RESEARCH TIPS
RESEARCH TIPS
R
esearching crime can be tricky. Observation
and participant observation would be
revealing, but they’re not, for obvious reasons,
recommended methods. Therefore, you’ll need
other ways to find your leads.
There are different types of sources that crime writers can
take advantage of. Using a combination of these – and not
merely relying on Google – is likely to prove most beneficial.
Here are some pointers for where to start:Library material
Libraries have a lot to offer for crime writers. If you’re new to
the subject, learn the terminology first. Dictionaries covering
legal matters and criminology will help you.
In addition to reference works, you can find useful material
in numerous different sections within the library. Depending
on what you’re researching, you could explore, for instance,
the criminology, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, law,
international relations, human rights and/or war sections.
If you want to read biographical or autobiographical
accounts, have a look at the library’s true crime books. The
public seems to have a strange fascination with criminals,
whether it’s Jack the Ripper or the ‘diamond wheezers’ of the
Hatton Garden heist – and public libraries tend to be well
stocked with such books.Online resources
The internet is a great place to quickly find snippets of
information. There’s a multitude of sites covering different
aspect of crime and punishment. Some sites are hosted by
public bodies while others are maintained by individuals,
groups of like-minded people and other organisations.
Examples of the former include the National Crime
Agency (https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk), the UK
legislation website (https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk),
and the Government’s Crime, Justice and Law page (www.
gov.uk/browse/justice) which functions as a hub for official
information about courts, sentencing, prisons, probation,
youth offending and other details relating to crime and justice.
There are also websites that provide official crime research
results and statistics, such as those by GOV.UK (https://writ.
rs/crimeresearch) and the Criminal Records Bureau (https://
writ.rs/crimrecbur).70 APRIL 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.ukWriting a crime novel? Tarja Moles gives you the clues and leads you need
to research the criminal underworld and the forces of the law.Writing a crime novel? Tarja Moles gives you the clues and leads you need
Crime and punishment
Independent websites cover a wide range of topics:
Police Oracle (www.policeoracle.com) provides news and
other information to the UK policing community; Explore
Forensics (www.exploreforensics.co.uk) covers forensic
science, crime scene investigation and pathology; Crime
& Clues (http://crimeandclues.com) focuses on criminal
investigation, court room testimony and forensics; and
Murderpedia (http://murderpedia.org) is an encyclopaedia
of murderers around the world. You can find more websites
by doing online searches.Historical crime and punishment
Numerous books have been written about crime and
punishment during different historical periods. You can
see examples in the National Archives’ bookshop at http://
bookshop.nationalarchives.gov.uk/. These include titles
such as Bodysnatchers by Suzie Lennox and The History of the
Newgate Prison by Caroline Jowett. If you find a potentially
interesting book, you can check if it’s available in your local
library. If it’s not there, you can ask the librarian to organise an
inter-library loan for you.
There are some excellent historical web portals that provide
and/or direct you to further information. For example, the
Victorian Web’s crime page (www.victorianweb.org/history/
crime) covers different types of crime, punishment and the
police. It also gives you further reading suggestions.
Exploring archival material is a great way to deepen your
research. The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.
uk) holds, among other things, court records, army courts
martial records, prison registers and documents containing
information on criminals as well as convicts sent to Australia.
Its website (https://writ.rs/natarcresearchguides) has 39
guides to help you research its crime-related records.
You can locate more archives around the country as
well as online. For instance, you can find the 1674-1913
proceedings of the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal
Court, at http://www.oldbaileyonline.org. Regional and local
archives have details on crime and punishment in their
respective areas. They also have old newspapers which you
can read to find out more about past crimes and the way
they have been reported in the media. Alternatively, you can
access old newspapers via the British Newspaper Archive
(www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).