Cross coves, buzzers and general sorts of prigs - Juvenile crime and the criminal 'underworld' in the early nineteenth century

This article examines the nature of the criminal 'underworld' in the early nineteenth century, considering specifically the activities of young offend ers within the criminal networks operating in the 1830s. Traditionally, exa mination of such networks has been hindered by the tendency to mythologize by both contemporary commentators and historians of crime. Consequently muc h historical analysis has been criticized for conforming to stereotypical c haracterizations of criminality, painting a lurid picture of an organized c riminal 'underworld'. Despite such criticisms it is possible to provide ins ights into some aspects of how young offenders understood the networks and structures of criminal enterprise in London, principally through the locati ons from which they operated, the role of receivers and fences, and common allegations about the operations and corruption of the police.