2. What is Victorian crime
Victorian Crime and Punishment. Theft. In the Victorian Era
theft was rife on the streets of the cities and towns.
Children would often pick pocket and take food and goods from
the street markets. Men and women would also be found
shoplifting in the same way people do today.
3. Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper is the best-known name for an unidentified
serial killer generally believed to have been active in the
largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel
district of London in 1888. In both the criminal case files
and contemporary journalistic accounts, the killer was called
the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron.
4. Victorian Police
By September of 1829, the first Metropolitan Police were
patrolling the streets of London. There were 17 divisions,
which had 4 inspectors and 144 constables each. The force
headquarters was Scotland Yard, and it answered to the Home
Secretary. The Victorian period saw great changes in how
people were caught, arrested and charged to appear in court.
The police force, as we know it today, did not exist until
1856.
5. Sentences and punishment
The Victorians were very worried about crime. Levels rose
sharply towards the end of the 18th century and continued to
rise through much of the 19th century. Offences went up from
about 5,000 per year in 1800 to about 20,000 per year in
1840. Transportation was an alternative punishment to
hanging. Convicted criminals were transported to the colonies
to serve their prison sentences. It had the advantages of
removing the criminal from society and being quite cheap
6. Theft
Gangs of thieves would be formed to make the thefts from
shops, warehouses and homes easier and the spoils would be
shared amongst them or sold on. As with today, theft was
linked to poverty and with so many adults and children either
on the streets or struggling to make ends meet, theft was one
of the top crimes found in the built up areas.
