Crime has existed since the dawn of time, but the ways in which humanity deals with it have evolved. Sometimes it's a direct reflection of our priorities, and other times, it's an example of our humanity at play. But the evolution of crime and discipline says a lot about how humanity has grown as well. 

It's led to the development of modern criminology, a respected social science with the aim to prevent crime by learning why and how it occurs. 

When did crime and punishment start? How has it changed over the centuries? What factors lead people to commit crimes? In this guide, we'll answer all these questions and discuss the historical background of punishment — from the inhumane to the ethical.

Table of Contents

• What Is the History of Crime?
• What Is the History of Punishment?
• How Did Criminology Start?
• The Evolution of Criminology
• How Has the Criminal Justice System Changed Over Time?
• Visit the Crime and Punishment Museum at Volo

What Is the History of Crime?

From the beginning of time, humans have seen revenge as a valid form of punishment. History tells us that punishments were often doled out by the victim of a crime as revenge or payback. 

Often, the punishment did not match the crime and was too severe, which resulted in the criminal taking on a new role as the victim — and probably seeking revenge of their own. It was a vicious cycle that led to many blood feuds among families — like the Montagues and the Capulets in "Romeo and Juliet."

What Is the History of Punishment?

Eventually, people realized that families constantly seeking revenge on each other was far from a productive way to live, so laws and rules regarding crime and discipline were established.

These new laws were designed so that the punishment matched the crime — even though more often than not, the punishment was still inflicted by the victim as a form of revenge. The Code of Hammurabi became one of the first legal codes to be established and modern criminal justice practices are still influenced by it.

Hammurabi and the Laws of Retribution

Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who ruled from 1792 until 1750 B.C.E. The Code of Hammurabi was a set of legal precedents for different types of crimes and disputes, ranging from family law to contracts and major crimes — this is one of the earliest examples of the "innocent until proven guilty" adage that we follow today.

The Code of Hammurabi included specific punishments based on the criminal's age, social class and gender. For example, if a rich man was found guilty of stealing, he would be charged a higher fine than if a slave was found guilty of stealing. Alternately, the punishment for killing a rich person would be far more severe than for killing a slave.

But the punishments weren't always as logical as the laws themselves. The punishments could be extremely gruesome and cruel since they relied heavily upon the laws of retribution, or "an eye for an eye." So, if a man broke his colleague's leg, then his punishment would be to have his own leg broken. The punishments could end up being as severe as mutilation, dismemberment or even violent death.

The idea behind this type of punishment structure was that criminals could learn from what they had done to others by experiencing the same form of pain as revenge. However, this was not always the case for criminals committing multiple offenses. It was common for repeat criminals to face punishments like getting their tongues, an eye or ear, or both hands sliced off.

The rules surrounding crime and discipline have come a long way since this era — it became clear this short-term punishment structure was not always effective in stopping unlawful behaviors.

Plato and Aristotle

Early philosophers play a major role in how we look at the criminal justice system today. They also help us understand why crime and punishment are important. They helped humanity understand that the reason for committing a crime can have an impact on how severe the corresponding punishment should be.

Plato and Aristotle, in particular, are responsible for our understanding of the relationship between crime and punishment today. These two philosophers helped us grasp why it's equally important to uncover why a person commits a crime as it is to ensure others refrain from committing the same crime. They also pointed out that the two are often closely related:

• Plato: Plato claimed that a major reason why people commit crimes was because of a lack of education and wealth. People who lived in poverty and who were uneducated — probably because they couldn't afford to get an education — were more likely to commit crimes, often to survive. Plato believed that crimes should be punished, of course, but the punishment should reflect the degree of fault rather than the severity of the crime. For example, if a man was caught stealing bread to feed his starving family, he should receive a lesser punishment than a man who steals bread for himself.
• Aristotle: Meanwhile, Aristotle was explaining that punishments and responses to crime should be used as an opportunity to prevent others from committing crimes. He believed that when criminals receive punishment, it should be severe enough that it warns the rest of society not to commit the same crime while also reminding the criminal not to commit a crime again.

Roman Law and Secularism

The Romans were the first people to look at crime and punishment as purely human traits. Historical crime and punishment claim that punishing a criminal was "doing God's work" and that committing a crime was the same as sinning. 

But the Romans saw crime as an insult to society as a whole, and Roman law was established to bring order to society. Roman law was less concerned with pleasing religious deities and more concerned with ensuring society was safe, orderly and fair. 

