Early Modern British Crime and Punishment

By this time, the monarch had less influence on the laws of the country. Land owners and Parliament members took on the roles of more power.

These people wanted to use their power to protect what they had, which was not easy at this time. Theft was the most common crime in the 18th Century, and petty crimes wound up being punishable by death.The policy for harsh punishment became known as the Bloody Code.

This shows that punishments were still being used as a deterrent.

Social crimes were crimes that went against the social order - they were aimed directly at the rich.

Poaching - A criminal act of hunting on someone's property without their permission. It was hard to define where one person's land ended and another began. This caused normal hunters to become criminals overnight. Many people continued to poach as they did not see it as a crime.

Highway Men - The highway men were men who robbed people on…