Assault in the early 19th Century
Assault, at least within the Perth Amboy Evening News, is a crime in which the perpetrators are likely to be caught, 80% of the distribution of cases leading to at the very least an arrest if not a conviction. Furthermore, Assaults were heavily skewed towards male offenders and male victims, the brunt of the allotted cases fitting into that criteria. Despite this skew towards male on male violence, it seems that in regards to victims of brutal assaults in which the victim’s life is put in jeopardy, men and women are closer to equal. Often, it seems that these assaults involve some sort of “weapon”. However, it’s important to point out that many of the “weapons” used in the discussed cases aren’t necessarily meant to be weapons. Often everyday objects, or even vehicles were used in these assaults. In fact, within the allotted cases there are two instances in which assault with a motor vehicle was charged, obviously these two crimes took place in the later half of the research period in 1923. Furthermore, it seems that crimes committed in the first half of the research period were less likely to feature some sort of resolution. In fact, only one case within the second half of the data lacks some sort of arrest, conviction, or trial. Furthermore, there is a not so stunning lack of language in regards to age. In fact, the only instances in which ages are even mentioned is when a victim is referred to as a child. With all that being said, every aspect of this short description will be expanded upon further into this study.