crime and punishment 1750-1900 why was there a revolution in punishment and policing 1750-1900 by...
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Crime and Punishment
1750-1900
Why was there a revolution in punishment and policing 1750-1900
By 1850 the Bloody Code had been swept away
Prison sentences became the most common punishment
Professional police forces set up
What were the reasons for these changes?
The work of reformers like Elizabeth Fry and Sir Samuel Romilly which persuaded Sir Robert Peel to make the changes abolishing the Bloody CodeRising crime and fear of crimeChanging attitudes to the Code and punishment in generalGovernment getting more involved
Why was the Bloody Code abolished by the 1830s?
Public executions were not working
Juries would not convict
Ideas about punishment were changing
Reasons for transportation
To provide a less harsh punishment that courts would accept
To provide a deterrent
To reduce crime by removing criminals
To claim Australia
To reform criminals
Courts would convict
Crime levels went up
Australia clearly part of the British Empire
Many convicts made fresh starts in Australia
The Changes in Prisons
What were the problems in prisons before the changes?
Problems in Prison
Gaolers not paid
Debtors mixed with serious criminals
New prisoners often had to make payments to cell mates
Prisoners had to pay for their keep
Prison cells often filthy & overcrowded
Men & women prisoners mixed
Old ships (hulks) were used to keep prisoners – high death rate
What changes were made to the prisons?
A cell in Pentonville prisonA hammock for sleeping A loom for workingWhat does this tell you about changing attitudes to punishment?
Changes to prisons (2)
New Pentonville prison , built in 1842
What can we learn from this about attitudes towards punishment?
Changes in prisons (3)
Prisoner in his cell, working the crank
Could be turned 20 times a minute, 10,000 times a day for over 8 hours
What was the purpose of this?
Changes in prisons (4)
Prisoners on the treadmill
48 steps a minute in silence, up to 9 hours a day
What was the point ?
19th century Prisons (5)Prisoners in exercise yard
Wearing masks (blindfolds), walking in silence at intervals
What was the purpose?
19th century prisons (6)
Picking oakum, pulling apart and cleaning a 3 foot length of tarred ship’s rope each day
Worked in silence
19th century prisons (7)
Prisoners at a religious service
They sit separately
Why did prisons change so much in the 19th century?
Separate or silent?
Work – useful or pointless?
Time off for good behaviour?
What seemed to be the main attitude towards punishment after 1850?