20th C Policing +Detection (Crime Punishment)

This lesson explores how policing and crime detection have changed since 1900, focusing on the impact of technology, changing attitudes, and modern policing methods. Students investigate how new developments such as communication systems, forensic science, and transport improved the effectiveness of policing, while also considering how technology can sometimes benefit criminals. Through source analysis and comparison tasks, students examine how public attitudes towards the police have evolved over time.

Learning Intention: To understand how policing methods and crime detection have changed since 1900 and how attitudes towards the police have developed.

Success Criteria

• Identify how technology has changed policing and crime detection.
• Explain how attitudes towards the police have developed over time.
• Analyse historical sources to assess changes in policing and public responsibility.

Activities Included

• Starter task identifying modern technological advances in policing
• Sorting activity evaluating the positive and negative impacts of technology on crime
• Source-based task analysing a case study of policing in the 20th century
• Mind map activity exploring changing attitudes towards the police
• Source comparison examining community responsibility from the past to the present
• Discussion tasks evaluating how far policing has changed over time

Format: PowerPoint lesson resources

Ideal For:
KS3 History (Crime and Punishment through Time / Modern Britain)
Mixed ability classrooms requiring differentiated resources
Lessons exploring modern policing, technology, and society
Inquiry-based learning developing source analysis and evaluation skills