NCJ Number
215053
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 455-469
Date Published
May 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Drawing on data from an ongoing study of "joyriding" (temporarily using a motor vehicle for personal excitement without the owner's permission) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1930 to 1990, this paper provides details on 210 offenders found guilty of "joyriding" in Belfast courts in the 1930s.
Abstract
The prevalence of joyriding in Belfast since the 1930s indicates that the problem did not arise in the early 1970s as is often assumed. In 1930s Belfast, joyriding apparently involved the excitement of transgression in stealing a car and enjoying the thrill of speed and recklessness. It paralleled the experience of the fictional "Toad" in Kenneth Grahame's 1988 novel as "miles were eaten up under him as he sped he knew not whither, fulfilling his instincts, living his hour, reckless of what might come to him." In 1930s Belfast, this type of car theft was dubbed "joyriding" by the media. In recent times in Belfast, however, there has been a movement to re-label "joyriders" as "death drivers" or "grief drivers" under the influence of such groups as the Belfast-based Families Bereaved Through Car Crime. The 1930s joyriders came from a variety of backgrounds, from unskilled working-class families to the children of professional parents. This confirms Hayward's conclusion that the "thrill of transgression and the pursuit of the limit" are not class-dependent. The ongoing study of joyriding in Belfast over the years should bring an understanding of how the "Toads" of the 1930s became the "death drivers" of Belfast in recent years. This study is based on information from newspaper accounts of car thefts in 1930s Belfast, as well as court data. Belfast street directories provided head-of-household occupational details. 3 tables and 28 references