NCJ Number
95256
Date Published
1982
Length
217 pages
Annotation
This research study identifies major changes in criminality during 1814-50 in Boston and describes how the lower courts adapted to the city's evolving socioeconomic environment.
Abstract
The research explored six major areas: rates of prosecution in the police court and the municipal court; the impact of professionalization among lawyers; the enforcement of public drunkenness and liquor laws, with attention to their use against the impoverished Irish underclass; levels and kinds of property offenses; changes in theft and violence patterns as Boston changed from a preindustrial seaport to a commercial center; and levels and kinds of criminality among juveniles, the Irish, women, and the lower class. Data were collected for 1824-28 and 1832-50 for the police court and for 1814-50 for the municipal court. Overall, approximately 30,000 cases were coded from police court docket books and another 9,200 from the municipal court's record books. The discussion of Boston's crime rate in this period notes that both minor and serious crime decreased in the 1820's and 1830's, but turned upward in the 1840's. The decline in minor crime was particularly marked, suggesting that the courts were limiting their jurisdiction over minor violent offenses. The 1840's saw a surge in burglaries, almost entirely due to the substantial number of juveniles committing them. The increases in general crime and juvenile offenses, however, cannot be attributed to the Irish immigration. Regulatory crime, such as liquor law and city ordinance violations, also contributed to rising crime and reflected the expansion of business and experiments with new business practices. During the 1830's and 1840's, several innovations in court intake and procedures occurred as the courts began to resemble their modern counterparts. Plea bargaining increased, and courts punished threatening atypical offenses more severely than typical offenses. Tables, graphs, and references are included.