Expert’s Choice
Stephen Wade’s books about crime, detention and the police are published
The Open University’s website open.ac.uk has long been a very useful source of information for my writing. It used to hold a massive archival listing of every aspect of police work from the past. But today, under the guidance of Dr Rosalind Crone, it is much more. The university’s archive of material on the police is now held by the International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice, and the page open.ac.uk/arts/research/policing explains the eight areas of research that the centre focuses on, including the rights of the poor, and policing in British colonies.
The material in the archives will help a researcher to understand the key elements of the development of the police in the UK. The reorganisation of constabularies; the gradual legislation for the establishment of regional forces; and the nature of the records and artefacts available can all be hurdles for family historians and it is worth getting to grips with them. The family historian will find a basic resource on the wider context of police history (including in Europe), but the initial guide, compiled by Ian Bridgeman and Clive Emsley, is still available and is accessed via the ‘Police Archives Guide’ hyperlink at open. ac.uk/arts/research/policing/resources.
There are also gems here on such topics as Metropolitan Police orders, commissioner reports and the policing of Scottish boroughs. The sources from London include scrapbooks, beat books and station ledgers, all of which will help you to understand your ancestor’s daily grind on the mean streets, whichever force they served in.