“While the general pattern of crime was one of decline, there were occasional panics and scares generated by particularly appalling offences. In the 1850s and early 1860s there were panics about street robbery, known then as ‘garrotting’. A virulent press campaign against garrotters in 1862 developed following the robbery of an MP on his way home from a late-night sitting of parliament; and while the number of ‘garrotte’ robberies was tiny, the press created sensations out of minor incidents. Parliament responded with ferocious legislation providing for offenders to be flogged as well as imprisoned.”
“The murders of Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888 were confined to a small area of London’s East End, but similarly provoked a nation-wide panic whipped up by press sensationalism. Violence, especially violence with a sexual frisson, sold newspapers”
“Most offenders were young males, but most offences were petty thefts. The most common offences committed by women were linked to prostitution and were, essentially, ‘victimless’ crimes – soliciting, drunkenness, drunk and disorderly, vagrancy.”
“By the middle of the century the term ‘criminal classes’ was more in vogue; it was used to suggest an incorrigible social group – a class – stuck at the bottom of society.”
-Professor Clive Emsley, “Crime and the Victorians”
“He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.”
-Enfield, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
“Fear of the Monster is actually a sort of desire.”
-Jeffery Cohen
Here we see examples of the sensationalization of crimes committed during the 19th century Victorian era. Although the higher class of Victorians scorned crime and treated criminals as if they were the lowest of the low, people would always be fascinated to read about crimes. Since a majority of the crimes were petty theft, when a crime such as murder occurred the wealthy and poised in London would be horrified. However, they would also be very curious. This fear of the criminal ignited a sort of desire. A desire to hear the story, and maybe even a desire to see the criminal himself. Newspapers would sensationalize these crimes, printing the words “Murder” in large, bold letters. This is seen in the scene where Mr. Enfield and others witness Mr. Hyde trample a girl. They immediately crowd around him and immediately despise him. They say it is because of his face even though they cannot describe it at all, but there is a good chance that most of their hatred stems from their feelings of superiority. Also, after rushing to him they let him go right after he pays them off. This shows that their reasons for going over there were not for the girl that was trampled, as they barely pay any attention to her and would not just have requested money and let Hyde walk if they actually cared about what happened to the girl. Instead, they seemed to want to check out Mr. Hyde more, as if observing a criminal was some sort of entertainment to them.
