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History · Crime, punishment and law enforcement in recent times

New Crimes and Modern Policing

Car crime, cyber crime, terrorism and people trafficking - how new technology created new crimes, and how the police changed to fight them.

  • c1900-present
  • 7 key terms
  • All boards
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Teacher resources

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Student handouts

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Learning Objectives

  1. 1Describe new crimes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including car crime, cyber crime and terrorism.
  2. 2Explain how new technology created new opportunities for crime.
  3. 3Explain 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.

  1. 1903 The Motor Car Act introduces speed limits and car registration.
  2. 1934 The driving test becomes compulsory.
  3. 1971 The Misuse of Drugs Act sets out classes of illegal drugs.
  4. 1990 The Computer Misuse Act makes hacking a crime.
  5. 2000 The Terrorism Act gives police new powers.
  6. 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Fingerprinting

    When: 1901. How it helped: Scotland Yard's Fingerprint Bureau could identify criminals from marks left at a crime scene

  • 999 emergency calls

    When: 1937. How it helped: The public could contact the police quickly

  • Police cars and radios

    When: From the 1920s-30s. How it helped: Officers could respond quickly and stay in contact

  • Neighbourhood Watch

    When: 1982. How it helped: Communities helped police watch for crime

  • DNA profiling

    When: From the late 1980s. How it helped: Identified criminals from tiny traces of blood, hair or skin

  • CCTV

    When: 1990s onwards. How it helped: 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.

Summary & Exam Focus

  • 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.

Exam focus

Explain why there have been changes in law enforcement in the period c1900-present. (12 marks) (12 marks)

Link each change in policing to the problem or technology that caused it.

Key terms

The vocabulary this lesson expects you to use. Each one is linked from the first place it appears above.

Cyber crime
Crime committed using computers or the internet.
Terrorism
The use of violence or threats for political aims.
People trafficking
Moving people illegally, often forcing them to work.
DNA profiling
Identifying people from their genetic code.
CCTV
Closed-circuit television cameras used to monitor public places.
Neighbourhood Watch
A scheme in which local people help police watch for crime.
PCSO
Police Community Support Officer, introduced in 2002.

Questions and answers

9 questions set on this lesson, with the mark schemes and model answers open.

1. Exam question Explain one way 4 marks Foundation

Explain one way in which policing in the early twentieth century was different from policing in the early twenty-first century.

Mark scheme — 4 marks available

  • 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.

2. Exam question Explain why 12 marks Stretch

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.

Mark scheme — 12 marks available

  • 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.

3. Exam question How far do you agree? 16 marks Stretch

"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)

Mark scheme — 16 marks available

  • 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.

4. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

Which law made hacking a crime in 1990?

  1. A The Terrorism Act
  2. B The Misuse of Drugs Act
  3. C The Computer Misuse Act Correct
  4. D The Motor Car Act

Why: The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 made unauthorised access to computers illegal.

5. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

When did Scotland Yard begin using fingerprints to identify criminals?

  1. A 1901 Correct
  2. B 1937
  3. C 1982
  4. D 1995

Why: The Fingerprint Bureau was set up at Scotland Yard in 1901.

6. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

What is people trafficking?

  1. A Smuggling goods to avoid tax
  2. B Moving people illegally and forcing them to work Correct
  3. C Stealing cars
  4. D Online fraud

Why: Moving people illegally, often forcing them to work - a modern form of slavery.

7. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

When was the 999 emergency number introduced?

  1. A 1901
  2. B 1956
  3. C 1982
  4. D 1937 Correct

Why: 999 was introduced in 1937, the world's first emergency telephone number.

8. Multiple choice 1 mark Stretch

Which of these is an old crime in a new form?

  1. A Online fraud Correct
  2. B Speeding
  3. C Hacking
  4. D Drink driving

Why: Fraud has always existed, but online fraud uses new technology to reach many more victims.

9. Multiple choice 1 mark Foundation

When was the National DNA Database set up?

  1. A 1901
  2. B 1967
  3. C 1995 Correct
  4. D 2015

Why: The National DNA Database was set up in 1995 to store the DNA profiles of suspects.