Crime and Society in Twentieth Century England

Crime, like the poor, has always been with us. Over the years our understanding of criminal behaviour and the ways in which we analyse and control it have become more sophisticated, but we are no closer to solving the problem of crime than we were at the turn of the last century.

Crime and Society in Twentieth-Century England traces the broad pattern of criminal offending over a hundred year period that experienced unprecedented levels of upheaval and change. This period included two world wars, the end of the British Empire, significant shifts in both gender relations and ethnic mix and a decline in the power of the economy.

In this new textbook, Professor Clive Emsley provides an up-to-date assessment of changes in attitudes to crime as well as of the developments in policing, in the courts and in penal sanctions over the course of the century. He explores the impact of growing gender equality and ethnic diversity on crime and criminal justice, and looks at the way in which crime became increasingly central to political agendas in the last third of the century.

Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book examines:

• Perceptions of crime and criminality across the century
• Varieties of offending from murder to benefit fraud
• The role of the media in constructing and reinforcing the understanding of crime and the criminal
• The decline and demise of corporal and capital punishment
• The shift from largely progressive to more punitive penal practice

The first serious attempt to explore the history of crime and criminal justice in twentieth-century England, this book will be an invaluable introduction to the student and interested general reader alike.

Clive Emsley is Emeritus Professor of History at the Open University. Author of Crime and Society in England 17501900, now in its fourth edition, his recent publications also include Hard Men: Violence in England since 1750 (2005), Crime, Police and Penal Policy: European Experiences 17501940 (2007), and The Great British Bobby (2009).