Crime in Harlow: February 1963 to February 2013
Crime / Thu 9th Feb 2023 am28 09:32am
WE thought we would have a dip into the newspaper archive down at Harlow Museum.
We try to keep our crime coverage to near 8% to 9% That’s around 350 stories out of just over 4,000. Or to put it another way, over 3,500 good news stories every year!
Is there more crime or does it just feel that way?
Is it all about perception. How was it for you in the seventies? We began the decade with a baby being kidnapped from the town centre and began the next decade with a terrible murder in Milwards.
In between, Staple Tye was a no-go area, football hooliganism was everywhere, foreign students would be assaulted in the town and “our” football manager went to jail for indecently assaulting four players.
Not so long ago, a missing teenager would involve one police officer, checking the house, the hospital, social services etc. Now the helicopter may go up and make Harlow residents feel like it is The Bronx.
But that is no reason to be complacent and it is no reason to be concerned. Perhaps it is worse.? Was there ever a time when fourteen year olds or motorcyclists walked/rode around the town with machetes?
Anyway, we have published a few crime stories from February 2013, 2003, 1993, 1983, 1973 and 1963.
2013
2003
1993
1983
1973
1963
Reproduced with thanks to Harlow Star, Harlow Citizen and Harlow Gazette.
David Forman
2023-02-09 09:56:49
Sad to see in 2003 the racial abuse Labour councillor Feroz Khan suffered. He and Manny Doku paved the way for other members of the ethnic community to represent our town. Both of them are very nice people and their public service to Harlow is much appreciated.
Bruce Downey
2023-02-09 10:25:28
The town probably too white and English back then.
Jimmy
2023-02-09 14:24:58
Racism still alive and kicking in Harlow just not in the open like it used to be
Tonybeloney
2023-02-09 22:07:29
Tut tut tut, Dear oh dear what has this town come too? Washing stolen Bogus door to door raffles cars stolen shoplifting electricity meter raided bogus police stolen bacon Careless driving. What in the grace of god is next? Murders.. Muggings Rapes Corrupt police? By Jove glad I lived my life when I did.
Nostradamus
2023-02-10 08:03:48
It has to be remembered this is a "dip" that is over half a century, picking out the worst behaviours and a very negative projection into the public domain that's not going to reflect the very positive sides of the people who lived here through the 50 years. At the very least the article should include graphs of crime levels or tables of figures compared with other similar towns and to show where we sat nationally: or better still an article about the achievements of people here. There was much pride in the town in the 1960s and 70s still more over the preceding 25 years. Harlow was a place where people still now write about the happiest childhood. News tends to focus on the relatively few burning houses amongst the tens of thousands not going up in smoke. YH is an excellent publication but this is article wasn't.
Theman
2023-02-10 09:23:34
I liked the story “ woman denies bacon theft”
6 Comments for Crime in Harlow: February 1963 to February 2013: