Modern crime and punishment (c.1900–present)
OCR J410 Paper 1 tests the full thematic story up to the present. The modern period is important for demonstrating how much has changed from medieval beginnings — the abolition of the death penalty and the emergence of new crimes like cyber-crime both show continuing change.
Abolition of the death penalty
- 1908: Death penalty abolished for those under 18.
- 1933: Last execution of a woman (Edith Thompson had been executed 1923; public revulsion helped shift opinion).
- 1950s controversies: Cases of Derek Bentley (hanged 1953, convicted partly on disputed "joint enterprise") and Ruth Ellis (last woman hanged, 1955) caused massive public debate.
- 1965: Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act suspended the death penalty for murder.
- 1969: Suspension made permanent. Last executions were in 1964.
- 1998: Death penalty formally abolished for all offences (including treason and piracy).
Key arguments for abolition:
- Risk of executing innocent people (miscarriages of justice: Bentley, Timothy Evans).
- Enlightenment principle of proportionality — is death ever proportionate?
- No evidence it deterred murder; murder rates did not rise after 1965.
The modern police service
- Specialisation: forensic science (DNA evidence from 1986), specialist units (Counter Terrorism Command, Cybercrime units).
- Technology: CCTV, body cameras, facial recognition, national databases.
- Challenges: institutional racism (Macpherson Report 1999 after Stephen Lawrence murder), corruption, over-policing of minorities.
- Community policing: police community support officers (PCSOs), neighbourhood policing.
New crimes: cyber-crime
The digital revolution created entirely new categories of crime:
- Hacking: unauthorised access to computer systems (Computer Misuse Act 1990).
- Online fraud: phishing, identity theft, romance scams.
- Cyber terrorism: attacks on critical infrastructure.
- Child exploitation online.
This mirrors earlier periods: every social/technological change creates new crimes (vagrancy from enclosures; witchcraft from Reformation anxiety; cyber-crime from the internet).
Continuity and change: the full thematic picture
| Period | Key change | Continuity |
|---|---|---|
| Medieval | Trial by ordeal; community justice | Capital punishment; no police |
| Early modern | Bloody Code; witch trials | No professional police; capital punishment grows |
| Industrial | Professional police; prison reform; Bloody Code abolished | Capital punishment |
| Modern | Death penalty abolished; new crimes; specialist policing | Prison as main punishment |
Common OCR exam mistakes
- Saying the death penalty was abolished in 1965 for all crimes — it was abolished for murder in 1965; all crimes only in 1998.
- Forgetting Derek Bentley and Ruth Ellis as catalysts — specific named examples score higher marks.
- Not linking new crimes to broader social/technological change — OCR rewards this pattern recognition.
✦Worked example— Worked example: 12-mark thematic essay
"The abolition of the death penalty in 1965 was the most important change in punishment since 1250." How far do you agree?
Approach: Consider rival "most important changes": Peel's professional police (1829), Pentonville's separate system (1842), abolition of public executions (1868), development of rehabilitation as a goal. The 1965 abolition was significant because it ended a punishment used for 700+ years and reflected a major shift in attitudes (from deterrence to human rights). But the creation of professional policing (1829) changed how crime was dealt with on a daily basis affecting every citizen, arguably a greater practical shift.
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-ocr-history