry out magistrate duties and enforce law -
1382
Heresy made a crime
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1401
Heretics now burnt at the stake
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1414
Justices of Peace can arrest heretics
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1495
Vagabonds and Beggars Act
idle people put in stocks and sent back to place of birth -
1500
Population 2.5 million
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Period: 1500 to
Early Modern England
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1517
Martin Luther protests against Catholic Church
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1534
Henry VIII starts CofE
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1542
Witchcraft Act
Witchcraft capital crime -
Period: 1542 to
1000 people executed for witchcraft
90% of the accused were women -
Period: 1547 to 1550
Vagrancy Act
able-bodied vagabond branded with a v and sold as slave for 2 years -
Period: 1553 to 1558
Mary I reign when 283 people burned for heresy
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1556
Bridewell Prison opened
First house of correction used to punish poor people who broke the law and house poor homeless children. Inmates did hard labour to pay for their keep. Inspired further similar prisons to be built. -
1559
Act of Uniformity
everyone to church on Sundays and holy days else pay a fine and prosecuted if repeated -
1559
Act of Supremacy
if you didn’t swear oath of supremacy it was a crime -
1559
Harsh heresy laws from Mary I repealed
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1563
Act against conjurations, enchantments and witchcraft
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1570
Elizabeth excommunicated
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Act for Relief of the Poor
sorts poor people into deserving or undeserving with undeserving whipped and burnt on the ear -
James I publishes ‘Daemonologie’
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Poor Law
sets up parish-based administration for organising poor relief with a house of correction set up in each county -
Witchcraft Act
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Gunpowder Plotters meet to start discussing plans
Rent a house next to parliament building and a cellar under the House of Lords and fill it with 36 barrels of gunpowder -
Thanksgiving Act
events of 5/11 to be commemorated each year. Catholics banned from: working in law, becoming officers in armed forces, voting, becoming MPs or owning land. -
Lord Monteagle receives letter warning not to go to opening of parliament
passed letter on to Robert Cecil, spymaster -
Gunpowder Plot busted
Guy Fawkes tried to light the barrels but was caught by Cecil -
Guy Fawkes confessed
he was tortured using the rack -
Popish Recusants Act
forced to swear loyalty to king and big fine for missing church -
Gunpowder Plotters trialed and sentenced to death
hanged, drawn and quartered and paraded up and down England -
Period: to
Transportation to America
alternative to death penalty and it helped to colonise America -
Period: to
Civil War
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Period: to
Matthew Hopkins as ‘Witchfinder general’
300 people investigated for witchcraft with 112 hanged. Died of TB -
Laws that all must go to church repealed
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Period: to
Cromwell in charge
Banned: Xmas, sport, alcohol -
Cromwell’s bans lifted
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Royal Society est.
brought together thinkers and scientists -
Game Act
Illegal to hunt rabbits and hares, and to fish in rivers or streams on enclosed land -
Period: to
Enlightenment
emphasis shifting to science rather than religion -
50 capital crimes
included poaching rabbits or fish -
Excise duty extended to salt, leather and soap
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Mounted customs officers introduced
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Population 5-6 million
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Period: to
Highway Robbery
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Stealing more than 40 shillings becomes capital
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Last recorded execution for witchcraft in England
Mary and Elizabeth Hicks hanged -
Period: to
Jonathan Wild - ‘Thief Taker General’
He led a gang of thieves who claimed rewards when they handed in stolen goods. He became a well-known figure but his criminal doings were discovered and he was executed in 1725. -
Black Act
poaching game or damaging forest a capital crime -
Witchcraft Act
‘Witches’ seen as confidence tricksters and punished with fines and imprisonment -
Period: to
Hawkhurst Gang operated
Large-scale smuggling gang. Leader Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingshill caught and hanged in 1748 and 1749 -
Fielding brothers est. Bow Street Runners
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Death penalty for anyone armed and in disguise on the road
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John Howard campaigns to make parliament release all prisoners who finish their sentence
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John Howard publishes ‘The State of Prisons in England and Wales’
info for other prison reformers -
Period: to
Transportation to Australia
160,000 people transported. 1/6 were women -
William Pitt lowers import duties
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Bow Street Runners payed by government as first detective force
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French Revolution
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Middlesex Justices Act
set up detective offices with 6 constables -
Elizabeth Fry visits Newgate prison
shocked by conditions -
Last hanging under Black Act
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Highway robbery less common
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Gaolers to be paid out of taxes
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225 capital crimes
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First national prison opens Millbank, London
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Elizabeth Fry sets up Association for the Reformation of Female Prisoners at Newgate
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Last hanging for shoplifting
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Period: to
Robert Peel Home Secretary
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Black Act repealed
repealed by Robert Peel as part of his reforms. Poaching was still illegal but np longer capital. -
Prisoners held in categories
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Judgment of Death Act
judges have power to reduce death penalty to transportation or imprisonment except for treason or murder -
Prison Discipline Act
JPs to inspect prisons -
Capital crimes reduced by 100
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Economic downturn
resulted in more crime -
Black Act repealed
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Catholics allowed to vote
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Metropolitan Police Act
first professional police force est. by Robert Peel. 17 districts across London, each with its own police division, with 4 inspectors and 144 constables -
Central government pays cost of local prisons
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Last reported case of highway robbery
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Punishment of Death Act
number of capital crimes now 60 -
Tolpuddle martyrs arrested for forming a trade union
charged on an old navy law designed to prevent mutiny. They wanted the average 10 shillings a week instead of 6. George Loveless, James Loveless, James Brine, James Hammett, Thomas Stanfield, John Stanfield -
Tolpuddle martyrs transported to Australia