Many of the basics of Roman law are still practiced in modern civil law and criminal justice systems in the 21st century.

Middle Ages and Christianity

The evolution of crime and punishment took a few steps backward in the Middle Ages when the rise of Christianity made it closely linked to religion again. This meant crimes were considered acts against God and punishments for these crimes were God's work.

The punishments for crime were still cruel, severe and often inhumane because they were designed to rid the criminal of the devil's influence. Crime and discipline in the Middle Ages were violent and gory, including a type of punishment designated for situations in which a person's guilt was unclear. 

In a "trial by ordeal," a person would be put into a life-threatening situation, and their survival would reveal whether they were guilty or innocent. This concept relied on the idea that if an accused criminal was innocent, God would perform some type of miracle to save them. God's judgment and generosity would be the saving grace for those who were worthy of it.

The Middle Ages trial-by-ordeal arrangements were diverse. It was common for those in trouble with the law to find themselves in any of the following situations:

• Individual or group combat: Multiple parties in a dispute would name one champion after the results of a duel. The party that lost the battle would be found guilty or responsible for the crime committed, while the champion of the combat would be seen as the innocent party. Those who were found guilty usually faced serious injury. Combat events were common between civilians and small government organizations.
• Trial by water: In this arrangement, the person in question with the law would either face a hot or cold water challenge. Hot water trials involved reaching into a kettle of boiling water to retrieve a stone. The innocent would allegedly be able to get the stone without hesitation. Cold water challenges required an individual to jump into a pool of water. The belief was that only the innocent would float, while those guilty would sink.
• Trial by fire: Someone in trouble with the law would be asked to carry hot iron or walk across hot coals. A few days would pass, and the clergy would examine the wounds. If the wounds were healing nicely, this was a sign that God viewed the individual as innocent.

St. Thomas Aquinas

It wasn't until St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his "Summa Theologica," a treatise on law, crime and punishment, that the history of punishment started turning towards secularism. Aquinas explained that there was a God-given "natural law" that existed and that humans were naturally designed to do good. 

When a human committed a crime, Aquinas believed it was both an affront to God as well as society. He claimed that crimes negatively impacted both the victims and the criminals. The victim was negatively impacted because they were the victim of a crime, but the criminal was to be pitied because, by committing a crime, they were moving further away from God and losing their sense of humanity.

It was Aquinas and his compassionate take on punishments that helped create modern laws.

Cesare Beccaria and Secularism

Secularism has popped up and disappeared several times throughout the history of crime and discipline. But the eventual separation of church and state brought around a new way of thinking about crime and punishment — a way that stuck. 

Italian writer Cesare Beccaria wrote a book — called "On Crime and Punishment" — in which he stated punishments should match the severity of a crime and that it should be a way to scare others from committing crimes.

This isn't a new idea, of course, but it caught the attention of many since Beccaria also stated it was more important to prevent crime than to punish it. He also believed there should be laws and rules in place that everyone must follow when it comes to doling out punishments. He believed that judges should only be allowed to decide if a person was guilty or innocent and that any necessary punishments should be picked from an approved list.

This meant that judges couldn't make up whatever punishment they wanted for a guilty party. They now had to follow the legislature that specifically stated what the punishment for certain crimes would be, which made it impossible for judges who still enjoyed cruel and unusual punishment to torture people.

How Did Criminology Start?

Criminology is the study of crime, including how and why it occurs. It's existed for thousands of years, but it's only recently been named and recognized as a legitimate science. 

The timeline of criminology as a practice dates back to the 1700s and 1800s in Europe. At that time, theorists and writers who studied crime and discipline made it clear that they believed every person had free will, so when they committed a crime, they were acting on their behalf. The consequences for these crimes should be based on the severity of the crime itself and should be used as a way to deter others from acting out.

Criminology, as we understand it today, is a branch of sociology. Sociologists study individuals by examining their behaviors and environments to understand why they act as they do. When that method is applied to crime and criminals alone, it becomes criminology, which was acknowledged as an official branch of sociology around the late 19th century.

The Evolution of Criminology

Criminology tries to answer many questions, including:

• How have crime and punishment changed over time?
• What is the history of punishment?
• How has the punishment of offenders evolved?
• Why are crime and punishment essential?

In the early days of criminology, theorists aimed to establish ways to punish crimes without being inhumane or cruel. Torture as punishment was rampant throughout history in some form or another. Early criminologists believed forms of torture were wrong. They wanted to find new consequences that fit the severity of the crime while still being humane.

