ABSTRACT
In January 1751, Henry Fielding, the Bow Street magistrate and author of Tom Jones, published his Enquiry into the causes of the late increase of robbers, perhaps the most comprehensive survey of London crime in the eighteenth century. In it he proposed a number of reforms, some of which were subsequently enacted. (See below, p. 150.) The Enquiry reveals a concern at the continuing growth in crime, and suggests a number of ways in which criminals might be dealt with. Perhaps the most significant part of Fielding’s analysis is the way he links this crime-wave to the socio-economic conditions of the poor. For him, the criminal problem is located amongst what he calls the vulgar, i. e. the common people. He also sees crime as an intrusion on hard-won political liberties; crime is, for Fielding, un-English. He is also very critical of the limited public institutions for dealing with crime.
