Crime and policing in Manchester

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1 Before the nineteenth century
2 The Manchester and Salford Police Act 1792
3 The twentieth century
4 See also
5 External links

Crime and policing in Manchester has the long and lurid history that befits the world's first industrial city.

[edit] Before the nineteenth century

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[edit] The Manchester and Salford Police Act 1792

Manchester and Salford Police Act 1792

In 1867, Thomas Kelly was arrested in Manchester on charges of vagrancy but it was soon discovered that he was wanted as a suspected Fenian freedom fighter. While being transferred between gaols, his transport was attacked on Hyde Road by a sympathetic mob who effected his escape. In the disorder, Police Sergeant Brett was shot and killed. Three Irishmen were arrested and, though they contended that the shooting had been accidental, were hanged for murder. The hanging of the Manchester Martyrs, as they came to be known, aroused international protest. The execution at New Bailey Prison was the last public hanging in England.

[edit] The twentieth century

In the 1990s, Manchester earned a reputation for gang-related crime, particularly after a spate of shootings involving young men, and reports of teenagers carrying handguns as fashion accessories. Gun-crime is still a problem in Manchester (some have cynically referred to the city as Gunchester) but a number of initiatives are in place by the Greater Manchester Police to help reduce the number of youths getting involved with gangs and their associated crimes. As a result, gun crime in the area is falling and other cities have overtaken it. The district of Moss Side gained a particular reputation for gang violence, although substantial community and police initiatives have helped rejuvenate the area.

In April 1990, Strangeways Prison was scene to one of the most serious prison riots in British history. The riot lasted for 25 days and two men were killed.