Angela Buckley

Crime investigation has captured the public’s imagination since the early nineteenth century, and the fascination with detectives and their sleuthing adventures, in real-life and fiction, endures today. Despite widespread interest, there has been little research thus far into how the early police detectives developed their pioneering skills. Police history research has focused on uniformed officers, with little reference to their plain clothes counterparts and researchers have mostly concentrated on the investigative work of the Metropolitan Police. My PhD study extends the existing research beyond the traditional borders of Scotland Yard, to cities outside London, where regional police detectives also became effective crime investigators.

For my project, I am examining a diverse range of hitherto untapped primary sources, mostly from local archives, including watch committee minutes, county trial records and regional police records. A close examination of the interaction between local councils and borough constabularies provides a detailed picture of how regional police detective departments honed their investigative skills, thus professionalizing their role and formalising the use of innovative investigative strategies, such as crime scene analysis, forensic techniques and data collection. The comparison of evidence from several borough constabularies demonstrates that regional police detectives improved their professional skills and abilities in crime detection through cooperation, peer-training and the development of innovative practices in response to local crimes.

This research will make a significant contribution to the field of crime history through the development of a detailed understanding of investigative technique in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. It will provide new insights into how the regional police detectives developed their skills, and thus contributed to the evolution of policing practice. Furthermore, as the study of the historical background of policing strategies and tactics has been established as essential to the study of the history of crime, as well as a prerequisite for developing an understanding of contemporary practices, it would have a direct impact on the formulation of new investigative strategies. The study aims to offer original research which could be widely disseminated within, and have an impact on, the existing academic field, and the public domain.