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The law and the lawless : frontier justice on the Canadian Prairies, 1896-1935

Available Formats:

  • Publisher:
    Heritage House, 2015
    Note: This book was purchased with support from the Government of Canada's Social Development Partnerships Program - Disability Component.

Details:

  • Author: Downs, Art
    Date:
    Created
    2015
    Summary:

    At the end of the nineteenth century, Canada’s prairies were still sparsely populated. Crimes such as horse theft, random murders, and prison escapes were the order of the day, and the North West Mounted Police continued to rely on their horses, their contacts, and their wits to apprehend the culprits. By the mid-1930s, a sea change in technology and police science had changed the game. Major advances in transportation, communications, and sleuthing techniques made crime-solving a new art—but the criminals also had access to the new ways.The US had Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger, but Canada had its fair share of bad apples committing equally vicious crimes: a serial rapist and strangler who most often chose female proprietors of rooming houses as his victims; a father-and-son murder team, tracked by an enterprising detective all the way to Kentucky; and a group of murderous youths who sparked a manhunt across two provinces and a bloody shootout resulting in the deaths of four policemen. These stories offer an intriguing look at the skill, determination, and bravery of Prairie law enforcers as they risked their all to bring ruthless outlaws to justice.

    Original Publisher: Victoria, Heritage House
    Language(s): English