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Crime and Punishment in Victorian St Neots Background notes 
The Police At the start of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837, there was only one proper police force in Britain. This was the Metropolitan Police Force in London. Over the next 30 years, every county and sizeable town established a similar force. The Police Station and Magistrates Court opened in New Street, St Neots in 1856. Before that, law and order was enforced by 'parish constables', people elected annually, and night watchmen. Arrested persons could be temporarily placed in St Neots 'lockup' in the High Street. The job of a Victorian policeman and a police officer today can be compared in Section 2 'The Police and Punishments' The Law There were changes to punishments in Victoria’s reign. People were no longer executed for minor crimes like shoplifting, although punishments for many crimes still appear severe to us today, e.g. a month's hard labour and imprisonment for children as young as nine. Case studies of juvenile crimes tried in the Magistrates Court at St Neots can be found in Section 1 'Young Offenders' Prisons and Reformatories Children and adults used to be sent to the same prisons. The first separate prison for boys was built at Parkhurst, London in 1838, but ‘difficult’ offenders could still be returned to an ordinary prison. In 1854 this was replaced by a system of 'Reformatory schools' whose daily regime included hard physical labour. By 1866 there were about 65 of these schools holding 5,000 young offenders. Case studies of children from St Neots who were sent to Reformatory Schools in Bristol, Leeds, Doncaster and Birmingham for up to 5 years as punishment for petty theft can be found in Section 1 It was not until 1907 that the ‘Probation of Young Offenders Act’ enabled supervision and assistance in the community for young first-time offenders. The Young Criminal By 1901, three-quarters of Britain’s population lived in the rapidly expanding towns. The growth of urban Britain, with over-crowded living conditions, was one major cause of crime. Factors included hunger, cold, neglect and unemployment - there was no compulsory education until 1880. An 1874 report on St Neots mentions typhoid being present in Russell Street, New Street and Huntingdon Street and 43% of all deaths were of children under 10. For example, in 1870 it was reported that a father and his son aged 16 and two daughters aged 14 and 20 were all sleeping in one room on beds of straw with no blankets. There were also homeless families in St Neots. In 1898, 871 tramps were admitted to the St Neots workhouse. For some children, the chance of food and shelter in prison was a better option. The case studies in Section 1 include examples of St Neots' children stealing food staples such as loaves of bread. The 1881 Census for St Mary's Street, Eynesbury, St Neots can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet below. Records The advent of photography made identifying criminals easier. In 1870 the photographing of prisoners became compulsory. Before this time, persistent offenders could often get away with giving a different name each time they were caught and receive the leaner sentence of a first-time offender! Photographic records of juvenile offenders from Huntingdonshire can be found in Section 1. Further original records can be seen at the Huntingdonshire Record Office by appointment, tel. 01480 375842. Click on resources and links: Spreadsheet of 1881 Census, St Mary's Street, Eynesbury National Archives Kent Police Museum Yorkshire Law and Order Museums Epping Forest District Museum Constabulary.com
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