Modern British Crime & Punishment Flashcards
All 30 cards in this deck
Give one way the growth of credit cards and online banking has changed the nature of theft since c1900.
The thief no longer has to be physically near the victim, so theft is easier and harder to trace.
How did the growth of self-service shops change theft in the twentieth century?
It made shoplifting easier, because goods are no longer handed to customers by a shop assistant.
Name two areas of new law in the twentieth century that extended the work of the police.
Laws about drugs and laws about car (motor) crimes, such as speeding and drink driving.
True or false? A hate crime is only a crime if physical damage has been done.
False. Police deal with hate crimes, such as race crimes, even where no physical damage has been caused.
What is Neighbourhood Watch?
A scheme set up in Britain from 1982 in which residents watch for and report suspicious activity, deterring criminals by showing the area is closely monitored.
Give one way the use of science and technology has made it easier for the modern police to identify criminals.
Fingerprinting and DNA evidence identify criminals even after they have left the scene of the crime.
What was the Anti-Terrorist Squad (Bomb Squad), set up in 1971?
A specialist police unit, with its own training and equipment, created to deal with terrorist threats.
In which year was the death penalty permanently suspended in Britain?
1969 (after a temporary suspension in 1965).
How did the case of Timothy Evans (1950) affect attitudes to the death penalty?
It showed that mistakes could be made in executions, creating public pressure to review the use of the death penalty.
What is an open prison?
A prison with few physical restrictions where minor offenders, or prisoners near the end of a sentence, mix with the outside community to prepare for reintegration.
What were borstals?
Separate institutions for young offenders, set up so that they were not hardened or corrupted by adult prisoners; they later became Young Offender Institutions.
Give two non-custodial alternatives to prison used in Britain today.
Community service and fines (also probation and electronic tagging).
Give one change the Children Act (1908) made to the punishment of young offenders.
It banned the death sentence for anyone under 16 (it also set up separate juvenile courts).
What is a conscientious objector?
Someone who refuses to fight in a war because of their religious or moral beliefs.
What did a conscientious objector in the First World War have to do after conscription began in 1916?
Appear before a local tribunal, which included a military representative, to explain his beliefs; tribunals were often hostile and unsympathetic.
What happened to 'absolutist' conscientious objectors in the First World War?
They were imprisoned, often with hard labour, for refusing to help the war effort in any way, and were used as examples to deter others.
True or false? Conscientious objectors were treated more tolerantly in the Second World War than in the First.
True. Tribunals were fairer and most were given civilian or non-combatant work, though many still faced abuse and lost their jobs.
Who was Derek Bentley and what happened to him?
A 19-year-old with learning difficulties, hanged in January 1953 for the murder of PC Sidney Miles during a burglary in Croydon.
True or false? Derek Bentley fired the shot that killed PC Miles.
False. The shot was fired by his 16-year-old accomplice Christopher Craig, who was too young to be hanged.
Why was Derek Bentley convicted of murder even though he did not fire the gun?
Under joint enterprise he was held equally responsible for the crime, and his words 'Let him have it, Chris' were treated as encouragement to shoot.
What was the significance of the Derek Bentley case for the abolition of the death penalty?
It raised public concern that no allowance could be made for the circumstances of a crime, adding to pressure (with Ruth Ellis in 1955) to end hanging.
What did the Race Relations Act (1968) make illegal?
Discriminating against someone because of their race or ethnic origin, for example in housing or employment.
What did the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) do?
It made it illegal to possess or supply certain drugs, and sorted drugs into classes according to how harmful they are thought to be.
What is people-trafficking, a growing crime in modern Britain?
Moving people, often into the country illegally, in order to exploit them, for example in forced labour or prostitution. Bringing people in illegally for a fee is the related crime of people-smuggling.
Roughly how many conscientious objectors were there in the First and Second World Wars?
About 16,000 in the First World War and about 59,000 in the Second.
What was the Order of the White Feather in the First World War?
A campaign that encouraged women to give white feathers, a symbol of cowardice, to men of fighting age who were not in uniform.
Who were 'alternativists' in the First World War?
Conscientious objectors who refused to fight but agreed to do other war work that did not involve combat.
What happened to Derek Bentley's conviction after his death?
His family campaigned for decades; in 1993 he received a partial royal pardon covering his death sentence, and in 1998 the Court of Appeal quashed his murder conviction.
Who could have spared Derek Bentley from hanging, and what did they decide?
The Home Secretary, who refused a reprieve even though the jury had recommended mercy and about 200 MPs backed a motion to save him.
True or false? Derek Bentley was free on the roof when PC Miles was shot.
False. He was already being held by a police officer when Christopher Craig fired the fatal shot.