EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
New Crimes and Modern Policing
c1900-present · Chapter 4: Crime, punishment and law enforcement in recent times, c1900-present · Lesson 2 of 4
Teacher copy - includes the notes for whoever is teaching from it.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe new crimes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including car crime, cyber crime and terrorism.
2. Explain how new technology created new opportunities for crime.
3. Explain how policing changed to deal with new crimes.
Setting the Scene
Many crimes of recent times are old crimes in new forms. Theft is now carried out online; smuggling now involves drugs and people. But some crimes are entirely new, because the technology that makes them possible did not exist before.
1903 - The Motor Car Act introduces speed limits and car registration. | 1934 - The driving test becomes compulsory. | 1971 - The Misuse of Drugs Act sets out classes of illegal drugs. | 1990 - The Computer Misuse Act makes hacking a crime. | 2000 - The Terrorism Act gives police new powers. | 2015 - The Modern Slavery Act targets people trafficking.
New Crimes of Recent Times
Old crimes in new forms, and crimes that could not exist before.
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Car crime Speeding, drink driving, dangerous driving and car theft, all made possible by the motor car. |
Cyber crime Hacking, online fraud and identity theft, made possible by computers and the internet. |
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Terrorism Violence for political aims; new laws such as the Terrorism Act (2000) respond to new threats. |
People trafficking Smuggling people into the country and forcing them to work - a modern form of slavery. |
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Drug crime Possession and supply of illegal drugs, controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971. |
Fraud Old crime, new methods: scams by email, phone and online banking. |
Old Crimes in New Forms
Many "new" crimes are old crimes using new technology.
▸ Theft to cyber theft. Stealing money used to mean taking cash or goods; now it can mean stealing bank details online.
▸ Smuggling. Once mainly goods such as alcohol and tobacco; now drugs, weapons and people.
▸ Fraud. Swindling people has always existed, but the internet lets criminals reach millions of victims at once.
▸ Why. Technology creates new opportunities for crime faster than the law can respond.
How Policing Changed
The police adapted by using new technology themselves.
|
Development |
When |
How it helped |
|---|---|---|
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Fingerprinting |
1901 |
Scotland Yard's Fingerprint Bureau could identify criminals from marks left at a crime scene |
|
999 emergency calls |
1937 |
The public could contact the police quickly |
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Police cars and radios |
From the 1920s-30s |
Officers could respond quickly and stay in contact |
|
Neighbourhood Watch |
1982 |
Communities helped police watch for crime |
|
DNA profiling |
From the late 1980s |
Identified criminals from tiny traces of blood, hair or skin |
|
CCTV |
1990s onwards |
Cameras recorded crimes and suspects in public places |
Specialist Policing
Modern policing is more specialised than ever.
▸ Specialist units. Units such as fraud squads, cyber crime units and counter-terrorism command deal with particular crimes.
▸ DNA database. The National DNA Database was set up in 1995 to store profiles of suspects.
▸ Community policing. Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), introduced in 2002, work with local communities.
▸ International cooperation. Organisations such as Interpol help police work across borders on crimes like trafficking.
Key Terms
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Cyber crime Crime committed using computers or the internet. |
Terrorism The use of violence or threats for political aims. |
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People trafficking Moving people illegally, often forcing them to work. |
DNA profiling Identifying people from their genetic code. |
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CCTV Closed-circuit television cameras used to monitor public places. |
Neighbourhood Watch A scheme in which local people help police watch for crime. |
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PCSO Police Community Support Officer, introduced in 2002. |
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Summary
✓ New technology created new crimes, such as car crime and cyber crime.
✓ Many new crimes are old crimes in new forms, like online fraud.
✓ Police adapted with fingerprints, 999, radios, DNA and CCTV.
✓ Modern policing relies on specialist units and community help.
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EXAM FOCUS Explain why there have been changes in law enforcement in the period c1900-present. (12 marks) Link each change in policing to the problem or technology that caused it. |
Exam Practice - New Crimes and Modern Policing
Answer all questions. Use specific names, dates and examples in every answer. · 35 minutes
▸ Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way. Explain one way in which policing in the early twentieth century was different from policing in the early twenty-first century.
