REPORT OF THE
First Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire as to the Best Means of Establishing an Efficient Constabulary Force in the Counties of England and Wales, 1839.
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State of the Rural Districts in Respects of Crime Committed by Resident Delinquents
From Northbourne, near Deal, it is stated –––
The principal felonies are those of sheep-stealing, which is very prevalent. The animal is slaughtered in the night; the skin, head, and entrails are hidden or left in some sequestered spot; and scarcely a week passes, but a theft of this kind occurs: the fields being open, there is seldom a detection. Other minor depredations are very frequent, such as poultry stolen; also of late, the bee-hives, with their honey; fruit when in season; the produce of the garden and fields of every description, including the destruction of fences for firewood, iron-work from agricultural implements, the wheel from a barrow, or anything tangible not under lock and key.