Excavating the archive: Reflections on a historical criminology of government, penal policy and criminal justice change

Abstract

This article makes the case for greater use of systematic archival research as a methodological tool of criminology. Drawing upon insights from the author’s 2018 historical study of ‘early release’ in England and Wales, it reviews the legal framework underpinning the current ‘right of access’ to official records and demonstrates how greater engagement with this underused public resource can reveal a richer understanding of penal policy making and the continuities and dislocations within contemporary criminal justice. It goes on to consider the methodological challenges of gaining access to historical sources in criminological settings and concludes with a number of reflections upon the evolution of the discipline at a time of digital abundance and significant changes in government record keeping.