OUTLAW – [In progress] Complete dataset of all moral reports of 122.225 convicted prisoners held in the Belgian prison system, 1850-1924 (doi:10.34934/DVN/PTTRNQ)

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OUTLAW – [In progress] Complete dataset of all moral reports of 122.225 convicted prisoners held in the Belgian prison system, 1850-1924

doi:10.34934/DVN/PTTRNQ

Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA

2026-05-21

1

Vandenberghe, An, 2026, "OUTLAW – [In progress] Complete dataset of all moral reports of 122.225 convicted prisoners held in the Belgian prison system, 1850-1924", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/PTTRNQ, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, V1

OUTLAW – [In progress] Complete dataset of all moral reports of 122.225 convicted prisoners held in the Belgian prison system, 1850-1924

Full access to the data to all 623 registers of moral accounting from 23 Belgian prisons, 1850-1924

doi:10.34934/DVN/PTTRNQ

Vandenberghe, An (State Archives of Belgium)

Drossens, Paul

Vandenberghe, An

Vandenberghe, An

B2/212/P2/OUTLAW

Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA

State Archives of Belgium

Vandenberghe, An

Vandenberghe, An

2026-05-18

OUTLAW – Moral Reports on Convicted Prisoners in Belgian Prisons, 1850–1925

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/PTTRNQ

Arts and Humanities, Law, Social Sciences, Prison, Prison history, Prison population, Criminal justice, Crime, Offences, Punishment, Incarceration, Recidivism, Moral accounting, Pardons, Early release

Law, crime and legal systems, Crime and law enforcement, Legislation and legal systems, History, Social stratification and groupings, Equality, inequality and social exclusion, Demography

<strong>The dataset currently includes 40,677 prisoners from eight prisons: Arlon, Antwerp, Bruges, Dendermonde, Mechelen, Nivelles, Oudenaarde and Turnhout. More prisons will be added in the coming weeks.</strong><br> <br> When complete, this dataset will cover 122,225 prisoners from 23 Belgian prisons (1850–1924). It is based on the 623 surviving registers in which prison staff recorded observations about each detainee's behaviour, character, family background and social circumstances.<br> <br> The data for each prison is also available as a separate dataset.

<br> <br><strong>Deze dataset bevat momenteel gegevens over 40.677 gevangenen uit acht gevangenissen: Aarlen, Antwerpen, Brugge, Dendermonde, Mechelen, Nijvel, Oudenaarde en Turnhout. De komende weken worden nieuwe gevangenissen toegevoegd.</strong><br> <br> Wanneer volledig, zal deze dataset gegevens bevatten over 122.225 gevangenen uit 23 Belgische gevangenissen (1850–1924). De dataset is gebaseerd op de 623 bewaarde registers van de morele boekhouding waarin gevangenispersoneel observaties noteerde over het gedrag, het karakter, de familieachtergrond en de sociale omstandigheden van elke gedetineerde.<br> <br> De gegevens van elke gevangenis zijn ook afzonderlijk beschikbaar als aparte dataset.

<br> <br><strong>Cet ensemble de données comprend actuellement les données de 40 677 prisonniers provenant de huit prisons : Arlon, Anvers, Bruges, Termonde, Malines, Nivelles, Audenarde et Turnhout. De nouvelles prisons seront ajoutées dans les prochaines semaines.</strong><br> <br> Une fois complet, ce jeu de données couvrira 122 225 prisonniers issus de 23 prisons belges (1850–1924). Il est basé sur les 623 registres de comptabilité morale conservés, dans lesquels le personnel pénitentiaire consignait ses observations sur le comportement, le caractère, la situation familiale et le milieu social de chaque détenu.<br> <br> Les données de chaque prison sont également disponibles sous forme de jeu de données distinct.Sonnet 4.6

1850-1924

2022-2026

Individuals

Convicted prisoners

Archives

Administrative records

Prison registers

Moral registers

State Archives in Ghent (State Archives of Belgium)

Citizen science

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a> (CC-BY).

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/BEJMD4

Dataset of moral reports of 2.776 convicted prisoners held at the prison of Arlon, Belgium (1870-1924)", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/BEJMD4, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/PDPQHA

"OUTLAW - Prison of Dendermonde - Dataset of moral reports of 5.395 convicted prisoners held at the prison of Dendermonde, Belgium (1870-1924)", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/PDPQHA, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/RB1GT5

"OUTLAW - Prison of Nivelles - Dataset of moral reports of 2.998 convicted prisoners held at the prison of Nivelles, Belgium (1871-1924)", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/RB1GT5, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/Z6N0W7

"OUTLAW - Prison of Oudenaarde - Dataset of moral reports of 262 convicted prisoners held at the prison of Oudenaarde, Belgium (1919-1924)", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/Z6N0W7, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/YPLS1R

"OUTLAW - Prison of Turnhout - Dataset of moral reports of 3.770 convicted prisoners held at the prison of Turnhout, Belgium (1872-1924)", https://doi.org/10.34934/DVN/YPLS1R, Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA, 2026.

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Data_OUTLAW_alle_gevangenissen_NL.xlsx

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Verzameling van alle OUTLAW datasets (Metadata in Dutch)

application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet