ABSTRACT
Though the twenties and thirties were far from the crime-free golden age they sometimes appear in retrospect, the police remained firmly in control and were treated with a certain amount of deference. But the war shifted the balance of power in favour of the criminals. One might have expected that with the country in danger of invasion, differences would be forgotten in the common struggle and crime would diminish. The altruistic intentions of individual criminals, however, were more than counter-balanced by the new opportunities for crime which the war opened up. The war made even the most mundane commodities-from bacon to gardening tools, from stockings to safety pins-valuable, and thus significantly expanded the market for stolen goods. Rationing, which meant that those who had money were unable to buy as much as they wished, meant there was a steady supply of eager customers for black-market goods. The blackout and the shortage of policemen-the youngest and fittest of whom had been drafted into the army-meant that goods stored in warehouses, railway depots, docks, and factories were vulnerable to determined bands of thieves.
