Policing and punishment in London 1660-1750
Subtitle: urban crime and the limits of terror
By: J.M. Beattie.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 491
Subjects: Law enforcement -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Law enforcement -- England -- London -- History -- 18th century; Crime -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Crime -- England -- London -- History -- 18th century; Punishment -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Punishment -- England -- London -- History -- 18th century; Criminal justice, Administration of -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Criminal justice, Administration of -- England -- London -- History -- 18th century
Description: Examines the considerable changes that took place in the criminal justice system in the city of London in the century after the Restoration, well before the inauguration of the so-called "age of reform." The policing institutions of the city were transformed in response to the problems created by the rapid expansion of the metropolis during the early modern period, and as a consequence of the emergence of a polite urban culture. The City authorities were instrumental in the establishment of new forms of punishment--particularly transportation to the American colonies and confinement at hard labor--that for the first time made secondary sanctions available to the English courts for convicted felons and diminished the reliance on the terror created by capital punishment.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.