I am interested in hearing from anyone who has utilised archival or online records of the criminal justice system to learn about an ancestral relative (both direct & collateral) or to further their understanding of the history of crime: genealogists, students, teachers, authors, playwrights, historians etc.
Please take the survey even if you can’t answer all of the questions, I want to hear your story and your opinions.
‘Criminal’ Ancestor
Click to answer this survey if your ancestor appeared in court (including petty sessions), was imprisoned, in a reformatory or transported.
Multiple ‘Criminal’ Ancestors
Click to answer this survey if you have found multiple ancestors (space for 30!) appearing in court/prison and other records relating to crimes.
Witness, Police, Victim, Judge Ancestor
Click to answer this survey if your ancestor appears in criminal records as a witness, victim, or member of the judicial system.
Genealogy Researcher
Click to answer this survey if you undertake research for others (paid or unpaid), and have had to tell a client about their criminal ancestor.
Author/Writer
Click to answer this survey if you have written about historic crime in any genre: fact or fiction, magazines, blogging, academic text books etc.
Independent/Academic Researcher
Click to answer this survey if you have researched historic crime as an independent researcher/local historian or part of your studies/academic work (school-university).
Skype Interview
If your ancestor or the subject of your research was recorded as part of a court or criminal record (including witnesses, victims and judicial personnel) and you would like to participate in an interview via Skype (Skype id: crime_survey), please get in touch.
