Caption:

A page from a criminal record ledger compiled by the West Yorkshire police in 1903, containing portraits, personal details and criminal records of convicted criminals. This page is about Samuel Wilson, a cattle drover from Ovenden who was convicted of stealing a silver watch. The use of photography to record known criminals - the 'mug shot'- had been suggested as early as the 1840s. In 1871, the Prevention of Crime Act made it a legal requirement that all persons arrested for a crime must have their photographs taken.