Adolphe Quetelet and Crime Statistics

Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet, was one of the first people to study crime statistics, which were initially published in 1872. The statistics were for France, where Quelelet lived as an adult, and they helped establish the foundations of criminology. 

Quetelet was able to find commonalities among the criminals, which helped him come up with some ideas of why certain places have higher crime rates than others. He also established the likelihood of crimes based on gender, age and class status.

He found that young men who were uneducated, unemployed and financially insecure were most likely to become criminals. He also discovered that most crimes took place in wealthy neighborhoods that were close to impoverished ones, suggesting that the people from impoverished neighborhoods would go to the wealthy ones to commit crimes. 

The statistics also showed that people who lived in generally low-income areas that weren't next to extremely wealthy areas had little crime, suggesting that people were less likely to turn to crime so long as they could provide themselves and their families with the basics without unintentionally being compared to the rich.

Quetelet concluded that an increase in moral education was needed, which meant breaking down some of the social conditions that pitted people against each other in favor of an equal society.

Cesare Lombroso and Criminal Characteristics

In the same vein as Quetelet was Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso, who studied the psychological and biological characteristics of criminals. He concluded that there was a hereditary trait that increased the likelihood of a person committing a crime. He also believed that people who committed crimes were less evolved than others and the act of committing a crime was a reflection of a person's moral character.

Lombroso also discovered that even though educated people were less likely to commit crimes, the crimes committed by educated people were far more gruesome. He concluded that a lack of education wasn't a big factor in preventing crime.

His theories on how biology impacts the potential to commit crimes influenced modern criminology and the criminal justice system. Biology and environment are considered two staples of criminology today, and criminologists assist governments and law enforcement by studying the biological, psychological and environmental characteristics of criminals to provide advice on legal policies. 

How Has the Criminal Justice System Changed Over Time?

The biggest change in how we deal with crimes and criminals today is in the types of punishments allowed by law. We no longer punish criminals as an act of revenge, and we have done away with torturous punishments designed to humiliate and inflict pain. Instead, we now focus on responding to crime with reform.

We also don't have public punishments anymore — while public executions and floggings used to occur regularly, we now understand those punishments were less for the sake of rehabilitation and more a way to publicly humiliate a person. Punishments for crimes are far less public and more private now.

The Rise of Prisons

Before the 18th century, prisons were mostly used to hold prisoners before their trial or before their public corporal punishment. They weren't considered effective in deterring criminals from repeating offenses or as legitimate ways to punish guilty individuals — the opposite of how society views prison systems today.

As lawmakers began to outlaw public punishments, prisons grew in popularity. As a result, 18th-century prisons were extremely overcrowded. Prisoners would often fall ill and die because they were crammed together in small, filthy spaces.

Large prison populations were so bad that Britain started banishing criminals to isolated lands, like Australia and the Americas. Plus, inmates were not separated by crime or even by gender — so a murderer and a petty thief were thrown into the same room with hundreds of other criminals without a second thought.

As you can imagine, the lack of any inmate classification system led to problems between prisoners. It was common for criminals with more serious offenses to become violent with those facing less time or people in prison for something completely different. Behavioral issues were a key problem for staff working in early prisons. Without enough staff to control situations involving large prison populations, it was far easier for inmates to act out. In some cases, this would lead to violent prison riots with inmates taking sides.

Corrupt jailers and a lack of staff to help keep the prison safe and secure made for even worse circumstances — and many times, people would stay in prison for longer than their sentence because they couldn't afford to pay the jailers to let them out.

When Did Prisons Begin Developing as We Know Them?

Suggestions for a prison reform movement started in the 18th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that it truly began. As problems with illness and disease continued to spread between inmates, it was clear something needed to change regarding where convicted criminals would spend their time.

Keeping inmates in close quarters without adequate staffing was counterproductive. Apart from violence in common areas, poor prison conditions led to outbreaks of typhus. The disease was a frequent cause of death for inmates and jailers prior to sanitation improvements in the 19th century. Typhus is a rare group of diseases today, but during this time, it was common for inmates and employees to catch a highly contagious form through body lice. This goes to show how rough the prison conditioners were years ago.

The medical industry during the 19th century was far from what it is today. Overcrowding in prison systems made it easy for body lice to travel from person to person. As a result, inmates often experienced uncomfortable symptoms like fevers, nausea, rashes, body aches and difficulty breathing.

