By Brandon Dsouza and Wassim Ghanem

1. Brandon DsouzaWassimGhanem Miss Cress Pre-Ap English II May 2, 2010 Crime and Punishment in the Victorian Era

2. Crime in Victorian England Crime rates in Victorian England rose from 5,000 cases a year in 1800 to around 20,000 in 1840. The Reason why crime skyrocketed was because of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution not only created more wealth, but took it away from many other families, creating more poverty. Urbanization then caused many families to move into densely populated cities. The high poverty rates in these cities indirectly caused the crime rates to rise.

4. Murder crime resulted in

6. Jack “The Ripper” -Jack the Ripper is famous for his murders in East London, 1888. He was never found, or tried for the crimes he committed. -He murdered approximately 5 prostitutes. - After murdering his victim he would cut out organs and leave them outside beside the body -His “reign of terror” only lasted for around 12 weeks total, not very long, but it caused London to notice the rise in number of criminals.

7. Court Room Court Rooms in the Victorian Era were very different than they are today. The jury, judge, and prosecutor often had much more power than they do today in deciding the outcome of the trial. Often the defendant, and even the prosecutor would not have any legal aid as it was very expensive. Punishments were harsh before the Victorian era. Many were hanged for small crimes, however during the Victorian era other forms of punishment were implicated.

8. The police force did not become apparent in England until the 1840’s. A 13 year old boy charged for Larceny in late Victorian Era.

9. Death by Hanging During the 18th century, the amount of crimes punishable by hanging accelerated to around 200!! Some crimes punishable by hanging were reasonable, like treason or murder. However, crimes such as pick pocketing and stealing food were also punished with hanging. hanging platform- short drop

10. Prisons At first, prisons were used only as lock-ups for debtors and a place for those accused of crime to stay before their trial. By the Victorian era, prison began being used more often and seen as a fit way to reduce crime Prison became one of the main forms of punishments for almost all offences.

11. War In Victorian Era In time of war it was often difficult to recruit people to the armed forces, especially to the navy Some prisoners sentenced to work in army as punishment At time criminals could become pardoned by enlisting for the Navy.

12. Labor During Victorian Era Prisoners were often used as the main work force in quarrying, building roads or laboring on the docks. All longer sentences often included a form of hard labor and a transportation sentence. In the early 19th century children and adults alike worked side by side in hard labor. Crimes leading to hard labor were wide and varied and generally depended on the result of the trial. Prison Treadmill

13. Transportation The alternative to hanging was transportation, where convicted criminals were sent to the colonies to serve their sentence. An alternative to hanging as a punishment for a crime was transportation to colonies to server a sentence. At first only a criminal with a sentence of 7 years or more could be transported. In Victorian period, transportation changed to Penal Servitude. Depending on the crime committed, rank, and wealth determined the length of servitude A ship used to transport prisoners

14. Physical Punishment In the 18th and 19th century public whippings declined in number. Private whippings, however, increased due to the restrictions on other forms of punishment In 1817, the public whipping of women was abolished. In 1830, the public whipping of men was abolished. Private whippings not stopped until 1948 A whipping device

15. Work Cited East of England Broadband Network. Cambridgeshire County Council. Bedfordshire County Council. "Sentences and Punishments.” Victorian Crime and Punishment. E2BN, January 10 2006. Web. Jones, Richard. “Jack the Ripper – Introduction.” Jack the Ripper 1888. n.p. 2010. Web. May 3, 2010. “Victorians 1850 – 1901.” The National Archives. UK Government. n.d. Web. May 3, 2010. Ward, Peter. “Crime in the 1800’s.” Britain in the 1800’s.n.p. 2004. Web. May 3, 2010.