The period of the post-industrial revolution marks a turning point in the perception of crime and the motivations underlying it. Although the Industrial Revolution resulted in an imminent influx of the working class into the cities in search of work due to declining living standards in agricultural areas, poverty was initially not considered the primary cause of crime under any circumstances. Police reports1 even went so far as to suggest the existence in an individual of an attraction towards a life of crime. Therefore, it could be debated whether such reports suggest the existence of a separate criminal class in British society, but in the long term, as proposed by Professor SE Finer2, the report caused the manifestation of a new attitude among the public, according to which it minimized the effect of “need” due to austerity. It is interesting to note, however, that prison admissions have shown a remarkable proportionality with the trade situation and the price of grain,3 thus implying that the reality of criminality has not been accepted in the eyes of the public. The concept of the “criminal class” was very popular from the mid-19th to the early 20th century; these theses affirmed the impossibility for individuals to maintain a stable job, even if they wanted to and equally that "honest habits"4 would never deign to commit illicit acts, even if stimulated by "extreme difficulties". Consequently, this suggests cyclical infatuations and obsessions with committing crimes that could not be contained. Of course, such views were not unprecedented, especially when it comes to scientific developments that emerged in the 19th century. Works such as Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population5 suggested that the criminal class, unequivocally composed of the poor, was incapable of surviving, but it is noteworthy that in this relatively short period cited by Garland, the number of criminal sanctions is almost doubled11. Such sudden changes in penal policy could be attributed to the closure of British socioeconomic structures with the inauguration of laissez-faire capitalism, easing calls for state intervention in the economic sphere. This has led to a growing awareness of the persistence of poverty; this is particularly illustrated by Charles Booth's detailed colour-coded12 maps. Thus, the middle and upper classes expected government intervention on an unprecedented scale and the apparent widespread awareness of the failure of prisons as reformative institutions. However, it is notable that in less than a hundred years, a largely new system of punishment is expected to replace the traditional one that has been in place for centuries.