The growth of crime in the 20th and 21st centuries
The crime rate increased in the 20th century, particularly after the 1960s. Many new crimes have emerged due to rapid technological, social and economic change.
Car crime
The first motor car in Britain arrived in 1894. An 1896 act of Parliament set the speed limit at 14 miles per hour. For safety reasons, it was decided that someone had to walk in front of the car waving a red flag. To begin with, only very rich people could afford cars. However, over time the price fell and by the 1930s thousands of people in Britain owned cars. Due to a large number of deaths on the roads, the government introduced safety measures, including further speed limits, driving tests and pedestrian crossings. An increase in the number of cars on the road has led to an increase in the amount of car-related crime.
There are many crimes linked with cars. They include:
- dangerous and careless driving
- parking violations
- speeding
- car theft
- road rage
- Stealing a car and driving it around at speed in a reckless way.
- Using of physical force or threats to violently steal an occupied car.
- driving without a licence, insurance, road tax or MOT
- failing to stop after or report an accident
- drink driving
- refusing to do a breath test
- not wearing a seatbelt
- using a handheld mobile phone
Technology crime
Cybercrime is crime or illegal activity on the internet.
| Cybercrime | Activity |
| Hacking | Accessing other people’s or organisations’ files and/or databases. |
| Fraud | Stealing from a person, eg stealing from their bank account online, or using someone else’s credit card details online. Fraud often involves identity fraud, which means pretending to be someone else to access their bank accounts and credit cards. |
| Using malicious software | Using a computer virus to destroy files or information on someone else’s computer. Sometimes the software is delivered via a phishing scam, using spoof emails with links to the malware. |
| Cybercrime | Hacking |
|---|---|
| Activity | Accessing other people’s or organisations’ files and/or databases. |
| Cybercrime | Fraud |
|---|---|
| Activity | Stealing from a person, eg stealing from their bank account online, or using someone else’s credit card details online. Fraud often involves identity fraud, which means pretending to be someone else to access their bank accounts and credit cards. |
| Cybercrime | Using malicious software |
|---|---|
| Activity | Using a computer virus to destroy files or information on someone else’s computer. Sometimes the software is delivered via a phishing scam, using spoof emails with links to the malware. |
Computers have also allowed new ways for criminals to commit old crimes.
| Computer crime | Activity |
| Sexual crimes | The internet may be used to meet and groom vulnerable people, such as children. The internet may also be used to share illegal images of abuse. |
| Cyberbullying | Threatening and abusive behaviour using the internet. |
| Theft | Computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone theft has increased. |
| Computer crime | Sexual crimes |
|---|---|
| Activity | The internet may be used to meet and groom vulnerable people, such as children. The internet may also be used to share illegal images of abuse. |
| Computer crime | Cyberbullying |
|---|---|
| Activity | Threatening and abusive behaviour using the internet. |
| Computer crime | Theft |
|---|---|
| Activity | Computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone theft has increased. |
Drug-related crime
There are many crimes related to the increased use of illegal drugs in Britain. This is because the laws surrounding drug use have become much tighter since the 1960s. The use of drugs has not necessarily increased but these changes in the law mean that the number of drug-related crimes has increased significantly. These crimes include:
- Drug trafficking or smuggling drugs into the country, sometimes done with drug ‘mules’.
- Manufacture of drugs - drugs like cannabis are grown in ‘farms’. Other drugs are ‘cut’ (mixed) with other products before sale.
- Drug gangs distribute drugs, often across large areas of the country. It is a criminal offence to be in possession of illegal drugs.
Violent crimes
Violent crimes tend to dominate media reports on crime. The rate of violent crime increased in the late 20th century. Violent crimes include:
- Football hooliganism - this rose sharply from the 1960s. Some rival gangs of supporters plan to fight each other, or to attack or vandalise property at local public transport stations or on roads leading to the stadiums.
- Riots - many riots occurred between 6 and 11 August 2011 in London and other cities. These riots began after the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan in London. Many shops were looted and fires started during the riots.
- Gun and knife crime In the year ending June 2022, a total of approximately 6.5 million criminal offences were recorded by the police in England and Wales. 49,991 recorded offences involved the use of knives or sharp objects. In the year ending March 2022, the police in England and Wales reported 8,565 offences that involved the use of a firearm, air weapon, or imitation firearm.
Terrorism
Since the 1960s, the terrorist threat to the UK has developed significantly. Terrorists use violence and threats of violence as a means to achieve their goals and publicise their actions. Often terrorist groups or individuals are influenced by extremist ideologies.
The Terrorism Act, passed in 2000, states that terrorism is defined by:
‘The use or threat of action which is designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation, or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and which is used to advance a political, religious or ideological cause.’
In the UK, counter terrorist police units collaborate across forces and work with the UK intelligence community (including MI5 and other partners) to help protect the public and maintain national security by preventing, deterring and investigating terrorist activity. It is possible to categorise this activity in the following ways:
- International terrorism that goes beyond national boundaries in terms of the methods used, the people that are targeted or the places from which the terrorists operate. For example, in Britain, terrorist attacks have been committed by members of and inspired by, Islamist extremist terrorist groups which initially originated in other countries.
- Northern Ireland related terrorism - in the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s acts of terrorism were carried out by loyalist and republican paramilitary groups. The signing of the 1998 Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement) agreement helped to bring to an end much of the conflict in Northern Ireland, although there have been fatal attacks and instances of violence since then, and a threat from terrorist groups linked to Northern Ireland remains.
- Right wing terrorism - Right wing terrorists are motivated by factors such as racism, extreme nationalism or the desire to remove people of different nationalities, religions and cultures from Britain.
- Other types of terrorist groups or individuals have been active in Britain. Sometimes they have planned or committed attacks, raised money or recruited people into their groups. Some of the groups have been mainly non-religious; others have had both political and religious motivations or are focused on single issues.
