Abstract
Abstract There had been some piecemeal collection of criminal statistics at least as early as the late 17th century, but the early 19th century was a golden age for various forms of social statistics. From the 1830s men like Adolphe Quetelet began publishing analyses of criminal behaviour and patterns of crime across Europe. The early statisticians were not blind to some of the problems, particularly the ‘dark figure’ of unreported crime. The police were able to use the figures to demonstrate police efficiencies and problems; but for many contemporaries, the statistics served primarily to generate concerns by identifying crime as a broad and growing problem. The chapter also notes how historians have used and interpreted the statistics, and have heatedly debated their value for assessing patterns of murder, theft, and violence.
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