Victorian Policing | Bottom-up history: what happened at street level

Time 2020-10-11 22:07:15

Web Name: Victorian Policing | Bottom-up history: what happened at street level

WebSite: http://www.guywoolnough.com

ID:78680

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Victorian Policing Bottom-up history: what happened at street level Victorian Criminal Justice Mugshots from the Kendal Police Photo book, 1881-1900I am drawn to the Victorian Criminal Justice system in my studies. History informs the present and our criminal justice system in Britain today was formed by reforming zeal of the 19th century. Our police, courts and the penal system were shaped in Victorian Britain. To understand the criminal justice system today it is important to study its development over the last 200 years.Most recently I have been researching the people in the Victorian prison system, using prison records as an important source. Too easily, we see the conviction of a criminal as the end of the story, but in fact, it was invariably the start of another chapter. The story may have seemed brief for those who were hanged, but those subjected to capital punishment have enjoyed a long afterlife in dark tourism, Madame Tussauds, popular literature, TV and more. The great majority of those convicted, even of the murderers, were not executed but spent years in the prison system. I have been tapping a fruitful vein in exploring their prison records, to discover what they did and what they wrote while in gaol. Assiduous record keeping in the Victorian penal system has left the researcher a wealth of resources that enable an insight into the life and thoughts of the convicts.I have taken what might be described as a feminist turn in the last couple of years. A recently completed chapter on the policing of prostitution should be published next year, and I have just started working on a volume about female life prisoners, women who were convicted of murder but after a reprieve spent many years in the prison system. The records reveal how simplistic it is to think that their lives were over, or to assume that incarceration deprived them of agency.Research for my PhD concentrated upon the policing of petty crime and discretionary policing, the ways in which the men on the beat tackled problems such as vagrants, fairs, blood sports, traditional recreations, drunkenness, pick pocketing, violence and gambling. The police invariably defined and targeted those whom they considered needed arresting and in so doing the police often decided who were the outsiders or deviants. The police identified and dealt with problems on the streets and lanes of Cumbria.My research used the neglected minutiae of police and court records to deconstruct the role of the police, to do which I address the public expectations of the police, the opinions, decisions and orders of the chief constable and the magistrates, and the growth of police bureaucracy. Discretionary policing was culturally determined and rooted in the working class cultures of Cumbria. The historiography and nature of Victorian policing are tested by my study of Cumbria, a remote and unique region which was culturally, economically and agriculturally quite atypical of Victorian England. My work examines the police’s role at a time of social, economic and bureaucratic change and links the development of police expertise and professionalism with the process of state formation.I also blog reviews of TV programmes and books that interest me. Some of my posts have been on teaching. For this, I draw upon my many years experience as a classroom teacher. Issues which catch my attention include the teaching of history. I was a cyclist and runner for many years, but time and poor health have curtailed these activities. However, I allow myself to blog on these subjects whenever an item of news catches my attention. If this eclectic set of interests puzzles you, it will be a relief for you to know that my Latin blogging is not on this site, but at:http://guidowoolnough.wordpress.com/But I must confess that I have neglected my Latin of late, due to ill health and the calls of family life.My profile may be found at: a href= https://keele.academia.edu/GuyWoolnough id= academia-button Follow me on Academia.edu /a Share this:LinkedInTwitter Hi,We are a group who research and portray the working/street life/lower classes of Victorian society. I personally was a police officer for 27 years and ended up portraying the peeler of the period (about 1851). Thanks for your informative article, if you visit our webpage and click on at your service then educational there is a 60 page article, written by myself, regarding the formation/life and uniform of the Victorian police force. I hope it is of interest and value to you.Glad to see you got your doctorate at long last You might like to know that my book Sir John Dunne, the Biography of Cumbria s first chief constable is currently being printedand should be available within the next 3-4 weeks.RegardsAlan BryantNovember 2014 I have recently discovered that an ancestor of mine, John Vart, was the first police officer resident in Brough (According to the Westmoreland Gazette 4th Feb 1860). I wondered if you could suggest where how I might discover more information about this man his roll.Thank you,Jackie Thorburn (Edinburgh) Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of new posts by email.

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