The first Police History Society conference took place in 1985. Below are the speakers at each event:
1985: Churchill College, Cambridge Jim Sharpe: “A revisionist view of the Parish constable” Clive Emsley: “Vive la difference - police and policing in England & France” Dr. Barbara Weinberger: “Police perceptions of labour in the inter-war period”
1986: Police Staff College, Bramshill Sir Philip Knights: “Policing in the UK, 1940-1986” Dr. Jennifer Davies: “Law enforcement in 19th century London” Jerry White: “Oral history - police-public relations in lower working class areas of London between the Wars”
1987: University of York Paul Bennett: “Police raison d'etre - the history of the fear of crime” Bob Bartlett: “The concept of minimum force” Mark Suggitt: “Preservation - what we should keep and why”/p>
1988: Wood Street Police Station, City of London Jennifer Ward: “Forensic science and the Victorian detective” Donald Rumbelow, Paul Begg, Martin Fido, Robin Odell, Keith Skinner, Colin Wilson: “The Whitechapel Murders”
1989: Sussex Police HQ, Lewes Prof. Robert Storch: “Origins of the County Police Act, 1839” Clive Emsley: “International comparisons - constabulary and gendarmerie in the 19th century” Dr. Roger Wells: “Effects of the County Police Act in Rural Sussex”
1990: Devon & Cornwall Police HQ, Exeter Stuart Elliott: “German occupation of the Channel Isles in World War 2" Clare Leon: “Special constables in the First and Second World Wars” Rob Perks & Ken Birch: “Oral history and policing in World War 2” Dr. David Englander: “Law and Order in World War 1”
1991: West Midlands Police HQ, Birmingham Joan Lock: “The obstacle course - special problems faced by Scotland Yard's first detectives” Charles Elworthy: “Experiences of a working detective” George Peel: “The history and work of the Flying Squad”
1992: Surrey Police HQ, Guildford David Easy: “The Siege of Sidney Street” Jonathan Goodman: “The literature of crime” David Hawkings: “Local archives and police history”
1993: Suffolk Police HQ, Ipswich Colin Thomas: “The development and growth of the British Transport Police” Keith Milner: “The Great Train Robbery “ Jonathan Goodman: “The Brighton trunk murders” Stewart Evans: “The Peasenhall murder, 1902”
1994: Staffordshire Police Motor Training School, Stafford Dr. Jenny Ward: “The Edalji case” Ros Prince: “Strange murders in Staffordshire” Jonathan Goodman: “The Wallace Murder Case, Liverpool 1931” Harold Wright: “Donald Neilson known as the Black Panther”
1995: West Mercia Police HQ, Worcester Niall Howe: “Policing in Northern Ireland” Tony Judge: “Whatever happened to concensus?” Laurence Lustgarten: “Policing at the end of the century: the democratic deficit” Jeff Carpenter: “The Worcestershire Constabulary versus Adolph Hitler”
1996: West Mercia Police HQ, Worcester Harry Wynne: “History of the Ministry of Defence Police” Prof. Clive Emsley: “Rural policing in continental Europe during the 19th century” David Cross: “Victorian crime in Birmingham” Bob Pooler: “Tales of the Worcestershire Constabulary” Diane Lees: “The Galleries of Justice, Nottingham”
1997: George Hotel, Nottingham Richard Bullock, Under Sheriff of Nottingham: “The Shrievalty” Derek Oakensen : “Victorian Police Discipline - The Brighton & Hove Experience” Chris Forester: “The Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch”
1998: Surrey Police HQ, Guildford Richard Ford : “History of Police Fire Brigades” “Johnnie” Johnson: “Crime, Criminals & Punishment in Sussex,1800-1850” Roy Ingleton: “Arming the Police”
1999: Lancashire Police H.Q. Preston Colin Rogers: “Unit Beat Policing” Colin Chipperfield: "Police Transport post WW2” Bryn Elliott: “The Development of Police Aviation"
2000: Bramshill Police College Jonathan Goodman: "Our Society – Connoisseurs of Crime" Tony Speed: "The Development of Public Order Policing" Graham Alexander: "Has the Golden Era Gone?" Tony Leonard: "He Who Pays The Piper" Colin Dexter: Author of the "Inspector Morse" stories
2001: Jarvis Hotel, Wetherby Alistair Dinsmore: "Glasgow Police – The First 50 Years" Jim Herlihy: “Irish Policemen in Your Family Tree" Ray Broadstock: "Developments in Fingerprinting over the last 100 Years" John Yearnshire: "The Mary Cotton Murders" After Dinner Speaker: The Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate OBE
2002: Carlton Hotel, Cheltenham Fred Feather: "Murders in Victorian Essex" Harry Wynne: "The Victorian Police 1840-1902" Don Gibson: "Jerome Caminada - A Victorian Detective"
2003: The Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln David Deptford: "Polmil. A colonial view of the day to day and emerging relationships between police and military" Tony Diggens: "In the spotlight - the changing role of police and media relations" Tony Rae: "The Police Roll of Honour" Kevin Gordon: "The Eastbourne Borough Police"
2004: Holiday Inn, Chester Maggie Bird: “The possibility of Jill the Ripper” Simon Ovens: “Police Medals” Steve Hughes: “Changes in Policing over the last 30 years” Keith Skinner & Paul Begg: “Researching and writing Police Related Books”
2005: The Britannia Hotel, Manchester Visit to Greater Manchester Police Museum at Newton Street for a Victorian Police Station lunch. Guests include the Lord Mayor of Manchester, the Chief HMI and the Chair of the GMP Authority.
