q3)The role of local communities was the most important factors affecting law enforcement during the Middle Ages   How far do you  agree? Explain your answer You may use the following in your answer: tidings , trial by ordeal  . You must also use information of your own  Spag = 4 Essay =16



Local communities were a very important factor affecting law enforcement in the Middle Ages though the Church also had an influential role. Overall local communities were most important as they provided most of the policing and dealt with those accused of crime. Local communities were particularly important in providing the policing side of law enforcement in the Middle Ages. This can be seen by the use of tithings and the hue and cry. Tithings showed the importance of communities because they imposed a collective responsibility for the behaviour of others. A tithing was made up of ten men / boys over twelve who were responsible for each other’s behaviour. If one of the tithing was suspected of committing a crime the others would be responsible for catching him and taking him to the court for trial or, if they failed, pay a fine. This shows the importance of the local community because members of the tithing were responsible for each other’s behaviour and because the community ties acted as a deterrent as most members of the community would not want to let others down. The importance of the community was shown in other ways. For example the hue and cry required all members of a village to assist in catching a suspected criminal or be fined for not helping. This shows that the community was very important in law enforcement because they had the responsibility for apprehending the suspected criminal. There were developments in policing such as the introduction of the constable and watch but these also highlighted the role of the community. For example the constable was a respected villager and the watch was also made up of villagers. This underlines the role of the community as there was no official paid police force and so it relied on the community led by the village constable. On the other hand the local community was not the only influence on law enforcement. The church also had a very significant role. The Church was also important regarding trial by ordeal. If the local community could not decide on a person’s guilt then it was believed that God could decide through trial by ordeal. The accused would suffer a usually painful test such as carrying a red-hot iron bar or lifting a stone from a cauldron of boiling water. If, after three days, the bandaged wounds were starting to heal God had shown their innocence. Fasting and prayers took place before the trial and they often took place in Church. However, trials by ordeal were outlawed by the Church in 1215 and so were not important throughout the Middle Ages. Another area where the Church was important was in the growth of Church Courts. These were used to try moral crimes and crimes suspected of being committed by the clergy. These courts often gave lesser punishments than those given by royal courts. Anyone who could learn the ‘neck verse’ could give the ‘benefit of the clergy’- the right to trial in a Church Court – but for most ordinary people law was enforced by the local community.

 Overall both the local community and the Church were important in law enforcement. The local community’s policing role was vital as there was no official police force and this is made clear by the fact that tithings and the hue and cry continued as the main method of policing throughout 17 the Middle Ages. The Church had a great influence over trial by ordeal and in its own Church courts but trial by ordeal was abolished and fewer people were involved. The local community’s role though was most important as they caught, tried and punished the vast majority of suspects throughout the Middle Ages.
---------------------
q2)explain why new crimes were defined in the period from c1900 to the present day  you  may use the following in your answer : driving offences, race crimes. (12 marks)


Driving offences: 1. Driving a horse-drawn coach while drunk first became illegal in 1872. It became illegal to drive a car while drunk in 1925. In 1967, a new law set a maximum limit for the amount of alcohol a person could have in their bloodstream and legally drive. Despite these laws, it was considered normal to drive home after drinking quite large quantities of alcohol, as late as the 1970s. Public attitudes towards this type of behaviour were very lenient. Government advertising campaigns since the 1970s have highlighted the risks of drink-driving, and attitudes have changed considerable as awareness has grown. Today drink-driving is generally condemned by the public. Attitudes towards speeding have also changed over time. Again, government advertising campaigns in the late 20th century, highlighting the dangers of speeding, have played a part in making speeding less acceptable to the general public. The factor that caused this crime to be defined was attitudes in society as people believed that it was considered quite normal to drive home after drinking quite large quantities of alcohol.

Race crime: In the 1950s many people from commonwealth countries (former colonies of the british empire) moved to britain for work. As Britain became more multicultural, some new laws were needed to ensure that people from different minority groups were treated fairly In 1968, the Race Relations Act made it illegal to refuse jobs, housing or public services to anyone on the basis of their race, ethnic background or country of origin. In this case increasing immigration led to the need for a definition of a new crime. In 2006, the law was extended to define spreading racial or religious hatred as a crime. The factor that led to race crime was travel as Britain became more multicultural due to many people moving from commonwealth countries - this meant that different minority groups were not treated equally.

Homophobic crimes: Up until 1967, homosexuality was illegal in the UK. In that year the Sexual Offenses Act decriminalised homosexuality for men aged over 21. Some historians describe the growing liberal attitudes towards sex in the 1960s as a sexual revolution. These new attitudes had an important impact on how laws changed. In the 21st century, the Criminal Justice Act (came into force in 2005) gave courts new powers to issue more severe sentences for hate crime including for homophobic crimes. Until then, if a person was attacked for being gay, or because the attacker believed they were gay, it was treated the same as any other crime. This new law meant that such an attack would be classed as a hate crime and treated more seriously by the authorities. The factor that caused this change was attitudes in society as many people looked down upon homosexuality and believed it to be negative. Due to this, some people would commit homophobic crimes and they needed to be addressed