Incidences of public disorder, and the manner in which they have been suppressed, have repeatedly ignited debate on the role of policing, the effectiveness of current legislation and the implications for human rights and civil liberties. These same issues have reverberated throughout British history, and have frequently resulted in the enactment of new legislation that reactively aimed to counter the specific concern of that era. This book offers a detailed analysis of the expansion of public order law in the context of the historical and political developments in British society. The correlation of key historical events and the enactment of consequent legislation is a key theme that resonates throughout the book, and demonstrates the expanding influence of the law on public assemblies and protest, which has continued to criminalise and prohibit certain social behaviours. Crucial movements in Britain’s social and political history who have all engaged in, or have provoked public disorder, are examined in the book. Other incidents of riot and disorder, such as the Featherstone Riot (1893), the Battle of Cable Street (1936), the Inner City Riots (1980s) and the UK riots (2011) are also covered. By positioning legal developments within their historical context, the book demonstrates the ebb and flow between the prominence of the competing demands of the liberties of free expression and assembly on the one hand and the protection of the general public and property on the other. This book is essential reading for academics and students in the fields of criminology, history and law.

Annotation A succinct history of the Chartist movement, the first fully national struggle of working people to improve their conditions of work.

Studies on exile in the 19th century tend to be restricted to national histories. This volume is the first to offer a broader view by looking at French, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Czech and German political refugees who fled to England after the European revolutions of 1848/49. The contributors examine various aspects of their lives in exile such as their opportunities for political activities, the forms of political cooperation that existed between exiles from different European countries on the one hand and with organizations and politicians in England on the other and, finally, the attitude of the host country towards the refugees, and their perceptions of the country which had granted them asylum.

Special constables are warranted officers retained within British constabularies. Wearing similar uniforms, carrying the same personal protective equipment and holding identical powers to enforce the criminal law, special constables are to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from their colleagues in the regular police service. However, very little is documented about the experiences and motivations of special constables, the roles they play in contemporary policing or the impact that they have on the police organisation. This book draws together academics and practitioners to provide a valuable insight into historical, international and contemporary themes pertinent to the historical development and contemporary operation of the special constabulary. The book critically considers the origins of the special constabulary and the political, social and economic factors which led to its evolution over time. It compares and contrasts the organisation, functions and status of the special constabulary with other auxiliary forces, notably from the United States. The book also contributes to theoretical understanding of contemporary policing, to debates about the roles and operation of the 'mixed economy' of provision, and informs policy and practice in the United Kingdom and beyond.

With a foreword by Geoffrey Robertson, QC. The issues of terror and terrorism confront us every day- every time we board a flight, pick up a newspaper or watch television. Concerns about terrorism now dictate domestic and foreign policies around the world. In a very real sense, one way or another we find ourselves in the grip of terror. But what is terror? How is it described, measured and experienced? Is the current terrorist threat unprecedented? The answers to many of these questions, and the lessons therein, are to be found in history; and nowhere more so than in Europe. In fact, Europe has been home to some of the most terrifying and horrific events in recorded human history. This collection takes a broad-ranging yet detailed look at the landmark events and epochs of terror across Europe, from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to the terrorist bombings on the London Underground in July 2005. Drawing on leading authorities from across the globe, this volume explores the historical mutation of political violence and concepts of terror. Terror will be of interest to scholars of history, international relations and political science; to policy makers; and to the educated layperson.

This is the first exploration of the British army to combine labour, political and military history. It analyses the political lives of nineteenth century rank and file soldiers in the context of a developing working-class culture. It focuses on the significant radical and socialist movements, alongside influential working-class conservatism.

General Charles James Napier was sent to confront the tens of thousands of Chartist protestors marching through the cities of the North of England in the late 1830s. A well-known leftist who agreed with the Chartist demands for democracy, Napier managed to keep the peace. In South Asia, the same man would later provoke a war and conquer Sind. In this first-ever scholarly biography of Napier, Edward Beasley asks how the conventional depictions of the man as a peacemaker in England and a warmonger in Asia can be reconciled. Employing deep archival research and close readings of Napier's published books (ignored by prior scholars), this well-written volume demonstrates that Napier was a liberal imperialist who believed that if freedom was right for the people of England it was right for the people of Sind -- even if "freedom" had to be imposed by military force. Napier also confronted the messy aftermath of Western conquest, carrying out nation-building with mixed success, trying to end the honour killing of women, and eventually discovering the limits of imperial interference.

In the years between 1750 and 1868, English criminal justice underwent significant changes. The two most crucial developments were the gradual establishment of an organised, regular police, and the emergence of new secondary punishments, following the restriction in the scope of the death penalty. In place of an ill-paid parish constabulary, functioning largely through a system of rewards and common informers, professional police institutions were given the task of executing a speedy and systematic enforcement of the criminal law. In lieu of the severe and capriciously-administered capital laws, a penalty structure based on a proportionality between the gravity of crimes and the severity of punishments was erected as arguably a more effective deterrent of crime. This book, first published in 1981, examines the impact of these two important developments and casts new light on the way in which law enforcement evolved during the nineteenth century. This title will be of interest to students of history and criminology.

The period 1829-1856 witnessed the introduction of the 'New Police' to Great Britain and Ireland. Via a series of key legislative acts, traditional mechanisms of policing were abolished and new, supposedly more efficient, forces were raised in their stead. Subsequently, the introduction of the 'New Police' has been represented as a watershed in the development of the systems of policing we know today. But just how sweeping were the changes made to the maintenance of law and order during the nineteenth century? The articles collected in this volume (written by some of the foremost criminal justice historians) show a process which, while cumulatively dramatic, was also at times protracted and acrimonious. There were significant changes to the way in which Britain and Ireland were policed during the nineteenth century, but these changes were by no means as straightforward or as progressive as they have at times been represented.