EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Crime historian Dr Nell Darby answers key questions about the evolution of law and order in the British Isles

- CHARLOTTE HODGMAN

Q: How did the criminal justice system as we know it develop in Britain?

A: Aspects of the modern criminal justice system can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries, such as the introduction of trial by jury, which emerged during the reign of Henry II [r1154-89]. He established that 12 free men should be assigned to act in land disputes, but he also introduced the use of a grand jury in assize courts, where 12 men had to report crimes in their local area to a judge.

Although there were previous systems that involved groups of men making decisions, it was only during this period that the concept developed further and became more recognizably modern. Prior to this, crimes were dealt with using trial by ordeal, which would involve subjecting people to extreme punishments, and torturing them to see whether they were guilty or innocent.

The introduction of trial by jury was a real marker of the civilization of society if you like. And then you had Magna Carta in 1215, in which being afforded a trial by jury was made an explicit right.

Q: Are there any punishments of the past that we would find ludicrous today?

A: There have been many bizarre methods of punishment throughout history. For example, there were things like the ducking stool or cucking stool a long construct with a stool at one end, to which the offender would be strapped and then dunked into a body of water. People could also be forced to wear contraptions such as the scold's bridle (see page 43), which was sometimes known as the ranks. These methods of punishment were targeted at local gossips, and it was mainly women who were on the receiving end of them.