Key Terms
- Tithing: 10-household group; collective responsibility for crime
- Hue and Cry: Legal duty to pursue criminals; obligatory
- Bloody Code: 220+ offences = death penalty (c.1688-1820s)
- Transportation: Exile to Australia; 160,000 transported 1788-1868
- Separate System: Solitary confinement for moral reformation (Pentonville 1842)
- Rehabilitation: Modern aim — reform offenders, not just punish
Key Dates
- 1215: Church bans trial by ordeal; trial by jury develops
- c.1688: Bloody Code emerges (220+ capital offences)
- 1777: Howard — State of the Prisons
- 1829: Peel's Metropolitan Police
- 1842: Pentonville Prison (separate system)
- 1868: Last public hanging; end of transportation
- 1965: Death penalty abolished
- 1986: First DNA evidence in a criminal case
Key People
- John Howard: Exposed prison conditions (State of Prisons, 1777)
- Elizabeth Fry: Campaigned for female prisoners at Newgate from 1813
- Robert Peel: Created Metropolitan Police (1829); reduced death penalty
- Samuel Romilly: Led campaign to remove offences from Bloody Code
- Henry Fielding: Founded Bow Street Runners 1749 (precursor to police)
Must-Know Facts
- Bloody Code: 220+ offences carried the death penalty at its peak
- Peel's police nicknamed "bobbies" / "peelers" after him
- 160,000 convicts transported to Australia 1788-1868
- Last public hanging in Britain: 1868
- Death penalty abolished by Murder Act 1965
- Purposes of punishment: RED — Retribution, Education/Reform, Deterrence (+ Protection, Reparation)
- 5 factors of change: CAGIT — Changing attitudes, Action by government, Growth of cities, Individuals, Technology
Common Mistakes
- Listing punishments without explaining purpose: Always link the punishment to its aim — e.g. the Bloody Code was about deterring property crime, not just cruelty. Say WHY, not just WHAT.
- Stating the Bloody Code ended overnight: The decline was gradual (1823-1837). Use specific dates: Romilly and Peel removed offences across 14 years; hanging for murder only ended in 1965.
- Ignoring continuity in essays: OCR J411 rewards arguments about what stayed the same. Murder and theft have always been crimes; community involvement in law enforcement continued for centuries. Don't just narrate change.
- Confusing the purposes of punishment: "Deterrence" means frightening others; "rehabilitation" means reforming the offender. Apply the correct purpose to each era — the Bloody Code used deterrence; Pentonville claimed reformation; modern prisons focus on rehabilitation.
This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: Crime and Punishment, c.1250-present 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 16 of 16 in this topic. Use this topic summary 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.