Crime and PunishmentCauses of crime Return to the main page
Source 2 Source 1 Source 3   Transcript Print page
   
  HO 44/18 f.37-48, extract from a letter. The stocking-making industry was flourishing in Leicestershire. This had been partly mechanised, but was still based in villages. Like many industries, it employed children and young people. In this source Meyrick blames the rise in crime on the end of the old seven year apprenticeship system, in which young people were under the tight control of their "master". In the new industrial system, young people were soon earning their own money and so were independent of their parents. He goes on to say that this lack of restraint also leads girls to become pregnant outside marriage.
 
Hints
  Think about how each of the causes of crime Meyrick gives here could actually lead to crime. Does he think more people are committing crime, or are the same number of people committing more crimes?
 
Worksheet Instructions
  Put some of the examples you have found from these Sources into your Gallery Worksheet.
 
  HO 44/18 f.37-48, extract from a letter