drunkenness

You don't hear many criminals saying that nowadays: “I don’t know anything about it but I take all responsibility”.

A very clear image with lots of character to it. What's interesting about these police mugshots is that it shows crime has always happened - personally I don't think 'The Good old Days' existed. Instead, I think times were very hard and even making small sums of money illegally happened often. No welfare state existed back then and when work was slack or health was poor then people took desperate measures..

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/flyeye] I don't think anybody argues that there was no crime in the past, but what is striking is the amount of attention from the police and the press these relatively small property crimes attract. Also the hard punishments are noteworthy. It would be difficult to find a police station where you can report such crimes nowadays, let alone that they will be brought to court.

Michiel2005 I still hear older folk complaining 'it was never like that in the past'.. I agree though - petty crime but we need to remember that a coat or two kitchen knives was often all folk had. That amplified the severity of the crimes. Imagine finding you have no coat mid-winter and no money to buy one.

Phillis Robinson appears quite smatly dressed compared with many of the women in this collection. From the account of her crime in the Newcastle Daily Chronicle (25 April 1873) it looks as if she was working as a prostitute. With another woman she approached William Lockwood Hunter in Clayton Street, Newcastle and asked him to stand them a glass of ale. Having also bought them a pie, he was robbed of £14. Phillis had 15 previous court appearances including vagrancy, drunkenness and theft.

She looks like she did well for herself, being a prostitute. She's wearing furs!

Superb!! Amazing image.

Haha a funny fella too. Folk hit hard times and addiction to 'numb' memories can set in. A shame really but he kept his humour.