' . . . the concentration on one area also allows the author to explore a wide range of phenomena in depth, that it would simply not be feasible to undertake at a national level. For these reasons alone this is a work worth considering. The book is full of detailed information . . . At a time when many academics and policy-makers are considering the future of policing, it is timely to review an in-depth study of policing in the twentieth century that because of the geographical limits is one of the most detailed studies I have ever seen. It is also interesting to note that many of the issues of concern throughout the century in South Wales are still around today, such as concerns over youth crime, violent crime and police effectiveness, This illustrates that many of the problems facing us today are nothing new and at least understanding how they were dealt with in the past could provide lessons for today.' (Labour Campaign for Criminal Justice Newsletter)
‘ . . . highly detailed . . . a fascinating picture of local policing . . . \Many students of police history will make use of this study as a future reference and source book . . . instructive and will be a valuable future reference source for social and other historians. ’ (Local Government Studies)
This unique book on crime in the twentieth century places the discussion of crime and policing in its historical context and at the same time contributes to the contemporary debate on crime, policing and punishment. There is no general historical survey of crime in twentieth-century Britain and little has been done either on crime or policing in twentieth-century Wales.Contemporary discussions on the problem of crime and the efficiency of the police have shown a clear need for a general survey. This book sets the current debates in a chronological context and examines the historical roots of today's fears, myths and prejudices. The nature of crime and policing has changed considerably in the last hundred years. In 1900 the modern problems of motoring and drug offenses, for example, were hardly mentioned, and the character of policing was similar to that of half a century earlier. Yet within a generation the roots of our modern anxieties over crime and policing were already visible. Even so, it was the years of the late 1950s and 1960s that witnessed the major change in criminal activity, and transformed policing and public attitudes. Since the amalgamation of the police forces in 1969 the story has been equally dramatic, and people are now convinced that times have never been worse.
The book chronicles all these developments and show the role of the public as victims, reporters and criminals. South Wales is a good region for the historian of crime. Almost half the population of Wales live within its boundaries, and it contains a rich tapestry of communities. The South Wales police patrol isolated villages and market streets, old and new industrial centres, seaport and seaside towns, and, of course, the large cities of Cardiff and Swansea. The district has the geography of a county police force, and some of the problems of a metropolitan police area.
Author: He joined the University of Wales Swansea History Department in 1966 and remained there until his death, having been awarded a Personal Chair in 1991 in recognition of his remarkable contribution to research in Welsh history. His books include Before Rebecca (1973), Chartism and the Chartists (1975), Crime, Protest, Community and Police in Nineteenth-Century Britain (1982), The Last Rising: the Newport Insurrection of 1839 (1985), Rebecca's Children (1989) and Crime in Nineteenth-Century Wales (1992).