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Soham Police - The Soham Police Charge Book, 1848-1855

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Analysis of Charges

The Charge Book covers two periods. First is the period May 1848 to December 1851 when the Charge Book was used by The Soham Police Force, a local Lighting and Watching Act Force based in Soham, Cambridgeshire. The second period, from January 1852 to December 1855, covers the early years of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary when the Charge book was used by the Newmarket Division of the new county force. Some comparisons can be made between the two periods covered. On this page is an attempt to derive meaning from the data contained in the Charge Book. In some cases this raises questions worthy of future exploration.

• Numbers of Charges and defendants
• Offences charged
• Occupations of persons charged
• Location of offence, where recorded.
• Address of offenders
• Persons charging
• Charges - outcomes
• Ages of defendants

Numbers of Charges and Defendants

Soham Police used the charge book from 1848 to 1851, 44 months, during that period they recorded 205 charges involving 226 male and 17 female defendants, (total 243).
The Newmarket Division of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary took over the book from January 1852 until it was filled in December 1855: 48 months and 697 charges involving 762 male and 116 female defendants (total 877) . The percentage of female offenders changed between the two periods from 7 to 13%. Does this represent changes within society or changes in attitudes of the police officers of the day?

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Offences Charged

The first table below lists offences charged. Both periods listed show police dealt with a relatively wide range of offences. However, we are not here comparing like with like as the figures for the Soham Police cover policing activities in Soham only, whereas the "New Police" figures are for the Newmarket Division of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, consisting of Soham and 21 other parishes. The Soham Force comprised two or three officers and Newmarket Division several. However it is interesting to note that for both periods some of the more frequently used charges were similar: theft / attempted theft, assault, drunkenness and damage. In the second period covered we must add poaching offences due to the larger rural area being policed. Assaulting or resisting police fell between the two periods from 8.5 to 1.7 percent of charges. This may reflect increasing public acceptance of the police or better training or selection of officers over time.

Table 1 - Type of offence, by percentage

a) Soham Police Force 1848-51, n=201

16.9% Theft/attempt theft
14.4 Assault
12.9 Drunkenness
9.0 Damage
8.5 Assault / resist police
6.5 Found on enclosed premises
5.5 Begging
4.5 Deserting family
3.5 Liquor licensing
2.5 Public order
2.5 Bastardy
2.0 Assault wife
1.5 Robbery
1.0 Arson
1.0 Burglary
1.0 Abscond from service
1.0 Not paying rates
1.0 Receiving stolen goods
0.5 Pound rescue
0.5 Sexual offences
0.5 Furious driving
0.5 Conceal birth
0.5 Vagrancy
0.5 Hawking without a license
0.5 Debt
0.5 Failing to appear
0.5 Disobeying Court Order
0.5 Fraud

b) Type of offence, by percentage, Newmarket Division Cambridgeshire Constabulary 1852-55, n=697
24.2% Theft/attempt theft
13.6 Assault
8.6 Damage
7.5 Poaching
6.7 Bastardy
6.5 Deserting family
5.3 Liquor licensing
3.3 Furious driving, no reins etc
2.9 Drunkenness
2.6 Not paying rates
2.0 Fraud, false pretences
1.7 Assault / resist police
1.4 Assault wife
1.4 Abscond from work / apprenticeship
1.3 Debt
1.1 Burglary
1.0 Arson
0.9 Refuse to vaccinate child
0.7 Embezzlement
0.7 Public order Breach of The Peace
0.7 Animal cruelty
0.7 Begging
0.7 Refuse to work / misbehaving in workhouse
0.6 Animals - pound rescue
0.4 Found on enclosed premises
0.3 Homicide / Conceal birth
0.3 Coinage / forgery offences
0.3 Robbery
0.3 Vagrancy
0.3 Obstruct watercourse
0.3 Nuisance, spillage in street
0.1 Hawking without a license
0.1 Disobeying Court order
0.1 Obstruct Relieving Officer
0.1 Obstructing highway
0.1 PC neglect of duty
0.1 Endanger life on railway
0.1 Rescue property from sheriff
0.1 Perjury
0.1 Deserter from armed forces
0.1 Handling stolen goods

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Occupations of persons charged

Who were the persons charged? Not every charge includes the defendant's occupation. Where occupations are shown for the Soham Police 1848-51, n=214, the vast majority were labourers, followed by beerhouse keepers, carpenters and farmers. This was also the case for the new police 1852-55 n=709. The beerhouse keepers position on the table was due to charges for liquor licencing offences - mainly selling outside permitted hours. In the second period the bigger sample produced a longer list of different occupations. This may also reflect increasing specialisation of work over time.

Table 2 - occupations of persons charged

a) Soham Police, Occupations of persons charged (where recorded) 1848-51

62.6% Labourer
6.5 Beerhouse keeper
3.3 Carpenter
3.3 Farmer
3.3 Sawyer
2.3 Vagrant
1.9 Apprentice
1.4 Tailor
1.4 Brick maker
1.4 Miller
0.9 Blacksmith
0.9 Horse dealer
0.9 Pollard buyer
0.5 Moulder
0.5 Mariner
0.5 Gardener
0.5 Bargeman
0.5 Baker
0.5 Horse keeper
0.5 Sign painter
0.5 Gas fitter
0.5 Sweep
0.5 Painter
0.5 Rag dealer
0.5 Cordwainer
0.5 Hawker
0.5 Pig jobber
0.5 Coach builder
0.5 Wheelwright / app
0.5 Barber
0.5 Currier
0.5 Waterman
0.5 Tramp
0.5 Dealer

b) Newmarket Division of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Occupations of persons charged (where information on occupation is recorded) 1852-55 n=709