▸ Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why. Explain why there have been changes in law enforcement in the period c1900-present. You may use the following in your answer: DNA…
▸ Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?. "Most crimes in the period c1900-present are old crimes in new forms." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following…
Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way
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“Explain one way in which policing in the early twentieth century was different from policing in the early twenty-first century.” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: Explain one way. Worth 4 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 1 · mark scheme
4 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ A valid difference identified. 1-2 marks
▸ Supported with specific knowledge of both periods. 3-4 marks
▸ Model answer. In the early twentieth century police officers mainly patrolled on foot, and the main scientific tool was fingerprinting, introduced by Scotland Yard's Fingerprint Bureau in 1901. In the early twenty-first century policing relies heavily on technology and specialist units: DNA profiling, the National DNA Database set up in 1995, CCTV cameras, and specialist cyber crime and counter-terrorism units. So the difference is that policing moved from foot patrols with little technology to highly specialised, technology-based methods.
Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why
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“Explain why there have been changes in law enforcement in the period c1900-present. You may use the following in your answer: DNA profiling; cyber crime. You must also use information of your own.” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: Explain why. Worth 12 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 2 · mark scheme
12 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ Level 1 (1-3). A simple or general answer
▸ Level 2 (4-6). Some explanation of one or more reasons, with some knowledge
▸ Level 3 (7-9). A developed explanation linked to the question, with accurate knowledge
▸ Level 4 (10-12). An analytical explanation of several reasons, with knowledge that goes beyond the stimulus points
▸ Model answer. One reason was the development of science and technology. Fingerprinting was used from 1901, and from the late 1980s DNA profiling allowed police to identify criminals from tiny traces of blood, hair or skin. The National DNA Database was set up in 1995. CCTV cameras from the 1990s also allowed crimes and suspects to be recorded, making it far easier to gather evidence. A second reason was the appearance of new crimes. The growth of computers and the internet created cyber crime, such as hacking and online fraud, which the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 made illegal. The police had to create specialist cyber crime units with officers trained in computing to investigate crimes that could be committed from anywhere in the world. A third reason, beyond the stimulus, was the need for faster communication and closer links with communities. The 999 emergency number from 1937, police cars and radios allowed officers to respond quickly. Neighbourhood Watch schemes from 1982 and PCSOs from 2002 involved the public in preventing crime, showing that the police changed to work more closely with the communities they served.
Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?
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“"Most crimes in the period c1900-present are old crimes in new forms." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: fraud; terrorism. You must also use information of your own. (16 marks, plus 4 for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology)” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: How far do you agree?. Worth 16 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 3 · mark scheme
16 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ Level 1 (1-4). A simple or generalised answer
▸ Level 2 (5-8). Some analysis, with a judgement that is asserted
▸ Level 3 (9-12). Analysis of both sides with accurate knowledge and a supported judgement
▸ Level 4 (13-16). Sustained analysis, knowledge beyond the stimulus, and a clear, justified judgement
▸ SPaG (4). Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, with specialist terms such as cyber crime and trafficking
▸ Model answer. On the one hand, many modern crimes are old crimes using new methods. Fraud has always existed, but now criminals use email, phone and online banking to reach millions of victims. Theft now includes stealing bank details and identity theft online. Smuggling, which once mainly involved goods such as alcohol and tobacco, now involves drugs, weapons and people - people trafficking is a modern form of slavery. Even terrorism, violence for political aims, is not new to this period: Britain faced bombing campaigns throughout the twentieth century, such as those of the IRA. On the other hand, some crimes are genuinely new. Car crime - speeding, drink driving and dangerous driving - could not exist before the motor car, and the Motor Car Act of 1903 and the driving test of 1934 created new offences. Hacking and computer viruses could not exist before computers, and the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 created entirely new crimes. Some crimes, such as race hate crime, were created because attitudes changed rather than because technology did. Overall, most modern crimes are old crimes - theft, fraud, violence and smuggling - carried out with new technology. But technology and changing attitudes have also created some genuinely new crimes, such as motoring offences and hacking, so the statement is largely but not completely true.