ABSTRACT
Randle Jackson published a treatise on crime and its remedies, which took the form of a report addressed to the Surrey magistracy. He expresses the widely-held perception during the period that crime was increasing and that it was overwhelmingly associated with the lower reaches of the working classes. A committee to enquire into the state of the police was formed which included Jackson, who was prompted by the enthusiastic reception of his report to expand on his ideas somewhat in print. His report, published before the Select Committee Report, may well have been instigated as a result of this early lobbying. Jackson aggregates a set of behaviours deemed undesirable and likely to be linked to crime (such as excessive drinking and attendance at fairs) with fears over recidivism and a growing sense of impunity among offenders.
