He is the Jackal or the thieving criminal, incapable of a master stroke.
Crookwell Gazette, 23 February 1927
Petty criminals made up the largest group of felons and committed a diverse array of crimes, ranging from stealing to using offensive language. Few people crossed the path of a crime boss but many would have met a petty criminal. They were the reason people bought home insurance, avoided dark alleys and balked at offers that seemed too good to be true. Small-time crooks were constantly on the lookout for new opportunities and targets, and their activities kept police busy.
People in the Specials photographs were yet to have their day in court. The lack of signs that the person was in custody, such as handcuffs, meant the images could be shown to a witness during a criminal investigation without prejudicing the person against the suspect
On 22 June 1927, the original razor gangster, Norman Bruhn, was shot to death by a gunman lurking in the shadows outside Mac’s sly-grog shop in Charlotte Lane, just around the corner from Stanley Street in Darlinghurst
Join writer Larry Writer, author of Razor: Tilly Devine and the razor gangs in his latest instalment of walking the mean 1920s streets as featured on his Razorhurst walking tours
Step into Sydney’s seedy underworld with Larry Writer, author of Razor: Tilly Devine and the razor gangs as he explores the mean streets of Kings Cross, Woolloomooloo, East Sydney and Darlinghurst as featured on his Razorhurst walking tours
Join Bruce Smythe Senior Project Designer, as he takes us behind the scenes of the design of our 'Underworld: mugshots from the Roaring Twenties' publication