Elizabeth's+page+(crime)



By the start of the Victorian Era, it had become clear that the prevalence of crime in England was an issue that needed to be addressed. “The industrial revolution put new pressures on society, leading to violence. Collective living led to collective organization, which helped to create social disorder on a larger scale (1)." However, while the need for a police force was evident, it wasn’t until 1829, when Robert Peele sponsored the Metropolitan Police Act, that the beginnings of a resolution were reached.

The result of the Act was the Metropolitan Police, headquartered at Scotland Yard. One of the earliest uniformed police forces, they replaced military troops and militia as the peacekeeping force in the London metropolitan area (although they had no jurisdiction in the City of London, itself). In early years, the police had minimal authority, but their jurisdiction grew during the following forty years. For example, they were given the authority to arrest nuisance boys and street musicians (2), board vessels, enter gaming establishments, patrol fairs, and perform search and seizures (3).

Such authority was needed, as crime rates were high. Evidence of the pervasiveness of criminal activity is found in The Night Side of London (1858), written by J. Ewing Richie. Ritchie provides the following statistics for 1856: “it appears that in all 73,240 persons were taken into custody, of whom 45,941 were males, and 27,209 were females; 18,000 of the apprehensions were on account of drunkenness, 8160 for unlawful possession of goods, 7021 for simple larceny, 6763 for common assaults, 2194 for assaults on the police; 4303 women were taken into custody as prostitutes (4)." Even these high numbers might be an underestimate as the poor often failed to report crimes due to a lack of faith in the police force (5).

After the formation and growth of the police force, crime began to decline. The penalties inflicted seemed to be a sufficient deterrent to criminal behavior. Punishments ranged from imprisonment or flogging to capital punishment, and the introduction of psychiatry to the judicial system led to experimental treatments such as isolation, bible study, and forced silence (5).

Although crime rates were decreasing, several crime sprees occurred in the late 1800s that were highly publicized and caused social unrest. For example, in the 1850s and 60s, multiple robberies accompanied by garroting took place. These violent events caused many, particularly those in the upper classes, to panic. Mugging became a common point of conversation, poems were written from the perspective of the garroter, and spiked collars were designed and marketed to protect the wearer (6).

Newspapers sensationalized the violence, particularly if there was a sexual component to the crime, and people became obsessed with criminals such as Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper gained his infamy by murdering at least five prostitutes, four of whom he brutally mutilated. The murderer was suspected of leaving chalk messages and sending letters, and while these actions were never confirmed, they made for dramatic reading.

video of newspaper headlines http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/crime/app_enlarge.html

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(1) Bloy, M. (2001). The Metropolitan Police. http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/history/police.html (2) The British Library Board. Crime. http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/crime/crimepunishment.html (3) The National Archives. Metropolitan Act 1839. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/2-3/47/contents (4) Banerjee, J. (2008). How Safe was Victorian London?. http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/history/crime/banerjee1.html (5) Emsley, C. (2011). Crime and the Victorians. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/crime_01.shtml (6) The Dictionary of Victorian London. Victorian London - Violence and Assault - Garotting/Mugging. http://www.victorianlondon.org/crime/representations.htm (7) Kleing, C. (2014). Has Jack the Ripper's Identity Been Revealed?. http://www.history.com/news/has-jack-the-rippers-identity-been-revealed