These historic mugshots were taken at the Moor Street public office in Birmingham between the 1850s and 1870s. Their crimes were described in scrawled notes.
The first mugshot of a crook was taken in Birmingham in 1853, making it the first force in the world to take mugshots. The police took mug shots of many crooks following their arrest more than 150 years ago. They are often dressed in expensive top hats.
The first ledger of the Birmingham Police collection dates back to the 1870s when it was mandated that all police forces take photographs of people in custody. Many of these characters are dressed in bedraggled clothing, all in black. Holding a chalkboard for the reference number identifying their record, also identifying the year the image was taken.