59.2% Labourer
5.8 Beerhouse keeper
2.7 Farmer
2.1 Carpenter
2.4 Groom
2.0 Blacksmith
1.8 Servant
1.6 Wagoner
1.3 Dealer
1.3 Shepherd
1.1 Butcher
1.1 Jockey / jockey boy
1.1 Carrier / carter
1.0 Shoemaker
0.7 Wheelwright
0.7 Gamekeeper
0.7 Miller
0.6 Baker
0.6 Hawker
0.6 Bricklayer
0.4 Vagrant
0.4 Brick maker
0.4 Steward
0.4 Sailor
0.4 Marine store collector
0.4 Bailiff
0.4 Traveller
0.4 Machine man
0.3 Yeoman
0.3 Corn cutter
0.3 Grocer
0.3 Ostler
0.3 Tailor
0.3 Horse dealer
0.3 Waterman
0.3 Watchmaker
0.3 Maltster
0.3 Builder
0.1 Gardener
0.1 Horse keeper
0.1 Apprentice
0.1 Tramp
0.1 Late police
0.1 Manager
0.1 Horseman
0.1 Farrier
0.1 Bootmaker
0.1 Cooper
0.1 Overseer
0.1 Pauper
0.1 Commercial Traveller
0.1 Member of Parliament
0.1 Railway contractor
0.1 Parish Constable
0.1 Plate layer
0.1 Cook
0.1 Housemaid
0.1 Corn merchant
0.1 Machinist
0.1 Vet
0.1 Lighterman
0.1 Boatman
0.1 Engine driver
0.1 Engine stoker
0.1 Schoolmaster
0.1 Millwright
0.1 Woodman
0.1 Shopkeeper
0.1 Saddler
0.1 Nurseryman
0.1 Stock man
0.1 Parish surveyor
0.1 Relieving Officer
0.1 Soldier
0.1 Gentleman
0.1 Foreman
0.1 Butler

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Location of offence, where recorded.

Table 3 below shows the parish where the offence charged took place. This shows that when the Cambridgeshire Constabulary took over the policing of Soham, offences charged occurring in Soham dropped from 191 to 105, despite the fact that we are comparing 48 months under the new police with 44 months of the Soham Police Force. Unfortunately we do not have the financial information to compare costs to local ratepayers of the two different policing arrangements. This does however provide some evidence to support critics of the new police who complained that some parishes, already professionally policed, might face a reduction in service when the 1839 Act was adopted. The table also shows which parishes in the Division were the most (Soham, Woodditton and Isleham) and least busy (Reach, Landwade, Kennet and Saxon St) and relates this to population figures where known. It must be remembered that the table relates to charges by the police and not to reported or recorded crime. The distribution of charges therefore also reflects the way that the new force deployed its men across the Newmarket Division.

Table 3 - location of offences charged

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Addresses of offenders, where recorded

Table 4 below shows that the Soham Police dealt with a higher proportion of Soham residents than their later successors. In both periods police dealt with a relatively large number of non residents. Numbers of non residents charged appear to have increased over time as travel became easier. The number of individuals with non local addresses is surprisingly high.

Table 4 - Addresses of defendants

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Person Charging

In the period 1848-51, (44 months), in 44% of charges, the person charging was a police officer, usually the officer arresting / summoning the defendant. In 43% of charges, the person charging was the victim named in the charge. The remaining few percent of persons charging were mainly poor law officials (overseers and relieving officers 8%).

In comparison, the new Cambridgeshire Constabulary seemed keener to share the prosecution of charges with victims and others. Of the 697 charges recorded by the new police between 1852 and 1855 (48 months), only 17% showed the person charging as a police officer, mainly a senior rank and not the arresting officer. In 54% of cases the person charging was the victim identified in the charge. In contrast to the earlier period there is a much wider spread of third party persons charging. 14% of persons charging were poor law officials. Other categories of persons charging included gamekeepers (6%) and company officials (2%). This may indicate that the new police were more willing to support charges made by others, it may reflect growing public confidence in the new police, or it may have made it easier for police to recover their costs for activities supporting prosecutions by others.

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Charges - Outcomes

The next table sets out the disposal of charges, where these are recorded in the charge book. The largest proportion of outcomes was some sort of financial penalty, sometimes with an alternative period of imprisonment in default. In some of the earlier entries in the charge book it was noted that the defendant was unable to pay and so went straight to gaol. The acquittal rate was almost three times higher in the second period than the first. It is difficult to draw clear conclusions from this as officers in both periods would have only received rudimentary training. Perhaps in the earlier years justices were more supportive of the officers. When acquittals are added to cautions and reprimands, then there is a far more even match between the two periods. Perhaps therefore the apparent acquittal imbalance may simply have been subtle changes over time in the determination of the justices. Occasionally outcomes appear somewhat lenient, for example in some drunkenness and assault cases. There are two less obvious areas where the sentence may have added bite. It is not unusual to find one or more days difference between apprehension and appearance before a justice. In all probability the difference marks time spent incarcerated in a cage or lock-up. Second is the issue of costs awarded against a defendant, which could exceed other elements of punishment.

Table 5 - Disposals of charges, where shown, comparing work of Soham Police Force and Newmarket Division of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary

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Ages of Defendants

The charge book has a heading for the age of the offender, but this information was not always completed. Age is shown in 830 entries out of 1120 (74%). The average age of those whose age is recorded between 1847 and 1851 was 28 and between 1852 and 1855 was 30. The youngest offender was aged 8 and the oldest 78.

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