Licence Registers/'tickets of leave' (Crime & Criminals)

Records of licences issued to criminals in prison released on grounds of good behaviour before the end of sentence. The records consist of the official Order of Licence which was placed on their prison file. The arrangement was similar to a modern day convict released on parole.

The records are arranged by licence number and then by date which presents difficulties when searching for a name. From about 1871, a photo of the prisoner was included on the file. Details of withdrawn licences are attached to the registers.

Also see
Assize Records
Calendars of Prisoners
Criminal Petitions
Criminal Registers
General Eyre
Petty Sessions
Quarter Session Records
Prison/Hulk/Gaol Registers
Registers of Habitual Criminals
Transported Convicts

The National Archives (PCOM 3, Male Licences 1853-1887; PCOM 4, Female Licences 1853-1887; PCOM 6, Registers and Indexes, male licences, 1853 to 1948, female licences, 1853 to 1949)

Names extracted from PCOM 3 and PCOM 4 are available at the TNA Discovery catalogue. First click on ‘Advanced search’ and then type in the name being searched. Then under ‘Search for or within references’ type ‘PCOM 3 or PCOM 4’)

1853 - 1887

Name, age, physical description, marital status, education, occupation, convictions, conduct in prison, name and address of next of kin, religion and health of licensee. Photos from about 1875.

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/crime-and-punishment.htm?WT.lp=rg-3082 (Looking for records of crime and punishment)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person%5Cdefault.htm (Looking for a person?: Criminals, bankrupts and litigants)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/crime-and-punishment.htm (TNA Guide: Looking for records of crime and punishment)
Your Archives Guide (Calendars of Prisoners, Prison Registers and Prison Returns in The National Archives)
www.londonancestor.com (Descriptions of London places and buildings including prisons)
www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Linked-records.jsp (Guide and links relating to records for criminal cases)
Old Bailey Sessions Papers and other printed sources for London Criminals
www.londonlives.org/static/Crime.jsp (Researching Crime)
www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/crime/crimepunishment.html (British Library Learning, Victorians: Crime including Victorian Prisons and Executions and Transportations)
www.cyndislist.com/prisons.htm (Links to relevant sources and resources)
http://vcp.e2bn.org (Victorian Crime and Punishment resources for crime and punishment in the 19th Century)
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/guildhall-library/family-history/Pages/Sources-for-tracing-London-criminals.aspx (Guildhall Library: Sources for Tracing London Criminals including Old Bailey Sessions Papers, Accounts of the Ordinary of Newgate, the British Trials microfiche and the Criminal Register Indexes)
www.exclassics.com/newgate/ngintro.htm (Free download of the Newgate Calendar based chiefly on the Navarre Society 1926 edition)
http://blacksheepancestors.com/uk/prisons.shtml (Prisons, Prisoners & Convicts in the United Kingdom)
http://blacksheepancestors.com (Links to UK, US & Canadian criminal resources)
www.victorianweb.org/history/crime (Crime related essays covering Victorian England)
www.genuki.org.uk (information covering UK & Ireland including mugshots & prisoner lists)
www.capitalpunishmentuk.org (Capital Punishment U.K: The resource site for the history of capital punishment in Britain including a listing of all U.K. executions from 1735-1964)
www.swingriotsriotersblacksheepsearch.com (Swing Riots & Rioters: The site is run by Jill Chambers a renowned specialist researcher into the swing riots and transported convicts and includes information on the swing riots of 1830-1831 as well as lists of convicted machine breakers and those held in prison hulks)
www.nas.gov.uk/guides/crime.asp (NAS Research Guide: Crime and Criminals)

