Crime - anyone ever found mugshots?

[ali.]

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone had ever found pictures of their criminal ancestors online or in records? I imagine it would be rare, but interesting!

I say mainly because I am desperate to find a picture of my 2x great grandfather or his brother. Both were habitual criminals arrested 10+ times, mostly for theft.

My 2x ggrandfather was Richard Edwards Noble b.1876 and stayed in the North of England mostly stealing handbags. His brother was John Robert Noble (alias Charles Henry Norton or Algernon Arthur Carrington) b.1875 who lived in Paddington as a jeweller and pretended to be a high-end jeweller in Hatton Garden, when his jewellery was mostly stolen.

They were arrested between 1920-1940 mostly so I wonder if that is too recent to yield any real results; though it's possible John was arrested in 1892 in Manchester. Anyone had any success with seeing the faces of criminal ancestors?

Thanks!
Ali

[BrazilianBombshell]

I went to an exhibition at the Museum of London in 2015 called The Crime Museum Uncovered.  It had exhibits of notorious criminals and mugshots of some not so notorious.  Perhaps you could check  out The Crime Museum in London.

[majm]

The New South Wales (Australia) state archives has digitised the Gaol photos and crim sheets for men and women who served time in NSW prisons in the late 1800s and early 1900s ... and those images are freely available online. 


ADD
https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/gaol-inmates-prisoners-guide
and
https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/gaol-inmates-prisoners-photos-index

JM

[JenB]

Here’s a marvellous collection put online by Tyne & Wear Archives
https://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157625464218629/with/5257838998/
Click on each photo for more details.

[brigidmac]

Not quite a mug shot but after great grandfather got arrested for being an alien without necessary papers in WW1. He procured an aliem 👽 registration documentwithhis country of origin ...and a photo

Also there was a photo of his hospital record 1920

There was a photo of a lady who may great grandmother in a newspaper report about a major crime so you could try that angle too

[Nanna52]

I was sent the mugshot of my great grandfather in 1906.  Tasmania, non payment of maintenance.  I think my cousin found it on Family Search.

[Jill Eaton]

We used to live about 10 miles form St Neots in Cambridgeshire and were aware that my husband's Eaton family came from there. Despite having visited the town many times we'd never been to the little museum.

Having popped in for a quick look one rainy afternoon we discovered that the old lock up was part of the museum with a few photos of past miscreants with relevant information on the walls....and there was Thomas Eaton -  a persistent (if petty) thief...and one of my husband's great, great uncles

We have found over the years since that when there is an article in either local or even tabloid newspapers about Victorian criminals that Thomas' mug shot very often appears

So Thomas has gone from being a poor no-body - to someone whose face occasionally appears in the national news! 

[trish58]

I found one of a distant relative serving time in San Quentin for the forgery of cheques, this was his 4 trip to San Quentin, lovely mugshot.

[Erato]

Where did you find the San Quentin picture?  I've got someone sent to San Quentin for safe cracking.