Introduction : Trends and Questions in New Historical Accounts of Policing

Historical studies about aspects of urban life seldom recount the past with detachment from the concerns of the present. Some areas of inquiry about the past shield themselves from contemporary relevance, thereby risking a slide into antiquarianism. At the other extreme, historical scholarship that is too keenly aware of the present risks looking foolish after the fad or concern which inspired or guided it has come and gone. This dilemma of …