demonstration with 100,000 people held in London against this and a petition with 200,000 signatures. Lord Melbourne (Home Secretary) didn’t accept it -
Period: to
Robert Peel prime minister
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Government inspectors appointed to prisons
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Municipal Corporations Act
Gave borough councils power to set up local police force -
Gaols Act
inspection of prisons -
Tolpuddle martyrs pardoned and came back to England as heroes
power of public opinion -
Rural Constabulary Act
allowed counties to organise paid police force -
Prisons Act
avocates separate system -
Period: to
Joshua Jebb designed Pentonville as ‘model’ prison
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Period: to
Robert Peel prime minister
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Pentonville built on site of Millbank prison
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Period: to
90 prisons built or extended using ideas from Jebb
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Import taxes cut
as a result, large-scale smuggling reduced -
National Prison Department takes control of prison system
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Police Act
Forced entire country to set up local police forces -
Prisons Act
Emphasises retribution and deterrence -
Howard Association created
campaign on prison conditions -
Capital Punishment Amendment Act
ends public execution -
First National Crime Records set up
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Driving a horse-drawn coach whilst drunk illegal
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All prisons brought under government authority
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Criminal Investigations Department set up
800 detectives by 1883 -
Mentally ill prisoners treated separately
Broadmoor Hospital opened -
Prison Act
emphasised rehabilitation and reform of prisoners -
Borstals introduced
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Fingerprint Branch set up at Scotland Yard
National Fingerprint System keeps records from all arrests -
Different blood types discovered
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Hard labour in prisons ended
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Alternatives to prison introduced
probation officers -
Children’s Act
end hanging of 16 -
Prevention of Crime Act
created national system of borstals -
Police bicycles introduced
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Period: to
Women first allowed to join the police
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Infanticide Act
mothers who kill newborn babies not receive death penalty -
Period: to
Alexander Patterson active
prison commissioner who argued probation and rehabilitation were essential -
Illegal to drive a car whilst drunk
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Period: to
Police cars now common and 999 introduced
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Young Person’s Act
18s not sentenced to death
Age of criminal responsibility 8 -
Focus shift to preparing prisoners for life after their release
Open prisons introduced. Prisoners allowed out at day to work. -
First specialist Fraud Squad set up
tackle crime in business and stock market and high-value crimes like art theft. Now known as Specialist, Organises and Economic Crime Command -
Dog section est. within Met Police
sniff out drugs, find explosives, track and catch criminals, search for missing persons, strengthen police presence at major events -
First Police Training College set up
previously people expected to learn on the job -
Criminal Justice Act passed
Reduced use of prison for juveniles, prison based on seriousness of crime and past record, detention centres introduced as deterrent (better than borstals), attendance centres for youth who committed minor crimes -
Royal Commission on Capital Punishment est.
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Timothy Evans hanged
for murdering his wife and baby. Later evidence proved they were killed by a serial killer and Timothy was innocent but dead -
Derek Bentley hanged
hanged for murder of police officer. had learning difficulties and mental age of 10. Didn’t fire gun but was prosecuted -
Ruth Ellis hanged
hanged for murder of her violent and abusive boyfriend. He attacked her whilst she was pregnant and caused her to miscarry. Ellis also mother of a young child who was orphaned by her execution. Petition with 50,000 signatures asked for leniency but ignored -
Death Penalty Bill passed by Commons but rejected by Lords
moved to abolish death penalty -
Homicide Act
limits death sentence to 5 categories of murder:
Committing 2 murders on different occasions, committing murder in course of committing theft, killing by shooting or explosion, killing whilst resisting arrest, killing and officer of the law -
Period: to
Met Police first use computers to process payroll and pensions
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Age of criminal responsibility raised to 10
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Murder Act
suspended death penalty fro murder for 5 years -
Death penalty abolished for most crimes
Home Secretary Roy Jenkins -
Breathalysers introduced
enable traffic police to test drivers blood alcohol levels so easier to catch drunk drivers -
Maximum limit for blood alcohol levels whilst driving
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Sexual Offences Act
decriminalised homosexuality for men 21 -
Abortion Act
legalised abortion in some circumstances
- if baby would be seriously disabled
- if continuing the pregnancy would cause serious physical or mental harm to the mother Legal abortifacients limit 28 weeks -
Race Relations Act
Illegal to refuse jobs, housing or public services based on someone’s race -
Murder Act ammended
act is now permanent -
Specialised juvenile courts, care orders and supervision orders introduced
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Period: to
IRA (Irish Republican Army) active
’terrorist’ group that used violence to campaign for Irish independence -
Met Police Bomb Squad set up
due to increasing number of terrorist attacks from IRA -
Misuse of Drugs Act
made drugs illegal -
Domestic Violence Act
Gave victims the right to ask for an injunction against a violent partner -
Police National Computer launched
capable of holding records of 25 million people -
First Neighbourhood Watch
help prevent crime through local vigilance, reduce fear of crime through community involvement, report trends in crime to police -
Criminal Justice Act
replaced borstals with youth custody centres -
Youth custody and youth detention centre replace prison and borstals for <21s
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First murder convictions based on DNA samples
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Law recognises rape within marriage as a crime
Possible to prosecute a husband for raping his wife -
Speed cameras introduced
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National Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) launched
share up to date info -
National DNA Database launched
share info nationwide -
High treason and piracy with violence no longer capital
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Home Secretary signs 6th protocol of European Convention on Human Rights
formally ending death penalty -
Terrorism Act
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National Hi-Tech Crime Unit set up
tackle online crimes e.g. hacking, fraud, viruses -
Criminal Justice Act
hate crimes treated more severely than if they didn’t have ulterior motives -
Racial and Religious Hatred Act
Defined spreading racial or religious hatred as a crime -
National Crime Agency est.
tackles drug trafficking and large scale drug production -
Controlling or coercive behaviour towards partner a crime
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Modern Slavery Act