The Changing Face of Crime and Punishment in Europe
Summary
The history of crime and punishment in Europe saw a shift from capital punishment to imprisonment and penal reform in the 19th century. The increasing power of the legislature and the emergence of professional criminology led to the growth of new police forces. Despite efforts at reform, corruption and inefficiency hindered progress. The conquest of nature led to advancements in medicine but also the unwelcome consequences of pollution.
Table of Contents
- The Abolition of Capital Punishment and Growth of Imprisonment
- Transportation, Exile, and Political Exiles
- Prison Reform in Nineteenth-Century Europe
- Criminology and Professional Policing
- Conclusion: Mixed Success in Controlling Crime and the Consequences of Progress
Q&A
Q: Why did capital punishment fall out of favor in Europe?
A: Reformers argued that the death penalty was an outdated punishment, while monarchs had reservations about signing death warrants for fear of a miscarriage of justice. This eventually led to the legal or de facto abolition of capital punishment in many European countries.
Q: What were some alternatives to capital punishment?
A: Corporal punishment, such as whipping, was also abolished in most countries around the same time. Transporting felons out of the country was seen as an alternative punishment, with over 865,000 convicts sent to Siberia by Russia alone in the 19th century. Political exile was also used as a means of punishment, with 20,000 Poles sent to Siberia after the uprisings of 1830-1 and 1863.
Q: When did the prison become the primary form of punishment?
A: The system of exile ended in the 19th century, and the prison became the primary form of punishment.
Q: What was the Philadelphia system of prison reform?
A: Prison reformers advocated for purpose-built reformatories and penitentiaries, and the Philadelphia system, first implemented in Walnut Street prison, became widely admired in Europe. It emphasized solitary confinement, hard labor, and religious instruction.
Q: Was penal reform successful in Europe?
A: Despite the best intentions of reformers, budgetary constraints and political priorities hindered progress. Prison conditions deteriorated, and overcrowding became widespread. Throughout Europe, recidivism rates were high, and a floating population existed between prison and free society.
Q: What impact did Cesare Lombroso have on the study of crime?
A: Cesare Lombroso and his belief that criminals were born, not made, as they were evolutionary throwbacks, gained some influence in Europe in the late 19th century but was never widely supported. However, it did lead to the study of crime and criminality becoming the domain of medicine and professional criminology.
Q: What were some consequences of the conquest of nature during this time?
A: The conquest of nature had some success in taming the wild and mastering the elements but also produced unwelcome consequences such as pollution.
The Abolition of Capital Punishment and Growth of Imprisonment
Reformers argued that the death penalty was an outdated punishment, while monarchs had reservations about signing death warrants for fear of a miscarriage of justice. This eventually led to the legal or de facto abolition of capital punishment in many European countries, as legislatures acquired more power. Corporal punishment, such as whipping, was also abolished in most countries around the same time. The shift away from capital punishment contributed to the growth of imprisonment as a means of punishment.
Transportation, Exile, and Political Exiles
Transporting felons out of the country was seen as an alternative punishment, with over 865,000 convicts sent to Siberia by Russia alone in the 19th century. Political exile was also used as a means of punishment, with 20,000 Poles sent to Siberia after the uprisings of 1830-1 and 1863. These forms of punishment were eventually replaced by imprisonment as the primary form of punishment.
Prison Reform in Nineteenth-Century Europe
Penal reformers advocated for purpose-built reformatories and penitentiaries, and the Philadelphia system, first implemented in Walnut Street prison, became widely admired in Europe. This system emphasized solitary confinement, hard labor, and religious instruction. Prison reform swept across Europe in the mid-19th century, with Elizabeth Fry pioneering reform in Britain and similar movements emerging in Germany and Italy. Despite the best intentions of reformers, budgetary constraints and political priorities hindered progress. Prison conditions deteriorated, and overcrowding became widespread. Throughout Europe, recidivism rates were high, and a floating population existed between prison and free society.
Criminology and Professional Policing
Cesare Lombroso and his belief that criminals were born, not made, as they were evolutionary throwbacks, gained some influence in Europe in the late 19th century but was never widely supported. However, it did lead to the study of crime and criminality becoming the domain of medicine and professional criminology. This, combined with the increasing power of the state to enforce the law, led to the growth of new police forces, such as the Metropolitan Police in London and the Schutzmannschaft in Germany. Despite efforts by governments to control or reform criminal behavior, success was limited due to corrupt and inefficient officials, leading to widespread disorder.
Conclusion: Mixed Success in Controlling Crime and the Consequences of Progress
The history of crime and punishment in Europe saw a shift from capital punishment to imprisonment and penal reform in the 19th century. Despite the best intentions of reformers, progress was hindered by budgetary constraints, political priorities, and corrupt and inefficient officials. The conquest of nature had some success in taming the wild and mastering the elements but also produced unwelcome consequences such as pollution. The study of crime and criminality became the domain of medicine and professional criminology, leading to the growth of new police forces. However, success in controlling crime was limited due to widespread disorder.
