I think that everyone, from whatever political perspective, will agree that the events of Saturday night in Clapham were regrettable. The image broadcast to the world was of a large gathering of women protesting male violence and mourning the death of a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. For this vigil... Continue Reading →
Remembrance Day 2020: making some very local connections
Soldiers of the King's Royal Rifles* The First World War was ended (on the Western Front at least) by the armistice that came into effect at 11 o’clock on the 11thNovember 1918. This is why we hold the service of remembrance at 11am on the closest Sunday to the 11 November. Of course today we... Continue Reading →
Deporting people is not the answer to the problem of crime, nor has it ever been.
Clearly we need to have the full details of those individuals who have today been deported from the UK to Jamaica. However, the Home Office was forced to remove well over half of those they wished to deport after last minute appeals that they had not had their cases properly represented by lawyers. Which begs... Continue Reading →
‘f****** untouchable’?: the downfall of the Kray Twins in May 1968
On the 8 May 1968 a series of dawn raids were carried out by ‘more than 100’ Metropolitan Police detectives, led by DS Leonard ‘Nipper’ Read. The target of these raids was organized criminal gang that surrounded two East End gangsters that have passed into London folklore and garnered more column inches, True Crime books... Continue Reading →
What about the victims, why are they so rarely included in the history of crime?
I have been researching and teaching the history of crime and punishment for well over a decade now and the field now covers considerable ground. There are excellent studies of the criminal justice systems of the past, from the medieval to the modern age, ranging across a wide geographical area from Britain and its empire,... Continue Reading →
Women on trial? Rape and the law in Georgian and Victorian England
This week at the University of Northampton there are a number of events and talks are being held to raise awareness about healthy relationships, consent and sexual harassment. As part of this I decided to include a new lecture and seminar workshop on rape as part of my second year History of Crime module (HIS2010... Continue Reading →
