Abstract
Using data from the docket books of the Boston Police Court, this study shows that Boston's constables in 1824 patrolled sections of the city and aggressively made arrests for such victimless crimes as prostitution, drunkenness, and violations of city ordinances. In contrast with the modern conception of constables as performing primarily law enforcement functions, they must have been heavily involved in pro- active patrol and order maintenance. This study also reveals that the crime patterns of 1824 (again as measured by data from the police court dockets) are distinct in comparison with those of both 1703-32 and 1860-69. The rate of criminal prose cutions in 1824 was 8.3 times that of 1703-32, and offenses against the person were much more common in 1824, that is, 38.7 times the rate in 1703-32. Between 1824 and 1860-69 the patterns of crime changed again. The prosecution rate for offenses against the person declined by more than half, while prosecutions for property of fenses remained approximately constant. It is argued that these changes reflected primarily changes in Boston's social organization from that of a preindustrial seaport of modest size to that of a commercial center of metropolitan proportions.
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