An Ecological Analysis of Crime in Early Victorian England

Abstract

Abstract: The two decades from 1830 to 1850 saw major growth in the collection and analysis of official crime statistics in England and Wales. Much of that data was collected in an attempt to understand the growing social problems engendered by a burgeoning industrial society. Unfortunately, many of the theoretical problems and policy issues the early Victorians attempted to address could not be answered due to the lack of appropriate statistical tools. This study reexamines a major data set first published by Fletcher in the late 1840s on factors influencing regional variations in crime rates throughout England. Using standard regression analysis, it is evident that the conclusions to be drawn from the data are quite different from those proposed by Fletcher in his own analysis. It is also concluded that these and similar data of the period offer a wealth of information which might be valuable to contemporary criminologists.