2006: The Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea Dr. Neil McCaw: “Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes Collection” Dr. Clifford Williams: “History of Hampshire Constabulary” Helen Barnard: “Aspects of Women Police” Nick Rowley: “Special Investigations Branch, Royal Military Police” Kevin Gordon: “History of the railways and canal police”
2007: The Redwood Hotel, Bristol Julian Lea-Jones: “Local Chief Constable of the 19th century” Alan Hayhurst: “A murder exhumed – only solicitor to be hanged for murder in modern times” Helen Barnard: “Rose Tooke through her pocket books” Mike Fountain: “Frank Castle Froest – Bristol lad made good!” Mike Rowland: “My first love, my darling, the Clifton Suspension Bridge”
2008: Durham University Helen Barker: “Treasures in Store – introduction to Beamish Museum” Ken Banks: “A history of Criminal Identification” Fred Feather: “The Murder of PC Gutteridge – the first use of ballistic evidence” Harry Wynne: “Policing the Dockyards” Chris Forester: “Policing the Contagious Diseases Act”
2009: The Raven Hotel, Droitwich Spa Robin Skerratt: “Village life and rural policing” Joan Lock: “The Dynamite Outrages - Britain Under Attack” Bill Roberts: “Last Choir Standing” Peter Picken: “Geoffrey Prime – Master Spy!” Ian Patterson: “The Thick Blue Line” Alex Rennie: “Farmhand to Chief Constable”
2010: Holiday Inn, Padworth, Berkshire Mike Askew: “200 years of service in the Metropolitan Police – Four generations of Askews’ serving the Capital” Dr. Tim Brain: “A turbulent journey? A history of policing in England and Wales from 1974” Fred Feather: “The Cumbrian Link” Janet Harris: “The Tottenham Outrage, 1909” Kemi Rotimi: “The Encounter of the Metropolitan Police with a [Nigerian] Victim of Advance Fee Fraud in 1937” Len Woodley: “Local Murders”
2011: Park Inn, Bedford Roger Wood: “Bedfordshire Miscellany – Murders and Detection” Dr Chris Payne OBE: “Chief Inspector George Clarke, Scotland Yard Detective 1840-1878” Prof Clive Emsley: “The Great British Bobby” John Emsley: “Molecules of Murder” Alan Hayhurst: “The Manchester Martyrs, 1867” Dr David Cox: “A Certain Share of Low Cunning – Bow Street Runners, 1748 – 1839”
2012: Ripon Spa Hotel, Ripon Richard Taylor: “No Rest for the Wicked” Simon Dell: “The Dartmoor Mutiny, 1932” David Robinson: “Wensley of the CID: the Greatest Detective of them All?” Guy Woolnough: “Who controlled the Streets? Police Discretion in a Victorian Town”
2013: Premier Inn – Glasgow Prof Ken Scott: “The Police Service for Scotland” Alistair Dinsmor: “Ambush in the Afternoon: 4th May 1921” Chris Forester: “Metropolitan Police Communications and Transport” Elena Ananyeva: “The First years of the Soviet Militia, 1917 - 1920” John Newton: "The History of the Kenya Police" Alan Hayhurst: "The Madelaine Smith case - Scotland's Mystery Crime"
2014: Hallmark Hotel – Derby Stacey Camilleri: "Blood spatter analysis" Dr Chris Payne OBE: "Gentleman Jim - the eventful life of Superintendent James Jacob Thomson, Metropolitan Police 1862 - 1887" Joan Lock: "The Princess Alice Disaster" George Fleming: "Not a happy one! - the lot of Sir Charles Warren" Dr Clifford Williams: "An efficient City Force - 111 years policing Winchester" Susan Parry: "The Red Barn Murder, 1827"
2015: Hallmark Hotel – Hull Mike Covell: “Dungeons, Death and the Devil: The Dark History of Hull” Dr Clifford Williams: “100 years of women policing in southern forces” Angela Buckley: “Detective Jerome Caminada – Manchester’s Sherlock Holmes” Dr David J Cox: “The Dunsley Murder of 1812 – a study in early 19th century crime detection, justice and punishment” Paul Harrison: “When evil came – Murder and subterfuge at White House Farm” Linda Stratmann: “Chloroform and crime” Mike Covell: “Annison’s; Corpses, Carriages and Coppers”
2016: Imperial Hotel – Torquay Linsday Siviter: “Lord Lucan – an enduring mystery” John Newton: “The Mau Mau Emergency” Chris Forester: “The Black & Tans – England’s shame, Ireland’s opportunity” Steve Beamon: “Company Servant to the Queen’s officers – a short history of policing Britain’s railways, docks and canals” Sandra Hempel: “Getting away with murder – the hit-or-miss business of investigating criminal poisoning in the 19th century” Neil R A Bell: “Police Notice – Policing Whitechapel in 1888”
2017: Imperial Hotel – Torquay Adam Wood: “Lucky Swanson and the murder of Mr Gold” Michael Haunschild: “Houdini and the Police” Angela Buckley: “Who killed Constable Cock? (1876)” Angela Sutton-Vane: “From information to archives: the making – or unmaking – of police history Steve Beamon: “Police Strike, 1919” Jon Wright: “We have a ‘Crime House’: teaching forensics to future CSIs”
2018: Honest Lawyer Hotel – Durham Harry Wynne: “Back on the Borough Beat: History of the Sunderland Borough Police” Prof Clive Emsley: “When Bobby met the Mafia” Dr Pete Moore: “Sex and Drugs were not invented in the 1960s” Patricia O’Sullivan: “Pot-shots at the Police - The Hong Kong Force moves into the 20th century” Tony Rae: “Finding the Forgotten Fallen - Police Casualties of the UK and Empire” Dr Clifford Williams: “The policing of gay / bisexual men in England and Wales” Norman Kirtlan: “Death and other Dark Places"