Vagrancy

Crime reporting is not a new concept and has been around since the 1800s. “Federal attention to crime statistics began on June 22, 1870, when Congress passed PL 41-97, creating the Department of Justice. Section 12 of the law provided that it was the duty of the Attorney General to make an annual report to Congress ... [on] the statistics of crime under the laws of the United States, and, as far as practicable, under the laws of the several States. This provision of the law was apparently…

This essay aims to provide an objective and comparative assessment of substantial academic research and literature concerning the evolution of policing and the Police within a democracy. Initially, it will introduce a contextual synopsis including the definition of policing and the contemporary framework within which it is established and applied. In addition it will present a chronological basis of the development of policing into the subsequent formation of the Police; progressing to a…

living in. Post Emancipation Proclamation comes Southern Reconstruction, which introduces the black codes. These codes are set in place to quite clearly target the black population, but are said to only target criminal activity. Such included vagrancy laws, and unfree labor. This proves to be an extremely corrupt era in our American history. Reconstruction is a democratic reform failure. There still is a lack of integration between blacks and whites, not to mention increasingly high…

In some cases, Apprentices, or those who were not going to be paid for their labor, were subject to such injustice in order to avoid violating Vagrancy laws which called for forced labor upon those who did not hold an occupation. The forced necessity of having a job or apprenticeship thus made African Americans accept no or incredibly low wages in order to avoid violating the Black Codes, which…

Colonial Puritan philosophy regarding juvenile behavior was enacted into law, in 1646 Massachusetts passed the Stubborn Child Law, which created the first status offense which was an act considered illegal for minors only. Also, according to the common law, a youth under the age of 14 may or could be adjudged incapable of discerning right from wrong this appeared to the court and jury that he could discern between good and evil. These trials and punishments were based on age and any one older…

masters. Because of these contracts African Americans could not work for more than one employer, they received extremely low wages and horrible working conditions. If any of them tried to violate their contracts they were fined, beaten or arrested for vagrancy. If they were to get arrested they had to work for no wages, essentially being reduced to the very definition of a…

Beginning in 1166, Henry II began building jails including the Newgate Prison in London. During this time, courts were established along with the first legal textbook which became the precursor to Common Law (Timeline: Prisons in England, 2006). Furthermore, the modern jury was set up with twelve men to adjudicate regarding land disputes (Timeline: Prisons in England, 2006). Later, in 1215, the Magna Carta was signed by King John which marked the beginning of English judicial rights, which…

arriving in the British colonies of Van Diemen’s Land were imprisoned. In its time, it was a groundbreaking attempt to deal with issues of crime and punishment that all societies continue to address today. People could be deported for crimes such as vagrancy (being homeless and unemployed) or robbery of goods less than a shilling, while stealing goods worth more than a shilling meant being hung. Good behaviour meant that many convicts were granted a Ticket of Leave before their full sentence. A…

suffers from general unawareness of the law’s existence, underfunding, and inadequate monitoring and coordination (UNDP, 2013). Other important constraints are connected to national policies that negatively impact the HIV/AIDS response. Existing anti-vagrancy, anti-sex laws, and anti-public scandal laws intended to promote “public order” are being used by police to target and harass female sex workers, MSM, and transgender people (UNDP, 2013). Anti-drug acts conflict with RA 8504’s promotion of…

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Harper Lee’s well known To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the struggle of living in the Great Depression. During this time period, the southern states were largely affected by the ideals of racism. Lee’s novel is inspired by many historical events relating to the South during…