Abstract
Formed as a result of the introduction of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, the Obscene Publications Squad – known colloquially as the “Dirty Squad” – controlled a web of corruption and managed the proliferation of pornography in the Central London district of Soho. Although its reputation for corruption was the primary reason for the vice unit's notoriety, their role in applying social control also had a profound impact on London society during the 1960s and 1970s. During this period, the Dirty Squad mounted a campaign against the underground press and their influence on the counterculture. It is suggested that these investigations were designed to provide a cover for the vice squad's inaction against pornographers; by focusing attention on more radical elements of the city's counterculture, the Dirty Squad gave the impression that they were taking action whilst simultaneously allowing their corrupt partners in the vice industry to continue in their business unabated.
Highlights
The 1960s and 1970s were a highly transitional period in British society, with significant social change driven largely by the widely popular subversive movement
Unlike with media reports from earlier historical periods, many of the key articles outlining the events under investigation have either been transcribed into digital form or scanned into searchable databases. The fact that these events occurred in the United Kingdom, a country with a well-developed judicial system, is useful in the sense that court proceedings are thoroughly documented in a way which provides greater insight into the precise actions of the Dirty Squad. By using this source material in an effort to address the gaps in the literature around the powers afforded to the Dirty Squad under the Obscene Publications Act, it is possible to better understand why officers were so readily able to engage in wide-ranging corruption; in doing so, it is possible to recognize patterns of behaviour that could be further applied to police officers in similar practices of misconduct in the contemporary context
Enforcement of the Obscene Publications Act may have superficially seemed to be a relatively limited jurisdiction, yet the law was interpreted in a way that made it a tool of social control for members of the Metropolitan Police’s Dirty Squad
Summary
The 1960s and 1970s were a highly transitional period in British society, with significant social change driven largely by the widely popular subversive movement. The fact that these events occurred in the United Kingdom, a country with a well-developed judicial system, is useful in the sense that court proceedings are thoroughly documented in a way which provides greater insight into the precise actions of the Dirty Squad By using this source material in an effort to address the gaps in the literature around the powers afforded to the Dirty Squad under the Obscene Publications Act, it is possible to better understand why officers were so readily able to engage in wide-ranging corruption; in doing so, it is possible to recognize patterns of behaviour that could be further applied to police officers in similar practices of misconduct in the contemporary context
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