Manchester in the century between 1850 and 1950 witnessed extraordinary growth and changes. In the mid-nineteenth century, Manchester was the world-s first industrialised city, home of the Industrial Revolution and known as -Cottonopolis-. It was a city of immigrants from the countryside, Ireland, Scotland and further afield, where slums and poverty existed in close proximity to great wealth. The unique conditions in the city made it a breeding ground for crimes of all kinds, from the -high crimes- of murder and large-scale robberies, frauds and theft, to -low-level- crimes such as pickpocketing, mugging and other street crimes. -Snoozer- gangs robbed hotels in Victorian Manchester and the city was home to numerous jewel thieves over the years including -Lucky Edgar-. Some crimes were even politically motivated, such as the suffragette law breaking, while others such as youth crime, which is often portrayed as a recent phenomenon, actually has a long history stretching back to the teen
