Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/55638
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dc.contributor.authorShaw, Kimen
dc.contributor.authorMaxwell-Stewart, Hamishen
dc.contributor.authorHarman, Kristynen
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-10T06:18:29Z-
dc.date.available2023-08-10T06:18:29Z-
dc.date.issued2022-
dc.identifier.citationCrime, Histoire et Societes, 26(2), p. 51-74en
dc.identifier.issn1663-4837en
dc.identifier.issn1422-0857en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/55638-
dc.description.abstract<p>Accounts of criminal organisations referred to as the "Forty Thieves" have been noted throughout nineteenth century Britain. While the profile of alleged members takes several different forms, the most common descriptions refer to gangs of youth who commit acts of coordinated theft in public spaces and at community events. Included in these accounts are repeated references to tattooed markings said to identify gang members. These consisted of a series of dots ranging from five to nine in number and were often concealed between the thumb and forefinger. While these accounts sparked the imagination of the British public and continue to contribute to what might be called the legend of the Forty Thieves, work to validate the truth of their specific claims has, to date, been limited. This study addresses this gap through an analysis of the recorded physical descriptions of over 40,000 convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land between the years 1816-1853. Focusing on the presentation of dot pattern tattoos, it was found that convicts marked with five and seven dots differ from other convicts in two significant ways. Firstly, they are more likely to have a record of previous convictions; and secondly, they are considerably younger in age. We also recorded distinct regional differences in the acquisition of dot patterns for subjects born in different parts of Britain. While these findings support the assertion that such markings may in fact be indicative of juvenile criminal gangs, we conclude that the ubiquity of these markings and their geographic spread, both across Britain and beyond, implies that the Forty Thieves never existed as a discrete criminal organisation.</p>en
dc.languageenen
dc.publisherLibrairie Droz SAen
dc.relation.ispartofCrime, Histoire et Societesen
dc.titleA Topography of Dots: New Perspectives on the History and Legend of the Forty Thievesen
dc.typeJournal Articleen
dc.identifier.doi10.4000/chs.3311en
dcterms.accessRightsGolden
local.contributor.firstnameKimen
local.contributor.firstnameHamishen
local.contributor.firstnameKristynen
local.relation.isfundedbyARCen
local.profile.schoolFaculty of HASS and Educationen
local.profile.emailhmaxwell@une.edu.auen
local.output.categoryC1en
local.grant.numberDP220101509en
local.record.placeauen
local.record.institutionUniversity of New Englanden
local.publisher.placeSwitzerlanden
local.format.startpage51en
local.format.endpage74en
local.peerreviewedYesen
local.identifier.volume26en
local.identifier.issue2en
local.title.subtitleNew Perspectives on the History and Legend of the Forty Thievesen
local.access.fulltextYesen
local.contributor.lastnameShawen
local.contributor.lastnameMaxwell-Stewarten
local.contributor.lastnameHarmanen
dc.identifier.staffune-id:hmaxwellen
local.booktitle.translatedCrime, History and Societiesen
local.profile.orcid0000-0001-7336-0953en
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.identifier.unepublicationidune:1959.11/55638en
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
local.title.maintitleA Topography of Dotsen
local.output.categorydescriptionC1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journalen
local.relation.grantdescriptionARC/DP220101509en
local.search.authorShaw, Kimen
local.search.authorMaxwell-Stewart, Hamishen
local.search.authorHarman, Kristynen
local.uneassociationYesen
local.atsiresearchNoen
local.sensitive.culturalNoen
local.year.published2022en
local.fileurl.closedpublishedhttps://rune.une.edu.au/web/retrieve/9bbff535-5a1e-4fcc-9980-ad7d28d00854en
local.subject.for2020380103 Economic historyen
local.subject.for2020430302 Australian historyen
local.subject.for2020430306 Digital historyen
local.subject.seo2020130703 Understanding Australia’s pasten
local.profile.affiliationtypeExternal Affiliationen
local.profile.affiliationtypeUNE Affiliationen
local.profile.affiliationtypeExternal Affiliationen
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