Urban Crime in Victorian England

by J.J. Tobias

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805203362
• ISBN13: 9780805203363
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Schocken Books Inc
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An expanded thesis that's actually worth reading

In the latter half of the 18th and first half of the 19th century, crime was on the rise in urban England. Spurned by a combination of increasing urbanization, poverty, and a high birth rate, the country had to adopt strategies to address the increasing crime rate. This book (expanded from the author's PhD thesis) details the types of crimes that existed during the 19th century, factors that led to criminal activity, and touches on various deterrents. We see that over the 19th century, England learns how to better address crime. One of the primary tools in the first half of the century, 'transportation' to Australia lasted until the mid 19th century. For me, it was fascinating to read about crimes in an age when transporation was an acceptable solution, unfortunately the author doesn't spend much time discussing the topic. In fact, eliminating transportation may have been one of the factors that reduced crime in the later half of the 19th century - lighter punishments meant that juries would be more likely to convict. The establishment of a police force, installing street lights, reducing poverty, and educating the youth (thus keeping them off the street) were all employed in the second half of the century. You can tell the author was trying to impress someone with his vocabulary (like I say, this was originally a thesis) as he describes prostitution, pickpocketing and other crimes in language that is overly academic. Similarly, if you're like me, you'll skim the introduction and the two prefaces, it's just two folks with PhDs tooting their own horn. The fun in the book is that throughout the text he quotes original sources from the period so it wasn't difficult to overlook the author's academic prose. This book is worth reading to learn about the types of crimes committed during the 19th century and what led people to commit them.