Crime and Society in Twentieth Century England

Description

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. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of photographs and cartoons List of tables and figures Preface and acknowledgements Abbreviations used in the notes Publisher’s acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 The pattern of crime 3 Criminal lives 4 Crime and the young 5 Organised crime: professional criminals 6 Media narratives 7 Expert narratives 8 Police and policing 9 The courts 10 Penal policy and penal experience 11 Some conclusions Further reading: further research Index