Criminal Classes

"The essays in this book set out to explore the ways in which Victorians used newspapers to identify the causes of bad behavior and its impacts, and the ways in which they tried to "distance" criminals and those guilty of "bad" behavior from the ordinary members of society, including identification of them as different according to race of sexual orientation. It also explores how threats from within "normal" society were depicted and the panic that issues like "baby-farming" caused." "Victorian alarm was about crimes and bad behavior which they saw as new or unique to their period - but which were not new then and which, in slightly different dress, are still causing panic today. What is striking about the essays in this collection are the ways in which they echo contemporary concerns about crime and bad behavior, including panics about "new" types of crime. This has implications for modern understandings of how society needs to understand crime, demonstrating that while there are changes over time, there are also important continuities."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The criminal class was seen as a violent, immoral and dissolute sub-section of Victorian London's population. Making their living through crime and openly hostile to society, the lives of these criminals were characterised by drunkenness, theft and brutality. This book explores whether this criminal class did indeed truly exist, and the effectivenessof measures brought against it. Tracing the notion of the criminal class from as early as the 16th century, this book questions whether this sub-section of society did indeed exist. Bach discusses how unease of London's notorious rookeries, the frenzy of media attention and a [word deleted here] panic among the general public enforced and encouraged the fear of the 'criminal class' and perpetuated state efforts of social control. Using the Habitual Criminals Bills, this book explores how and why this legislation was introduced to deal with repeat offenders, and assesses how successful its repressive measures were. Demonstrating how the Metropolitan Police Force and London's Magistrates were not always willing tools of the British state, this book uses court records and private correspondence to reveal how inconsistent and unsuccessful many of these measures and punishments were, and calls into question the notion that the state gained control over recidivists in this period.

Reproduction of the original: The Indeterminate Sentence - What shall be done with the Criminal Class? by Charles Dudley Warner

“Teaching in the jail system is a surreal experience, a whole other existence. In this bizarreness you encounter things that make you shake your head, shake your fist, cry your heart out, laugh your head off and blow your mind. And I felt compelled to write it down; to capture its un-realness. Hopefully I can convey some of this in Criminal Class.” The only door in the room was now closed and sitting before me was a murderer, a rapist, an armed robber and a guy serving six years for grievous bodily harm. Each of them had a sharpened pencil in their hands; a potential weapon. I had been forewarned yet I had handed them out willingly. I looked at these four brutes trying not to stare but conscious of not looking away in fear either. All four of them had their eyes fixed on me too; sussing out the new guy. In silence I shot back a tight-lipped grin. Slowly but purposefully, I glanced at the secured metal door and, next to it, the red duress button on the wall. I guessed the distance to be three metres. I looked back at the prisoners and wondered, if it came to it, would I be able to press that button or exit the doorway before they could get to me? I didn’t fancy my chances… The Criminal Class is based on the true-life experiences of an everyday teacher who makes the precarious career transition to an Education Officer in the prison system. Dealing with both the law enforcers and the law breakers, but not bound by any normal allegiances, he finds himself having to trod the rocky path of an outsider on the inside. His surreal experiences with will compel you as they draw you in. The bizarreness he encountered will make you shake your head, pump your fist, cry your heart out, laugh your head off and blow your mind.

Class, Crime and International Film Noir argues that, in its postwar, classical phase, this dark variant of the crime film was not just an American phenomenon. Rather, these seedy tales with their doomed heroes and heroines were popular all over the world including France, Britain, Italy and Japan.