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Crime and Justice in the Victorian era

Crime and Justice in the Victorian era. Rising crime at the end of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, crimes went up from about 5.000 per year in 1800 to about 20.000 per year in 1840 . Here are some reasons why the criminality rate rose :

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Crime and Justice in the Victorian era

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  1. Crime and Justicein the Victorian era

  2. Rising crime at the end of the 18th century At the end of the 18th century, crimes went up from about 5.000 per year in 1800 to about 20.000 per year in 1840. Here are some reasons why the criminality rate rose : • Increase of poverty due to industrial revolution (less jobs in agriculture  people move to the city to find jobs where there are not many). 1/3 of population poor. • Big gap between poor and rich people  Thefts etc. • No real police force until 1856  People had to catch the convicts themselves (often victims, private citizens). During this era, it became widely believed that criminals were born « bad ». It had been tried to make sentences verysevere to stop the growth of crime in the 1700’s but many people complained about itsoitwaschanged.

  3. Trials in the Victorian Era • Quick. • People were considered guilty and had to prove that they were innocent. • Judges very powerful. • Lawyers rare (expensive) unless it was a capital case. DIFFERENT COURTS FOR DIFFERENT CRIMES: Courts of Petty Sessions: Originally tried in the Quarter Sessions, this court system was created for petty crimes that didn’t require severe judgment : the trials took often place at the defendant’s home without any jury, lawyer... Quarter Sessions: for more serious crimes, took place four times a year and could run for days. At least two magistrates were present. Assize Courts: for the most serious crimes, twice a year. A judge and a jury tried these cases. King/Queen ‘s Bench: for any case considered as a detriment to the “crown” or controversial, people would be judged by the King or Queen.

  4. Crimes • Minor Crimes : • - Drunkenness • Prostitution • Vagrancy (live off charity if you are capable of working) • Minor thefts as pick-pocketing (Oliver Twist) • = lighter punishments in the end of the 18th century Major Crimes : - Murder • Burglary • Rape • Treason • Assault on the police • Armed robbery = death sentence

  5. Who were the criminal offenders ? Most of the violent crimes and petty thefts were commited by men, taking into consideration that domestic violence was not considered as a crime but as a control over the woman. But crimes considered as victimless (drunkeness, prostitution…) were generally commited by females. Pick-pocketing, however, was more of a juvenile crime that got so important that a Committee for Investigating the Alarming Increase in Juvenile Crime was created.

  6. Punishments Just before the Victorian era, hangings and transportations were the punishments for all sorts of crimes. But later on, punishments for petty crimes were lighter even though there still were : • Fines :not common as people wereoftentoopoor to be able to pay • Be sent to the Armed Forces :as itwas not easy to findvolunteers. Some people couldget a pardon by working in the navy (harsh conditions of life). • Physicalpunishment :as whippinguntil 1948 (beforethat, itwasevenallowed to whip people in public).

  7. Punishments (2) • Prison : used as lock ups for debtors and people waiting for their trial before the victorian era, it became a main punishment. The hygiene was very bad (overcrowded cells, illnesses as cholera spread rapidly…) and prisoners had to do hard tasks that were often pointless. Moreover, the prisoners had to pay for their food (or have it brought by friends). • Transportations :people of a sentence af 7 years or longer were sent to colonies (to Americabefore the Independence then to Western Australia or South Wales). The sentence of transportation wasabolished in 1857 eventhoughitcontinueduntil 1867. • It wasreplaced by penal servitudein 1853 thatincluded hard labour served in Englandinstead of transportation for thosewhohad a sentence of lessthan 14 years. • Hangings :therewerestill 200 crimes punishable of hanging.

  8. Jack The Ripperalso known as « The Whitechapel murderer » He probably is the most famous criminal in the Victorian period. He’s « the first the first modern sexual serial killer ». Jack kills female prostitutes for no reason and removes their organs and places them near the dead body. He killed 9 women in total but the police thinks he might be responsible for more murders. All the victims were killed in London within one square mile. He is still anonymous and was never found.

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