Rogues gallery

Rogues gallery

:"Not to be confused with Peanut gallery. For other uses, see Rogues gallery (disambiguation)."A rogues gallery (or rogues' gallery) is a police collection of pictures or photographs of criminals and suspects kept for identification purposes. The term is also used figuratively by extension for any group of shady characters.

History

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pinkerton devised the "Rogues’ Gallery" Fact|date=November 2007 — a compilation of descriptions, methods of operation, hiding places, and names of criminals and their associates.

Inspector Thomas Byrnes of the late-19th-century New York City Police Department popularized the term with his collection of photographs of known criminals, which was used for witness identification. Byrnes published some of these photos with details of the criminals in "Professional Criminals of America" (1886). [Byrnes, Thomas. "Professional Criminals of America" (1886) ISBN 1-5857411-3-2]

ee also

*Criminal record
*Mug shot
*Public enemy
*Wanted poster

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • rogues'gallery — (rōgz) n. A collection of pictures of known and suspected criminals maintained in police files and used for making identifications. * * * …   Universalium

  • rogues' gallery — noun count 1. ) OLD FASHIONED a set of photographs of criminals kept by the police 2. ) HUMOROUS a group of bad people …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • rogues' gallery — ► NOUN informal ▪ a collection of photographs of known criminals, used by police to identify suspects …   English terms dictionary

  • rogues' gallery — ☆ rogues gallery n. a collection of the photographs of criminals, as used by police in identification …   English World dictionary

  • rogues' gallery — 1) N SING: oft N of n A rogues gallery is a collection of photographs of criminals that is kept by the police and used when they want to identify someone. [JOURNALISM] ...a Rogues Gallery of juvenile crime gangs. 2) N SING: oft N of n… …   English dictionary

  • rogues' gallery — noun 1. : a collection of portraits of criminals the rogues gallery in the post office 2. : a collection resembling a collection of portraits of criminals this interesting rogues gallery of the insect world includes detailed snapshots of a… …   Useful english dictionary

  • rogues' gallery — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms rogues gallery : singular rogues gallery plural rogues galleries old fashioned a set of photographs of criminals kept by the police …   English dictionary

  • Rogues' gallery — Rogue Rogue, n. [F. rogue proud, haughty, supercilious; cf. Icel. hr?kr a rook, croaker (cf. {Rook} a bird), or Armor. rok, rog, proud, arogant.] 1. (Eng.Law) A vagrant; an idle, sturdy beggar; a vagabond; a tramp. [1913 Webster] Note: The phrase …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rogues' gallery — noun Date: 1859 a collection of pictures of persons arrested as criminals; also a collection or list likened to a rogues gallery < a rogues gallery of infectious diseases > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • rogues' gallery — noun a) A set of pictures of convicted or suspected criminals used in law enforcement investigations to help witnesses identify suspects. When the policemen arrest a man . . . if there is good reason to suspect him, they take his picture before… …   Wiktionary

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