Over 37 and a Half Facts About…

1. Over 37 and a Half Facts About… By Eden Harbud (partnered with Will Hart)

2. Roman Times • Verdicts of trials were determined by a jury • Death penalty widespread – burning, crucifixion, decapitation, being thrown from the Tarpeian Rock, execution by wild beasts • Being sent to gladiatorial school was as good as a death sentence as well • Prison not an alternative – only short-term • People treated unequally – magistrates could be influenced by bribery and corruption • No proper police force

3. Getting Medieval • After 400 AD the Roman Empire in the west was overrun by barbarians and England was invaded by Angles, Saxons & Jutes from north Germany. • By 700 AD several different kingdoms had emerged in England, all with their own legal systems. • Most crimes were against property – money, food & personal belongings • Wergeld(blood price) introduced, to prevent the blood-feud, which involved paying victims compensation (eventually replaced by death penalty) • Trial by ordeal, trial by combat & forest laws were introduced • 3 levels of courts of law: travelling judges – important cases; quarter sessions – lesser crimes; manor courts – petty crimes (punishment usually fines & sometimes stocks)

4. Early Modern C & P • Population soared in late 16th & early 17th centuries. After 1650, bubonic plague, typhus & smallpox slowed population growth until the mi 18th century. • In the 16th century the biggest threat to law and order remained the nobles as they could twist the legal system to their own purposes. • Crime became more professional • Vagabonds were people with no job and no fixed home – an act of 1572 said they were to be whipped and branded on their right ear. • Church & state were fused together – most monarchs believed religion was essential to keep their subjects honourable and law-abiding • Between 1542 & 1736, 3000 people were tried for witchcraft (of which 90% were women (mostly over 50)). About a third of these were executed – mostly between 1550 & 1650. Witch trials involved torturing, examining their bodies for strange marks and the dunking stool.

5. More Early Modern C & P • Bloody code: 1688 – 50 capital crimes; 1800 – 200 capital crimes • However between 1770 & 1830, only 7000 were executed out of 35,000 sentenced – fewer executions in 18th century than in 17th • Other less usual punishments included prison, stocks & pillory, transportation, pressing to death and flogging • The late 18th century was perfect for highway robbers because the roads had improved, but not enough to allow coaches to accelerate and escape • Peasants didn’t care who’s land the game was on. They poached by means of dogs, nets guns & traps. However gamekeepers set man traps and were on the lookout for poachers day & night • Like poaching, smuggling was a “social crime”, which most people didn’t regard as a proper crime. It was a huge industry as big profits could be got out of it. It was a big business by late 18th century.

6. Riot & Political Crime • For much of the 18th century the government was fairly relaxed about popular protest. It was usually against high food prices • In 1792-3 the French king was first dethroned and then beheaded. The government became nervous about a revolution here and made sure there was no chance of treason • 1811-16 – The Luddites – An anti-industrial protest with revolutionary overtones – 17 hanged in 1817 • 1819 – The Peterloo Massacre – 50,000-60,000 gathered peacefully & magistrates sent troops to split up the meeting – 11 killed & 400 wounded

7. Early Policing • The tything-man became the parish constable and the Shire-reeve the Justice of Peace. Paid men, known as “The Watch”, used to guard the gates and patrolled the streets at night. • However conditions became intolerable so in 1829 (when Sir Robert Peel was Home Secretary) an Act was passed and the Metropolitan Police Force was established. • The Act set up a Met force of 3,200 men to cover an area extending 7 miles from the centre of London. • Their uniform included dark blue long coats and a tall hat (in 1870 the tall hat was replaced by a helmet). They were unarmed except for truncheons. • The Bow Street Runners, the Police Office constables and the River Police – by 1839 all these had been absorbed by the Met. • To this day, the City of London Police (set up in 1839) remains as an independent force.

8. Prisons in the Mid to Late 19th Century • By 1840 the British government recognised that it had to provide more prisons and several new ones were built or modified including Pentonville in 1842. • The prisons had: a radial design; separate cells; punishment sheds and exercise yards. • The new prisons used both the separate system and the silent system which are both pretty self explanatory. • By 1860 all wardens had to wear uniforms.