The invention of international crime : a global issue in the making, 1881-1914

We live in the age of international crime but when did it begin? This book examines the period when crime became an international issue (1881-1914), exploring issues such as 'world-shrinking' changes in transportation, communication and commerce, and concerns about alien criminality, white slave trading and anarchist outrages. We live in the age of international crime, but when did it begin? In the last decades of the nineteenth century, Great Britain confronted crime problems believed to have originated beyond its borders. In a world tied together by inter-continental railways, undersea telegraph cables, and ocean-going steamships, trouble in 'far away' places jeopardised domestic pursuits. London was feared to have become the centre of professional thievery, alien criminality, the white slave trade and anarchist bomb plots. The problems were even bigger, or so it seemed, than the biggest empire. Representatives from Britain met with counterparts from Germany, France, and the United States for a series of international conferences . They discussed causes and strategies, but could not always agree about solutions. A new profession also emerged, the criminologists, who claimed to have discovered in science a universal means of crime prevention Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Figures 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 10 1 Technology of Change 21 2 World Empire 52 3 Alien Criminality 77 4 White Slave Trade 107 5 Anarchist Outrages 137 6 The Criminologists 168 Conclusion 197 Notes 203 Bibliography 234 Index 256 A 256 B 256 C 257 D 257 E 257 F 257 G 258 H 259 I 259 J 259 K 259 L 259 M 260 N 260 O 260 P 261 R 261 S 262 T 262 U 262 V 262 W 262 X 263 Z 263 Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-11 Technology of Change....Pages 12-42 World Empire....Pages 43-67 Alien Criminality....Pages 68-97 White Slave Trade....Pages 98-127 Anarchist Outrages....Pages 128-158 The Criminologists....Pages 159-187 Conclusion....Pages 188-193 Back Matter....Pages 194-254