Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The databases were constructed by Dr. Louise A. Jackson and Dr. Angela Bartie and were used for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project RES-000-22-2644 'Policing Post-War Youth: a Comparative Study of England and Scotland c. 1945-1971'. The project aimed to examine the everyday regulation of young people under the age of 17 by police officers, magistrates, social workers and other practitioners. The research was historical and archival and it made use of local cases studies (situated within broader national policy contexts) based in Dundee (Scotland) and Manchester (England). The project involved an evaluation of the activity of the Juvenile Courts in the cities of Dundee and Manchester prior to their replacement in Scotland with hearings before Children's Panels, for three sample years: 1947, 1953 and 1959. Profiles of patterns relating to young people's reported offending behaviour were compared in terms of gender, age, types of offence, place and space. The types of object stolen or damaged were compared to broader consumer trends as well as to leisure practices associated with young people. Further information may be found on the ESRC Policing Post-War Youth: a Comparative Study of England and Scotland c. 1945-1971 award webpage. These data are under embargo until 1 January 2012.
Main Topics:
The samples consists of juveniles charged with offences (allegedly) committed in the years 1947, 1953 and 1959 and within this, for the months January to May (5 months). The details of charges, results of cases and demographic detail (age, sex, occupation) relating to juveniles appearing before the courts were entered into a pre-designed Microsoft Access database. The databases contain little raw data; rather, data has been categorized prior to data-entry by the researchers (to protect the identity of subjects). The value of objects has been converted from pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal notation (eg. 1 shilling = 0.05 pounds) to enable calculations to be made. The addresses of juveniles and of locations relating to charges have been categorized by ward (Dundee) or district (Manchester). Objects, locations, and charges have been categorised by the researchers according to 'type'. The data have been fully anonymised; any information that may be used to ascertain identity has been removed.
Five-month samples for each of the three years surveyed.
Transcription of existing materials
Generated from Registers of Juvenile courts.
