| Date | Event/Person | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| c.1250 | Tithing system and hue and cry | Community-based law enforcement; no professional police |
| 1215 | Magna Carta; Church bans trial by ordeal | Trial by jury begins to develop; step towards rational justice |
| c.1688-1820 | Bloody Code (220+ capital offences) | Extreme deterrence model; property crime = death penalty |
| 1788 | Transportation to Australia begins | Alternative to execution; 160,000 transported by 1868 |
| 1777 | John Howard — State of the Prisons | First systematic evidence of conditions; launched reform movement |
| 1813 | Elizabeth Fry enters Newgate | Campaigned for education and humane conditions for female prisoners |
| 1823-37 | Romilly/Peel reduce death penalty | Over 100 offences removed from capital list; end of Bloody Code |
| 1829 | Peel's Metropolitan Police founded | First professional police force; prevention focus; "bobbies" |
| 1842 | Pentonville Prison opened | Separate system — solitary confinement for moral reformation |
| 1856 | County and Borough Police Act | Professional police required across England and Wales |
| 1868 | Last public hanging; end of transportation | Shift from public deterrence to private punishment |
| 1965 | Death penalty abolished | Landmark shift in punishment philosophy: rehabilitation over retribution |
| 1986 | First DNA evidence used in criminal case | Technology transforms crime detection |
This key facts covers Key Evidence: Crime and Punishment Timeline within Crime and Punishment, c.1250-present for GCSE History. Revise Crime and Punishment, c.1250-present in Component Group 1 — Thematic Studies for GCSE History with 14 exam-style questions and 17 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 6 of 16 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Crime and Punishment, c.1250-present
Describe two features of law enforcement in medieval England.
Describe two features of punishments under the Bloody Code.
Quick recall flashcards
What was the 'hue and cry'?
The legal duty of bystanders to shout out and physically pursue a criminal when a crime was witnessed. Failure to join the hue and cry was itself an offence. Reflected the absence of a professional police force — the community was the law enforcement.
What was the Bloody Code?
The body of English law from c.1688 to the 1820s-1830s that made over 220 offences punishable by death, including minor property crimes (e.g. stealing more than 1 shilling from a shop). Designed to deter crime through extreme punishment.