Provincial Police Reform in Early Victorian England: Cambridge, 1835-1856

This original study examines the nature and process of police reform in Cambridge, a medium-sized county town with a rural hinterland, during the early Victorian period. It argues that the experience of Cambridge was unique due to the fractious relationship between the Corporation and the University and political rivalries between Liberals and Tories, which impeded the reform process. Case studies of individual policemen and the crimes and criminals they encountered shed additional light on the darker side of life in early Victorian Cambridge and present a different and more nuanced picture of provincial police reform than traditional Whig or early revisionist Marxist interpretations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 170 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The establishment of 'new police forces in early Victorian England has long attracted historical enquiry and debate,albeit with a general focus on London and the urban-industrial communities of the Midlands and the North. This original study contributes to the debate by examining the nature and process of police reform,the changing relationship between the police and the public,and their impact on crime in Cambridge,a medium-sized county town with a rural hinterland. It argues that the experience of Cambridge was unique,for the Corporation shared co-jurisdiction of policing arrangements with the University,and this fractious relationship,as well as political rivalries between Liberals and Tories,impeded the reform process,although the force was certified efficient in 1856. Case studies of the careers of individual policemen and of the crimes and criminals they encountered shed additional light on the darker side of life in early Victorian Cambridge and present a different and more nuanced picture of provincial police reform during a seminal period in police history than either the traditional Whig or early revisionist Marxist interpretations implied. As such,it will support undergraduate courses in local,social,and criminal justice history during the Victorian period.

The establishment of 'new police forces in early Victorian England has long attracted historical enquiry and debate,albeit with a general focus on London and the urban-industrial communities of the Midlands and the North. This original study contributes to the debate by examining the nature and process of police reform,the changing relationship between the police and the public,and their impact on crime in Cambridge,a medium-sized county town with a rural hinterland. It argues that the experience of Cambridge was unique,for the Corporation shared co-jurisdiction of policing arrangements with the University,and this fractious relationship,as well as political rivalries between Liberals and Tories,impeded the reform process,although the force was certified efficient in 1856. Case studies of the careers of individual policemen and of the crimes and criminals they encountered shed additional light on the darker side of life in early Victorian Cambridge and present a different and more nuanced picture of provincial police reform during a seminal period in police history than either the traditional Whig or early revisionist Marxist interpretations implied. As such,it will support undergraduate courses in local,social,and criminal justice history during the Victorian period.

Weight: 326g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367688738