Section A: Crime c. 1900-present

Hate crime 

1. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalised homosexuality for the first time in the UK.  

2. The Criminal Justice Act 2005 said that hate crimes (crimes motivated by prejudice against the victim’s race, gender, disability or sexual orientation) would be punished more severely.  

3. New laws were also needed as increasing immigration led to Britain being more multicultural. The 1968 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.  

Domestic violence 

1. In the 19^th century, crimes the violence of a man towards his wife was seen as personal business. This attitude changed as women got the vote after WW1, and women campaigned for equal rights in the 1960s.  

2. The Domestic Violence Act 1976 gave victims the right to ask for an injunction against a violent partner.  

3. In 1991 the courts ruled that it was possible to prosecute a man for rape within marriage.  

4. In 2014, controlling and coercive behaviour towards a partner was made a crime.  

5. Despite this, it is the still the case that two women a week in the UK are killed by their current or former partner.  

Abortion  

1. Until 1967, terminating a pregnancy was illegal for Britain. Therefore, dangerous ‘backstreet abortions’ were carried out by people without proper medical training.  

2. Growing liberalisation of attitudes in the 1960s led to calls for change.  

3. The 1967 Abortion Act legalised abortion if the child was going to have serious disabilities or the mother was at risk of serious physical or mental harm if the pregnancy continued.  

4. In 1968 the latest stage of pregnancy at which an abortion could be carried out was 28 weeks, although this has been lowered over time as medicine has advanced.  

Driving offences  

1. Driving a horse drawn coach while drunk first became a crime 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.  

2. However, in the 1970s attitudes to drunk driving were generally quite lenient, and only recently have attitudes changed to make it generally condemned by the public.  

Drug-taking 

1. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 made many drugs illegal for the first time.  

Terrorism 

1. Terrorism is the use of violence, fear and intimidation to publicise a political cause.  

2. In the 1970s and 80s, the best known terrorist groups was the IRA (Irish Republican Army), which used violence to campaign for Irish independence from the UK.  

3. More recently, Al-Qaeda and Isis have been responsible for acts of terror in Europe.  

4. Modern day terrorists use the internet to communicate and spread their message.  

5. Other groups also use terrorism to further their cause, for example animal rights activists.  

People-trafficking 

1. This involves people from poorer countries being brought to the UK and forced to work for very low (or no) wages.  

2. Some women and children are forced into prostitution.  

3. Gangs use physical confinement, blackmail and coercion.  

4. This is not a new crime. The phrase ‘white slave trade’ was first used in the 1830s.  

Cybercrime 

1. This is any crime that is carried out via the internet and other digital technologies.  

2. Sometimes this might be on a global scale. 

3. Fraud means impersonating other people or businesses to make money illegally. This can be done by impersonating a bank or business online and hoping people will transfer money or give away their bank details.  

4. Copyright theft is committed when people make available illegal downloads of music, computer games, films and television shows.  

5. Hacking is gaining unauthorised to data in a system or a computer. It can be done to steal data, for espionage (spying), or for extortion (making threats for money).