rachelmargolis1
Pickpocketing statistics
Statistics from the Old Bailey show that indictments for pickpocketing at the courthouse increased rapidly for the first three decades of the 19th century. From only 205 in the 1800s, they rose to nearly 3,000 in the 1830s, then decreased to their formerly low levels. How can we explain these figures?
One possibility is that pickpocketing reached a peak during the 1830s. Such an increase in crime may have been due to population growth and economic hardship. And yet, the police force had just been reformed in 1829, under the leadership of Sir Robert Peel. Did the transition to a new centralized system actually create more opportunities for pickpockets? The Old Bailey website suggests that "in some of the wealthier parishes the number of police officers patrolling the streets immediately after the Metropolitan Police Act was in fact lower than the number of watchman patrolling those same streets before 1829." And why does the crime rate decrease after the 1830s? Perhaps the new police force grew more experienced and effective, gradually bringing down the number of pickpocketing incidents. This may have been a result of the second Metropolitan Police Act in 1839. Alternatively or concurrently, criminals may have been influenced by changes in how pickpocketing was punished; stricter punishments may have discouraged the crime.
I chose to focus on indictments rather than convictions because these numbers seemed more likely to represent the actual number of pockets being picked. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that the spike in indictments does not necessarily indicate a spike in crime. Perhaps court procedures or social factors made it temporarily easier or more more appealing to press charges against pickpockets during this decade. While court records can be useful tools, their meaning may be ambiguous and open to interpretation.
Statistics from the Old Bailey Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org)
"The Proceedings of the Old Bailey." Crime and Justice. www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Policing.jsp (accessed May 28, 2014).
Pickpocketing statistics
Statistics from the Old Bailey show that indictments for pickpocketing at the courthouse increased rapidly for the first three decades of the 19th century. From only 205 in the 1800s, they rose to nearly 3,000 in the 1830s, then decreased to their formerly low levels. How can we explain these figures?
One possibility is that pickpocketing reached a peak during the 1830s. Such an increase in crime may have been due to population growth and economic hardship. And yet, the police force had just been reformed in 1829, under the leadership of Sir Robert Peel. Did the transition to a new centralized system actually create more opportunities for pickpockets? The Old Bailey website suggests that "in some of the wealthier parishes the number of police officers patrolling the streets immediately after the Metropolitan Police Act was in fact lower than the number of watchman patrolling those same streets before 1829." And why does the crime rate decrease after the 1830s? Perhaps the new police force grew more experienced and effective, gradually bringing down the number of pickpocketing incidents. This may have been a result of the second Metropolitan Police Act in 1839. Alternatively or concurrently, criminals may have been influenced by changes in how pickpocketing was punished; stricter punishments may have discouraged the crime.
I chose to focus on indictments rather than convictions because these numbers seemed more likely to represent the actual number of pockets being picked. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that the spike in indictments does not necessarily indicate a spike in crime. Perhaps court procedures or social factors made it temporarily easier or more more appealing to press charges against pickpockets during this decade. While court records can be useful tools, their meaning may be ambiguous and open to interpretation.
Statistics from the Old Bailey Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org)
"The Proceedings of the Old Bailey." Crime and Justice. www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Policing.jsp (accessed May 28, 2014).