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New crime records on Findmypast

Find mugshots and more in new crime records

Picture of Niall Cullen - Content Marketing Lead
Niall Cullen
18 June 2021

Is there a bad apple on your family tree? You could find out with this week's Findmypast Friday new releases.

Sometimes shocking but always fascinating, finding a felon in your family history is one of the richest discoveries you can make. Which shady piece of your past will you unlock with this week's new records?

Discover your criminal ancestors’ mugshots, prison registers, visitors’ details and more in the latest additions to this fascinating collection.

Spanning from 1784-1939, the records and prisons featured in these latest additions are:

  • Prison registers and minute books from Pentonville Prison
  • Visitor's book and journal of proceedings from Gibraltar Prison
  • Register of prisoners from Chatham Prison, Kent
  • Index of working parties from Portsmouth Prison
  • Index of working parties and register of prisoners under separate confinement from Wormwood Scrubs Prison
  • Book of questions from Millbank Prison
  • List of prisoners and chaplain, surgeons and sheriff visits from Newgate Prison
  • Governor's journal from Bedford Gaol
  • Visiting committee records from Lindsey Gaol
  • Calendar of trials and quarter sessions from Liverpool Gaol
  • Entry book of prisoners pardons and visiting justices' records from Reading Gaol
  • Register of debtors and plaintiffs from Lancaster Gaol
  • Gaoler's journal from Oxford Gaol

One of the most exciting elements of our crime collection is the chance of seeing your ancestor staring back at you. To explore original mugshots, search the MEPO 6, PCOM 2 and PCOM 4 series.

Old criminal mugshots

Mugshots of prisoners from Pentonville Prison. View the full record.

With over 800,000 new additions and the entire collection now standing at over 6.6 million records, you've got more chances than ever of finding a criminal connection. We've also added these latest records to our browsable collection so you can scour the detail-rich documents page-by-page.

Unearthed from our new crime resources, explore the records of hundreds of baptisms and burials that took place in Westminster Penitentiary.

Westminster penitentiary burial records

An 1823 burial register from Westminster Penitentiary. View the full record.

Most of the baptism records are for adult prisoners, along with some that appear to be the children of prison staff.

This week, we've added the archives of two new publications and expanded coverage in six others. Online for the first time are:

While we've added thousands more pages to:

Findmypast Fridays live

Have you discovered a salacious or heartbreaking crime story in your family tree? We'd be fascinated to hear how you found it and how it's affected you. Get in touch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.