Synopses & Reviews
This pioneering study examines the considerable changes that took place in the criminal justice system in the century after the Restoration. The author reveals how and why an alternative means of dealing with crime emerged in the policing of London, in the practices and procedures of prosecution, and in the establishment of new forms of punishment.
Review
"Beattie argues that as dectectives, the Runners deservedly earned a reputation for their skill as investigators and for their effectiveness as prosecution witnesses. Compelling." --CHOICE
"John Beattie's magisterial Crime and the Courts in England 1600-1800 was the first major monograph to arise from the vigorous research culture which developed around the study of crime and criminal justice in early modern England during the 1970s and 80s. This, his second, equally magisterial work on this theme builds upon his earlier study but also offers fresh perspectives. It is compulsory reading for all students of early modern English criminal justice, has much to offer students of urban society, sheds interesting light on the history of women and, finally, provides some unexpected insights into mainstream politics and government."-- Journal of Social History
Review
"Beattie argues that as dectectives, the Runners deservedly earned a reputation for their skill as investigators and for their effectiveness as prosecution witnesses. Compelling." --CHOICE
"John Beattie's magisterial Crime and the Courts in England 1600-1800 was the first major monograph to arise from the vigorous research culture which developed around the study of crime and criminal justice in early modern England during the 1970s and 80s. This, his second, equally magisterial work on this theme builds upon his earlier study but also offers fresh perspectives. It is compulsory reading for all students of early modern English criminal justice, has much to offer students of urban society, sheds interesting light on the history of women and, finally, provides some unexpected insights into mainstream politics and government."-- Journal of Social History
Table of Contents
1. Introduction - The Crime Problem
Policing and Prosecution
2. The City Magistrates and the Process of Prosecution
3. Constables and other officers
4. Policing the Night Streets
5. Detection and prosecution: thief-takers, 1690-1720
Prosecution and Punishment
6. The Old Bailey in the Late Seventeenth Century
7. The Revolution, crime, and punishment in London, 1690-1713
8. Crime and the State, 1714-1750
9. William Thomson and transportation
10. Conclusion
Bibliography of Manuscript Sources