What is the Crime and Punishment option in WJEC GCSE History?

Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 to the present day is a Unit 3 thematic study in breadth, a 1-hour 15-minute written exam worth 30 percent (60 marks plus 4 SPaG). It traces the changing nature of crime, law enforcement and punishment across several centuries, with a compulsory Welsh perspective and an extended essay that carries the SPaG marks.

How did crime change across the period?

New crimes appeared with each age. The early modern period saw heresy, witchcraft, vagabondage and smuggling, driven by religion and economic change. The industrial period saw new crimes linked to towns and poverty. The modern period saw cybercrime, terrorism, hate crime and motoring offences. Throughout, some crimes such as theft and violence continued, so the theme shows both change and continuity.

How did punishment change across the period?

Punishment moved from deterrence and retribution towards rehabilitation. For centuries it was public and physical: hanging, the stocks, the pillory and the Bloody Code, with transportation to the American colonies and then Australia. The rise of the prison, the work of reformers, the end of public execution in 1868 and the abolition of the death penalty in 1965 marked the shift towards reform and rehabilitation.

When was the first professional police force created?

For centuries law enforcement relied on amateurs, the parish constable, the night watch and the sheriff. The first professional, preventive police force was the Metropolitan Police, created by Robert Peel through the Act of 1829, whose officers were nicknamed 'Peelers' or 'Bobbies'. Policing then grew, specialised and became scientific, using fingerprinting, DNA, forensics and CCTV.

What is the Welsh perspective in the Crime and Punishment study?

The Welsh perspective is compulsory. It includes the Rebecca Riots of the 1840s, in which Welsh tenant farmers destroyed toll-gates in protest against tolls and poverty, and the Merthyr Rising of 1831, in which ironworkers rose against wage cuts and the young miner Dic Penderyn was hanged and became seen as a martyr. These Welsh cases illustrate the wider themes of change and continuity in crime and punishment.

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Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 to present: a complete overview for WJEC GCSE History (Unit 3)

A complete overview of Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 to the present day for WJEC GCSE History Unit 3, covering the early modern, industrial and modern periods, the long-term change in policing and punishment, and the compulsory Welsh perspective.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.815 min read3100-unit-3Updated 2026-06-14

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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What this covers
Crime across the period
Punishment across the period
Policing across the period
The Welsh perspective
Check your knowledge

What this covers

Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 to the present day is a Unit 3 thematic study in breadth. This overview ties the dot points together across the early modern, industrial and modern periods, the long-term change in policing and punishment, and the compulsory Welsh perspective. The unit is examined by change, significance and source questions and an extended essay carrying the SPaG marks, so keep the long view.

Crime across the period

New crimes appeared with each age: heresy, witchcraft, vagabondage and smuggling in the early modern period (religion and economic change); new urban crimes in the industrial period; and cybercrime, terrorism, hate crime and motoring offences in the modern period. Some crimes, such as theft and violence, continued throughout.

Punishment across the period

Punishment moved from deterrence and retribution (hanging, the stocks, the Bloody Code, transportation) towards reform and rehabilitation (the rise of the prison, reformers, the end of public execution in 1868, the abolition of the death penalty in 1965).

Policing across the period

Law enforcement was transformed from amateur constables and the watch, to the professional Metropolitan Police of 1829, to modern scientific policing (fingerprinting, DNA, CCTV), though continuity remained in reliance on the public.

The Welsh perspective

The compulsory Welsh perspective includes the Rebecca Riots of the 1840s and the Merthyr Rising of 1831 with Dic Penderyn, illustrating poverty, protest and contested justice in Wales.

Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 to the present day is a WJEC Unit 3 thematic study in breadth, with a compulsory Welsh perspective and an extended essay carrying the SPaG marks. Crime changed with each age: heresy, witchcraft, vagabondage and smuggling in the early modern period, new urban crimes in the industrial period, and cybercrime, terrorism and motoring offences in the modern period, with theft and violence continuing throughout. Punishment moved from deterrence and retribution (hanging, the stocks, the Bloody Code, transportation) towards reform and rehabilitation (the prison, reformers, the end of public execution in 1868 and the death penalty in 1965). Law enforcement was transformed from amateur constables and the watch, to the Metropolitan Police of 1829, to modern scientific policing, though it still relies on the public. The Welsh perspective, including the Rebecca Riots and the Merthyr Rising with Dic Penderyn, illustrates the wider themes of change and continuity.

Check your knowledge

What new crimes appeared in the early modern period? (2 marks)
What was the Bloody Code? (2 marks)
When and why was the Metropolitan Police created? (2 marks)
How did the purpose of punishment change? (3 marks)
What new crimes appeared in the modern period? (2 marks)
When was the death penalty for murder abolished? (1 mark)
What were the Rebecca Riots? (2 marks)
What factors drove change in crime and punishment? (3 marks)

Solutions

Q1: Heresy, witchcraft, vagabondage and smuggling, driven by religion and economic change.
Q2: A system in the 1700s where over 200 crimes carried the death penalty, even minor theft, to deter through fear, though it was applied unevenly and declined.
Q3: In 1829, by Robert Peel, because industrialisation and the growth of towns increased crime the amateur system could not handle.
Q4: From deterrence and retribution (public, physical punishment, the Bloody Code), towards reform and rehabilitation (the prison, the end of public execution in 1868 and the death penalty in 1965).
Q5: Cybercrime, terrorism, hate crime and motoring offences.
Q6: In 1965 (for murder).
Q7: A Welsh protest crime of the 1840s in which tenant farmers destroyed toll-gates against tolls and poverty, disguised as "Rebecca".
Q8: Religion, government, reformers and changing attitudes, and science and technology.

Sources & how we know this

WJEC GCSE History (Wales) specification (3100) — WJEC (2017)