Thursday 8 May 2025, online
(e-mail us dsnwomencluster@gmail.com to register)
Craig Stafford, Female Offending and the Police Courts in Victorian Lancashire (book under contract)
Craig Stafford will discuss his forthcoming book, and the research behind it, in a flash talk designed to inspire conversation. His book explores the relationship between women, police and magistrates with a focus on Victorian Lancashire, using the boroughs of Salford, Rochdale and Bolton as case studies. It examines the relationship between female offenders and these provincial police courts, exploring how male attitudes towards femininity and respectability influenced sentencing at summary level. With a thematic approach, it explores both criminal drunkenness and offences linked to drink, such as violence and prostitution. Despite being close neighbours, the police in each borough had different approaches towards the policing of female drunkenness, often influenced by the concerns of local elites. The study uses microhistories of key actors, including policemen, magistrates, and the women who used, or were prosecuted in, these courts to explore how these approaches differed and what the implications of such gendered attitudes were for the women and their families.
The book is part of the Trailblazers scheme, a joint initiative between the Universities of Liverpool, Salford and Lancaster. More information can be found here:
https://liverpooluniversitypress.blog/2025/01/28/trailblazers-announces-first-two-contracted-books/
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