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Victorian Leicester : Episode 7 - Crime |
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| This audio recording on the subject of Crime is seventh in a series of talks about Victorian Leicester, originally made for schools and broadcast in the early 1970s. Other episodes in this series are also available to listen to on The Showcase. The speaker, Professor Jack Simmons introduces the subject by looking at famous cases from the period including the famously incompetant murder of John Pass by James Cook (brief details are included), and explains how public execution was still a great spectacle until it’s abolition in 1868. The trial processes and penal code of the era are examined and the speaker argues that despite the harsh nature of punishment for convicts, the judicial process was quite fair. Much of the information available is gleaned from annual reports from the Prisoner’s Aid Society which was established around 1883 to help released prisoners back into society. From this we hear how younger convicts could chose to move to one of the colonies, but options were often limited for older criminals. The new prison built in Leicester during this era is detailed; along with examples of sentences and punishments. The growth of the police force from the appointment of a single officer in 1836 is also discussed. The speaker looks at how crime rates rose due to a huge growth in the popularity of establishments selling beer, of which there were over 500 in Leicester. We hear how Saturday night brawling was a common incidence until the Liberal Government’s Licensing Act of 1872 led to calmer streets at the weekend. Reference is made to an exhibition held parallel to the talk series, which included examples of Victorian criminal records and police photographs. The original recording is held by the East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA ref.: 135, RL100/0007/7-9VL). Further information can be found at http://www.le.ac.uk/emoha This audio recording lasts for 17 minutes and 52 seconds. |
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| Creators: |
Speaker - Simmons, Professor Jack
Producer - Cobley, Paul
Other - BBC
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Subject: |
Civil Society, Law
Community Development
History
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| Contributors: |
East Midlands Oral History Archive - Copyright Holder
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Date created:
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01 / 01 / 1972
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Language:
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English
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Country:
Region:
City:
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United Kingdom
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Rights:
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Community Media Association has non exclusive rights for the use of the work in The Showcase, but the overall copyright rests with East Midlands Oral History Archive. Copyright East Midlands Oral History Archive.
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If your browser can’t display the graphical link above to the translator, you may translate this page by going to the Babelfish website and pasting the address for this page into the box marked “Translate a web page”. |
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