Crime History and Histories of Crime: Studies in the Historiography of Crime and Criminal Justice in Modern History

When is a crime a crime, or an act condoned by a significant portion of society? When is a criminal a criminal, or a revolutionary or a national hero? As the chapters in this collection make clear, what constitutes criminal activity varies, to a degree among different societies and at different moments in a society’s history. This wide-ranging work examines aspects of crime and criminal justice, from medieval Western Europe to modern-day Canada. In addition to examining crime, the judicial system and punishment in various societies, the chapters look at the evolution of police systems as societies urbanize and undergo population changes. Together, these chapters look at many key questions concerning the modern study of criminal behaviour. As such, the volume should be of interest to researchers and scholars of the history of crime.