Crime and Punishment during different time periods.


Monday 17th January 2022

LC: To use different sentence structures depending on the formality of writing.

Introduction

Attitudes towards crime and punishment have changed over different time periods. These paragraphs will tell you all about crime and punishment in: the Roman, Anglo-Saxons, Tudor, Victorian times and even World War II.

Crime and Punishment in Roman times.

During the time 500BC and 400AD, the Romans  ruled most of the civilised world. The Romans naturally made themselves very powerful by making the army grow bigger and stronger. The Romans did not have a police force, so they had Vigiles. There were around 7,000 Vigiles in Roman times. They would take the criminal to the emperore and he would decide the punishment depending on how unpleasant and serious the crime was. Did you know that the most common crimes were petty theft, murder, begging and even wearing the colour purple?Only the rich people were aloud to wear purple.

Crime and punishment in Anglo-Saxons times.

The Anglo-Saxons/Viking era was 410 to 1066CE. A lot of the population lived in small villages in the countryside. This meant that most people knew their neighbours very well. Now days you are considered an adult at the age of 18, however in Anglo-Saxons times you were considered an adult at the age of 10! Could you imagine going to work at that age! There was not a police force unlike today. If you were caught doing/commuting a crime then the witness could raise a ‘hue or cry’ (calling for help.) All of the members of the public who heard would be expected to help chase the suspect. The most common crime was petty theft. This means stealing something that is not that big of a deal but back in those days was a lot. For example petty theft is stealing an apple or a loaf of bread. The church and local lords would be in charge of deciding your punishment.

Crime and Punishment in Tudor times.

The Tudor period was between 1485 to 1603CE. This was a time of many changes. Explorers had discovered new lands and landmarks. Some housed from the Tudor times are still in England today. They are the houses that have black and white stripes. In this time period, lots of people were religious and went to church often. Still, there was no police in this time however, they did have a group of people called the Parish Constables. However only some villages had these groups. In small villages they did not have the Parish Constables so it left to the people of the village. Many people believe that the punishments that were given were already to painful enough so they decided to keep it the way it is. They thought that by keeping it the same will make people stop doing crimes because they are petrified of the consequences that will be given.

Crime and Punishment in Victorian times.

This time period was 1837 and 1901. Interestingly, the Victorian’s are the first people to ever invent a police force. In 1829 Sir Robert Peel came up with the first English police army. Lots of people did not trust the new police force because it was new and different. But over time peoples thoughts on it changed; and people was starting to trust it. For the first time ever the Victorians punishments were mainly prisons (just like today prison was the worst please to be.) The amount of money that you earned was not even £1.00. You would probably be given a 1p coin for hours of work. If a child was to commit a crime they would be treated the same as an adult and also get the same punishments as they would.

Crime and Punishment in World War II

The World War II time period was 1939 to 1945. This time was a very hard for lots of people. Children who lived in the city of London were evacuated to the countryside. During this time crime became a extreamly common thing. The government had made new rules such as blackouts, air raid warnings and rationing. Because of this people had no lights at night time which made crime increase. Did you know that the most common crimes during this time period were bombing, looting, stealing and raiding shops? There was a police force but woman there were not many woman it was mainly men.

A detailed and effective report, Evie. You have chosen specific facts and vocabulary to engage your reader and although I would like more information in your introduction, you have interested me in the subject the whole way through each paragraph.

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