Abstract
A decade sample of criminal statistics, 1801-1810, has been compiled from the judicial records of Ohio County, Va. When this sample is compared with a similar compilation for contem porary Philadelphia, the figures indicate that the frontier area had more crimes of violence and fewer property crimes than the urban area. Offenses against public order were also more fre quent in the relatively unsettled area.
Some comparisons of the same area across time (1801-1810 and 1960-1969) show that while the general crime rate has risen markedly, the rate of violent crime has declined while property crimes have increased.
The analysis of offenses also raises the question of whether statistical records do not reflect social factors and political orga nization of the administration of justice as well as portraying criminal activity.
Other samples of judicial criminal statistics should be exam ined to permit significant historical comparisons to be made.
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