The reform of urban policing in Victorian England : a study of Kingston upon Hull from 1836 to 1866

Welsh, David Roy

Abstract

Chapter 1 introduces the economy, society and politics of Hull in the nineteenth century, concentrating on the middle decades of the century. The characteristics of the old police system in the early 1830s are analysed in chapter 2, along with the proposals which were made for its reform in 1836 and the very similar measures actually introduced. Chapters 3 and 4 constitute the main part of the thesis arranged thematically. A loose distinction can be made between them, with chapter 3 examining what the Hull Police was as a body (its organization, manpower, discipline etc.), while chapter 4 analyses what it did (dealing with crime, public order and issues relevant to serving policemen, etc.). However, it must be stressed that this is not a rigid division of subject matter. Chapter 5 is concerned with two subjects: first, a service provided by the police, fire-fighting, which was usually effective but led to one controversial incident; second, an operational feature of the police, its police stations, which were a recurrent problem for many years until the issue was resolved handsomely. Finally, some of the early policemen are introduced in chapter 6: their working lives are analysed and the effects which this had on them as individuals are considered. The conclusion draws together the main findings of the research and the appendices contain relevant information which is supplementary to the argument and analysis or too detailed to be easily presented in the text or footnotes.

Citation

Welsh, D. R. The reform of urban policing in Victorian England : a study of Kingston upon Hull from 1836 to 1866. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4211410

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2023
• Keywords: History
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4211410
• Additional Information: Department of Economic and Social History, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Dec 1, 1997