Ongar Association Against Murderers, Housebreakers, Horse and Sheepstealers and Felons of every description

Until the later part of the 19th century it was the responsibility of victims of crime to finance the prosecutions of those who had committed the crime against them. This would include the witness expenses; the cost of the solicitor or barrister who presented the case, and even the clerk who transcribed the depositions would levy a charge.

These charges were often prohibitive and so rural communities formed mutual subscription societies to prosecute criminals. Many were started in the C18th and early C19th before police forces were established. The police gradually took on the role of prosecuting criminal cases, while high profile cases became the responsibility of a public prosecutor. As a consequence, many associations more or less disappeared by the beginning of the twentieth century.

The scheme worked as follows: Members of the scheme would pay an annual subscription to the association, and if they became a victim of crime, advertisements would be placed in the local newspapers offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of the felons responsible for the crime. If the offender were apprehended, the association would also fund the cost of prosecuting him. In short, it was a form of insurance.

The first Essex association was formed in 1765, at Colchester. Other associations followed although some targeted specific offences. The Billericay Association was concerned with horse theft (a capital offence), the town being situated on a coaching route and therefore susceptible to such crime. In Halstead in 1800, following a spate of farm fires, an association was formed to specifically address the offence of arson. Not only did they fund advertising and any prosecutions, but also paid armed watchmen to guard vulnerable premises. As the situation escalated they provided the funds for a ‘Bow Street Runner’ to be hired to investigate the offences, and for a reward of 100 Guineas to be offered.

At Braintree, a particularly distressed town at the start of the 19th century due to the rapid decline of the cloth industry, an association
was established to prosecute persons hoarding grain with a view to making excess profits as food prices increased.

List of Associations local to the High Country:

Blackmore Assn for the Prosecution of Thieves, Felons & Co. - 1798

Chelmsford Association for Apprehending & Prosecuting Animal
Maimers & Thieves - 1797

Epping Association for the Security of Lives & Properties of the Inhabitants of the Epping Division - 1818

Fyfield Association for the Prosecution of Felons – 1803

Ongar Association Against Murderers, Housebreakers, Horse &
Sheepstealers & Felons of every description - 1787

Ongar, Harlow and Half Hundred of Waltham Prosecution Association – 1788.

South Weald & Brentwood Assn for the Prosecution of Felons – 1800.