The National Archives > Research, education & online exhibitions > Learning Curve > Exhibitions > Crime and Punishment

Ho 73/3. Reformers were well aware of the dangers of putting young people into ordinary adult prisons, where they learnt only to be better criminals. The point is made in this source, from 1837, in a letter to the Home Secretary, Lord John Russell, from William Augustus Miles. The writer was so keen to spread his views that he had the letter published as a pamphlet at his own expense.
In Sources 1, 2 and 3, look for the attitudes of the writers towards young criminals. Contrast this with the sentence given in Source 4.
Put some of the evidence you have found from these Sources into your Gallery Worksheet.