Given that the Victorian era brought us the real-life mystery of Jack the Ripper, and the not-so-real but equally enduring tales of Sherlock Holmes, it's evident that crime was a serious problem. This section looks at various types of Victorian crimes, such as smuggling, forging, etc., and the methods being developed to combat crime. The Victorian era, for example, saw the introduction of the Bertillon method of identifying criminals and criminal "types" through a series of measurements - and it also saw the introduction of fingerprinting! See the section on Victorian Criminal Cases for articles on specific crimes and criminals.

Victorian Crime & Tricks of the Trade

The Smuggler of 1875 (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

Smuggling, especially of tobacco and liquor, was still a thriving business in 1875!

A London Opium Den (Pictorial Museum of Sport & Adventure, ca. 1890)

A Night in an Opium Den (The Strand, 1891A)

Smugglers' Devices (The Strand, 1891B)

From banknotes hidden in pencils to tobacco baked in bread, smugglers have found dozens of devious ways to outwit customs officials!

Crimes and Criminals 1: Dynamite & Dynamiters (The Strand, 1894A)

Crimes and Criminals 2: Burglars and Burgling (The Strand, 1894A)

Crimes and Criminals 3: Coiners and Coining (The Strand, 1894A)

Crimes and Criminals 4: Forgers and Begging-Letter Writers (The Strand, 1894A)

A look at some relics in the Scotland Yard "museum" relating to forgeries and frauds.

Thieves vs. Locks and Safes (The Strand, 1894B)

A fascinating look at the evolution of locking mechanisms to deter thieves - and the evolution of lock-picking devices to defeat them.

Card-Sharpers and Their Work, by Harry How (The Strand, 1895A)

A look at the many curious devices card-sharps use to conceal that much-needed ace.

Last of the Smugglers: An Interview, by S. Baring-Gould (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

Reminiscences of an old Cornish smuggler, who blames the telegraph for killing "honest trade."

The Poacher and His Craft, by R. Kearton (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

Poachers are nearly legendary figures in English history (after all, Robin Hood was first and foremost a poacher of the King's deer!) -- and here's a look at how the "business" was conducted.

Common Swindles

On Answering Advertisements: A Word of Warning (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

Advertising Swindles, by Ardern Holt (Girl's Own Paper, 1887)

Apparently bogus "earn money by working at home" offers are nothing new!

Nothing for Nought (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

Ads promising lavish pay for easy work ("assemble crafts in your home!") are nothing new -- and such promises were as worthless in Victorian days as they are today. This article looks at some of the most common Victorian "work from home" scams.

Practical Points of Law, by A Lawyer

Includes Introduction, Dogs, Education, Fire Assurance, Property Fixtures, Life Assurance, Infants/Children, Servants, Swindles, Tenants, Travel, Wedlock, Wills, Popular Errors

Young Criminals

Drawn From Life: Known to the Police (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

Juvenile criminals in London.

The Young Criminal, by Rev. Charles Thwing (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Theories on what leads to a life of crime, and how it can be deterred (with a heavy emphasis on reform schools).

The Making of Thieves in New York, by Jacob A. Riis (Century Magazine, 1895A)

On the inadequacies of New York schools and the problems of children on the streets turning to crime.

Methods of Criminal Identification

The Identification of Criminals in France, by Edmund R. Spearman (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

The Bertillon method of identifying criminals (and criminal types) by measurements.

Identifying Criminals (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1894)

New techniques in identifying culprits, including fingerprints!

An Expert in Handwriting, by Harry How (The Strand, 1894B)

Early examples of the use of handwriting analysis in criminal cases.

Measurement Identification of Criminals, by Col. Howard Vincent (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895A)

More on the Bertillon method of identifying criminals and criminal "types."

Some Curiosities of Modern Photography, by William T. FitzGerald (The Strand, 1895A)

A number of curious photos, including several used in the solving of crimes.

Freaks and Tricks in Handwriting (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

Detective Day at Holloway, by Alfred Aylmer (Windsor Magazine, 1897B)

Three days a week, police detectives would visit Holloway Prison to determine and establish the identities of the prisoners therein.

Prisons & Prison Reform

[British] Prisons (Harper's Monthly, 1873A)

Women's Work in Prisons (Demorest, 1874)

New Prisons (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

Prison reforms of the 1870's.

[Auburn Prison] An American Prison, by Walter Squires (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

Prisons and Prison Reform (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

An Interview with Rev. J.W. Horsley

Breaking Bonds; or, Leaves from Prison Lore, by W.H. Davenport-Adams

An account of the escape of Sir Sidney Smith from Paris during the French Revolution, along with several other daring prison breaks.

Prison Fledgelings, by Anne Beale (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

The Prison Mission, and its work with men and boys.

Recent Escapes from Gaol, by Major Arthur Griffiths (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

How prisoners have found ingenious hiding places, created disguises from cleaning rags, picking locks, and that old stand-by, scraping away the mortar with one's dining utensils.

Women in Prison, by Tighe Hopkins (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

Female Prisoners, by Major Arthur Griffiths (Windsor Magazine, 1896B)

"The one broad fact remains incontrovertible that women are much the same all the world over: whether in gaol or out of it, whether elevated to the highest pedestal or sunk into the deepest mire, there is probably bad in the best, just as there is undoubtedly good in the worst."

"For Debt" (Windsor Magazine, 1902A)

What life is like in the debtor's ward.

Crime in America

Law and Order Leagues (Century Magazine, 1883B)

We would probably call these "vigilante groups" today, but they were a popular means of enforcing the peace at the time.

Lynching (Century Magazine, 1888A)

In 1882, there were 1266 murders in the US. (That's the entire US.) For those murders, 93 people were executed and 118 were lynched. This article suggests that if greater efforts were made to capture murderers, the rate of lynchings would decrease.

The Punishment of Crime (Century Magazine, 1889A)

Law or Lynching (Century Magazine, 1891B)

The Chicago Anarchists of 1886, by Joseph E. Gary (Century Magazine, 1893A)

"The crime, the trial and the punishment." The author was the judge presiding over the trial.

Problems of Presumptive Proof, by James W. Clarke (Atlantic Monthly, 1893)

On the pros and cons of "circumstantial evidence."

More on Crime...

The Mock Auction (Cassell's Family Paper 1860)

A look at a common London scam.

Petty Cheating (Leisure Hour, 1868)

Sleight-of-hand tricks used by shops and fruit/vegetable sellers to defraud customers by providing inaccurate weights and measures.

The Mosstroopers (Monthly Chronicle of North-County Lore and Legend, 1890)

An interesting history of the brigands that operated along the borders of England and Scotland during the 17th century.

The Northumbrian Highwaymen (Monthly Chronicle of North-County Lore and Legend, 1890)

Handcuffs, by Inspector Maurice Moser (The Strand, 1894A)

These come in many forms - including the American handcuff, the Mexican handcuff, the French "ligote," and more.

A Detective on Detective-Stories, by W.E. Grey (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

This unnamed detective from Scotland Yard doesn't think very highly of detective fiction, and explains his reasons...

Unsolved Mysteries of Crime, by Arthur Griffiths (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

Witnesses and Their Ways, by Arthur T. Pask (Windsor Magazine, 1896A)

• See Victorian Criminal Cases for articles on specific crimes and criminals.