author
William Douglas Morrison
1852–1943
A prison chaplain turned pioneering criminology writer, he brought practical experience and a reformer's eye to books on crime, punishment, and juvenile offending. His work helped make complex social questions readable for a wider public.
1 Audiobook
Crime and Its Causes
by William Douglas Morrison
About the author
Born in 1852, William Douglas Morrison was a clergyman whose long career joined church life with a serious interest in crime and social reform. He served as a chaplain in Her Majesty's Prison Service from 1883 to 1898, and later became Rector of St Marylebone in London, a post he held from 1908 until 1943.
Morrison is best remembered for writing about criminology and penal reform from the perspective of someone who had seen prison life up close. His best-known books include Crime and Its Causes and Juvenile Offenders, works that helped introduce general readers to debates about criminal behavior, punishment, and the treatment of young offenders.
He also wrote more broadly on religion and history, showing the range of his interests beyond criminology alone. Even now, he stands out as an early voice who argued for careful thinking about crime, statistics, and the social conditions behind offending.