In addition to these factors, some believed prisoners could use something to do as they thought about their past crimes and reentering the real world. Giving inmates a greater purpose had the potential to improve their attitude and increase their desire to stay out of prison down the road.

How Did Prisons Change in the 19th Century?

The 19th century saw prison reform in the way of individual cells. Advocates like Elizabeth Fry worked to improve the prison conditions for women and took it upon herself to teach imprisoned women certain skills.

Men's prisons often had cruel practices, such as forcing prisoners to remain in solitary confinement — not even allowed to talk, in some cases. Corporal punishment, like flogging, was still the norm, just done inside prison walls now — this resulted in many prisoners killing themselves, supporting Fry's claim that prisons were inhumane and uncivilized.

She advocated for improvements in the lives of prisoners and helped change society's attitude about prisons and prisoners — mainly that prisoner rehabilitation was a better use of taxes.

How Did Prisons Change Over Time?

From the early 20th century through today, prisons have changed and improved as we become more aware of how humanity functions. The cruel and unusual punishments in prisons during the 19th century were phased out, once it was understood they were ineffective. 

Instead, we now focus more on rehabilitation and reform. Improvements in the prison system include better food, sanitary conditions, health care and the opportunity for inmates to take classes and learn useful trade skills they can use once freed. Rather than focusing on how to punish people for crimes they've committed, we now work to understand what led them to commit the crime and find ways to prevent others from following similar paths.

We also have started to understand the importance of prison as a place in which to rehabilitate the person, so they can return to society with new skills and education that may not have been available to them previously.

The Criminal Justice System in the 21st Century

Today, the criminal justice system in America is far more organized. Those accused of crimes have the right to a public trial, a lawyer and to know who their accusers are. Additionally, every criminal is entitled to have an unbiased public jury involved in the decision-making process.

There is an ongoing dedication to the growth and rehabilitation of inmates in men's and women's prisons as well as juvenile detention facilities across the country. We're now seeing the opportunity for criminals to continue their education while completing their sentences, whether to a high school level or an associate's or bachelor's degree.

Prisoners and Dog Training Programs

Some inmates get the chance to help take care of and train rescue dogs so they can find homes. Rescue dog programs for prisoners can be a rewarding experience, as inmates get to think about companionship and what it means to have a sense of belonging. Spending hours each week with dogs who carry no judgment and do not care about one's past can be all it takes to give an inmate purpose while completing a sentence.

Dog programs also teach inmates about responsibility. Sometimes, inmates participating in rescue dog programs are involved in selecting the home for a dog, giving them something to look forward to while they continue training their four-legged friends.

These types of programs aren't available in all state prisons and county jails, but rescue dog training opportunities are growing increasingly popular throughout the United States.

Options for Parole

The criminal justice system allows some inmates to reenter the outside world through parole agreements. When an inmate is found guilty of a minor crime, serves a given portion of their sentence and exhibits positive behavior behind bars, they may qualify for parole.

Individuals on parole agree to follow a set of behavioral conditions — these might include going to work, attending school or completing community service at set times. You can think of parole as an early release from the prison system with a few strings attached. Regular check-ins with a parole officer are required under these agreements, and parolees must stay out of trouble or risk going back to jail.

Parole agreements are an effective way to get inmates back into society with some guidance. Parole officers are responsible for keeping an eye on their parolees and ensuring they are following the details of the agreement. It's common for parolees to meet with parole officers and take their calls multiple times each week.

An individual's time on parole changes according to the sentence they receive. For example, a prisoner could be on parole for three or five years for a less severe crime. Others convicted of serious charges could be on parole for the rest of their lives.

View Other History Resources:  

• Evolution of Warfare

Visit the Crime and Punishment Museum at Volo

Knowing the historical background of crime and punishment and the evolving timeline of criminology allows us to change how we treat fellow humans. Some people believe that prison systems are no longer a good way to deter crime or rehabilitate prisoners. Some believe that prisons are too comfortable to be an adequate and effective punishment.

Perhaps these people have forgotten the days when chopping off tongues or stretching limbs until they dislocate was the norm for petty crime. The Crime and Punishment Exhibit at the Volo Auto Museum hasn't forgotten. Check out the haunting and macabre history of crime and punishment — or if that's too scary for you, explore one of our other 38 exhibits, featuring cars and props from history and entertainment.

Spend a whole day at our 35-acre museum, which also features a pizza parlor and mini theaters. You can even check out some of our special events and attractions. 

For more information about the museum or Volo Museum Auto Sales, call 815-385-3644.