www.ancestry.co.uk (Licences of Parole for Female Convicts, 1853-1871, 1883-1887 taken from TNA series PCOM 4)
www.findmypast.co.uk (England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935. Were your ancestors in trouble with the law? Follow them through over 3 million records of criminals who passed through the justice system in England and Wales between 1779 and 1935. For updates and other resources see Crime, Prisons and Punishment. These record sets are produced in association with the National Archives and include: Registers of Convicts in Prison Hulks, Ref: ADM 6; After-Trial Calendars of Prisoners, Ref: CRIM 9; Convicts, Miscellanea, Ref: HO 7; Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons and Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns of Prisoners 1824-1876, Ref: HO 8; Criminal Entry Books 1782-1871, Ref: HO 13; Criminal Petitions Series I, Ref: HO 17; Criminal Petitions Series II, Ref: HO 18; Register of Criminal Petitions, Ref: HO 19; Registers of Prisoners from National Prisons lodged in County Prisons 1847-1866, Ref: HO 23; Prison Registers and Statistical Returns 1838-1875, Ref: HO 24; Judges’ Reports on Criminals 1784-1830, Ref: HO 47; Criminal Registers, Middlesex, Ref: HO 26; Criminal Registers, England and Wales, Ref: HO 27; Newgate Prison Calendar 1782-1853, Ref: HO 77; Miscellaneous Criminal Books 1798-1831, Ref: HO 130; Calendar of Prisoners, Ref: HO 140; Habitual Criminals' Registers and Miscellaneous Papers, Ref: MEPO 6; Prison Records, Ref: PCOM 2; Male Licences 1853-1887, Ref: PCOM 3; Female Licences, Ref: PCOM 4; Old Captions and Transfer Papers 1843-1871, Ref: PCOM 5 Convict Hulks 1802-1831, T 38/310-338; Treasury: Departmental Accounts, Convict Hulks, Ref: T 38)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Hue & Cry Index 1797-1810. Index of published notices of wanted criminals and the offences they committed. This index includes information on many who were sentenced to transportation in the Australian colonies)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Middlesex, London, Old Bailey Court Records 1674-1913. Explore over 782,000 court records from London's Old Baily/Central Criminal Court, the central criminal court of England & Wales. The collection is composed of both transcripts and links to images of the original documents)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Gloucestershire, England, Prison Records, 1728-1914)
www.ancestry.co.uk (UK, Police Gazettes, 1812-1902, 1921-1927. This collection contains printed publications used for communication between members of the police force in the United Kingdom between 1812 and 1927, with gaps in coverage. It contains information on wanted criminals, crimes committed, criminals who had been apprehended, and missing persons)
www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk/new_page_18.htm (Manchester And Lancashire strays in Millbank Prison)
www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/archives-and-local-studies/catalogues.html (Sheffield Archives and Local Studies: Sheffield Police Ticket of Leave Book 1864 to 1874)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/victorian-prisoners-photograph-albums-1872-1873 (The National Archives: Victorian prisoners’ photograph albums 1872-1873. These records taken from series PCOM 2/290 and PCOM 2/291 can be searched or downloaded and contain photos and details of prisoners in Wandsworth prison)
www.oldbaileyonline.org (Old Bailey Proceedings Online: Online edition of the Old Bailey Proceedings containing accounts and calendars of trials held at London's central criminal court, equivalent to the assizes. Expect to find the names, address and occupations of the accused, the victims and witnesses as well as the names of judges and jurors. These are accounts of the trials written by journalists and are not public records. The contents of Old Bailey Online can also be searched at Connected Histories together with a number of other databases)  
http://vcp.e2bn.org (Prisoner records 1799-1898)
http://digital.nls.uk/broadsides (National Library of Scotland Digital Gallery: The Word On The Street: Online collection of nearly 1,800 Scottish broadsides between 1650 and 1910)
http://broadsides.law.harvard.edu (Online collection of more than 500 broadsides)
www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ballads/ballads.htm (Online collection of 30,000 broadside ballads)
www.llgc.org.uk/sesiwn_fawr/index_s.htm (Index to the Gaol Files of the Court of Great Sessions in Wales, 1730-1830. The database contains information on criminals and their crimes and punishments as well as details on the victims. Records from less serious crimes heard at Quarter Sessions are held at county record offices and can be searched at Archives Wales. Monmouthshire formed part of the Oxford circuit and are available from The National Archives at Kew)
www.nas.gov.uk/guides/highCourt.asp (Online access to catalogued and indexed criminal trials held in the High Court of Justiciary, 1800-1930)