Crime, Policing and Punishment in England, 1660-1914 offers an overview of the changing nature of crime and its punishment from the Restoration to World War 1. It charts how prosecution and punishment have changed from the early modern to the modern period and reflects on how the changing nature of English society has affected these processes. By combining extensive primary material alongside a thorough analysis of historiography this text offers an invaluable resource to students and academics alike.
The book is arranged in two sections: the first looks at the evolution and development of the criminal justice system and the emergence of the legal profession, and examines the media's relationship with crime. Section two examines key themes in the history of crime, covering the emergence of professional policing, the move from physical punishment to incarceration and the importance of gender and youth. Finally, the book draws together these themes and considers how the Criminal Justice System has developed to suit the changing nature of the British state.
Section One: Key themes in the history of crime
1. Introduction: Methods, themes and debates in the history of crime
2. Media and Crime
3. Violence: the decline of homicide and a growing intolerance towards assault
4. The nature of property crime: highway robbery, burglary and petty theft
5. The underlying impetuses to commit property crime
6. Gender & crime in the criminal justice system: women as victims
7. Gender & Crime: women as perpetrators of crime
8. Juvenile crime: from artful dodger to reformatory boy
Section Two: The evolution & development of the English Criminal Justice System
9. From parlour to police court: The role of the JP and the emergence of the modern magistrate
10. Dogberry to detectives: Policing from amateurs to professionals
11. Removing the victim? The changing nature of prosecution in the Courts in England
12. The decline and fall of the 'Bloody code': the changing nature of punishment policy in the long eighteenth century
13. The rise and fall of incarceration
14. Conclusions and suggestions for future research
Bibliography
Index
