Prison/Court records?

[AutumnOctober]

My dad died about 15 years ago, I never knew him. I've just recently found out that he spent some time in prison, and also that he was homeless on the streets in London for a while. I'd like to start by finding out when, where and why he went to jail. Is there somewhere I can search for prison or court records? All I have is his name.

I don't think you can find prison records for such recent dates. The British Newspaper Archive covers early dates, like 1750, to quite recent dates, like 2009 in some cases. Maybe it's worth a look to see if his arrest/trial was reported? It's about £80 a year, or if you like to PM me and tell me the name I can take a look for you.

I agree - you may be able to argue that you should get access to the papers as his next of kin, and prove that he's deceased. But lots of other people, still living, will be in the papers too.

Have you tried contacting members of his family who might be able to shed some light?

Newspapers would be a source of information, often local newspapers will have court reports. Not all local newspapers are digitised and available therefore a trip to a local library or archive to read through the articles maybe needed.
Relatives for information of year of imprisonment, as this will narrow your search, but don’t take there dating for gospel