C&D - Whitechapel

rookeries

slum areas in Whitechapel, majority of the populace lived in them, unclean and overcrowded and unsanitary most of the time

workhouses

set up the 19th century was part of the poor relief system, run by poor law administrators, offered food and shelter to those too poor to survive in the general community (sick, disabled, old, orphans)

inmates id tough manual labour and wore uniform, families were split up and not allowed to talk, conditions made worse to keep costs down

lodging houses

found in almost every city and town, central to w/c life, labelled as seedbeds for crime and disease, training schools for conmen and scum

the daily fee bought a bed, or a bed-share either in day or night shifts

model housing

small area in Whitechapel where rookeries were cleared and flats with affordable rents were built, with outside yards, improved ventilation, shared bathrooms and kitchens, were separate from each other, but rents were often too high and if you fell behind you were kicked out immediately, causing overcrowding as poorest looked for rents they could afford

policing problems

prostitution, alcohol, variety of peoples, Whitechapel’s layout, protection rackets and understaffing

prostitution

extreme poverty often forced somer women into prostitution, violence towards them was common but often went unreported as people thought they got what they deserved

alcohol

very strong alcohol was affordable and readily available, many turned to it to escape their bleak lives, drunkenness often lead to violence and the poor sometimes turned to crime to pay for it

variety of peoples

tensions between different immigrant groups and local people over jobs and accommodation were common, this was difficult to police because they only spoke english and immigrants often only spoke their native languages

Whitechapel’s layout

the rookeries, narrow alleys and courts made policing very difficult. Criminals could easily hide or escape police arrest

protection rackets

gangs in Whitechapel (Bessarabian Tigers and the Odessians) ran protection rackets, they demanded money from local businesses in return for their protection from rival gangs. gangs would often attack each other and people were scared to report them to police

understaffing

H division was understaffed so sometimes made no effort to shut down fights or pother criminal activities in Whitechapel. Often it was too dangerous for them to get involved.

constable’s duties

arrest anyone preparing to commit a crime/ in possession of weapons in order to protect the public

observe suspects carefully to work out intention to commit a crime

constable’s equipment

uniform - woolen trousers and jacket with shiny buttons and at first a top hat (all in blue-black to stand out)

equipment - truncheon to defend another constable, handcuffs to bring along other willing criminals to the station, bulls eye lamp to provide light and warmth on cold nights

constables beat

a specific area each constable would have to patrol on a specific route given by his sergeant, timed very precisely- constable expected to reach certain places by certain times

the purpose was to survey crimes and to make sure a sergeant knew where his constables were and get messages/ instructions to them

police techniques to catch ripper

observation of crime scenes, interviews and follow-up clues, identifying suspects, trying to catch him in the act, autopsy, photography and sketches

observation of crime scenes

pro: a fragment of an envelope found by a viocti’s body contained the seal of the sussex regiment but such seals can be bought in many post offices

con: a potential eye witness Elizabeth Long claimed to have seen a man talking to one of the victims a few minutes before she was killed. Police ignored her evidence because it contradicted a doctor’s report

interviews and follow-up clues

pro: police visited lunatic asylums because the murders were so savage, in a local newspaper it was reported that the murderer was a local man (John Pizer ‘leather apron’) the police investigated and found he had a solid alibi as to where he was doing the murders

cons: there was a suggestion that a gang from near Bethnal green stole money from prostitutes and were to blame but the theory was quickly rejected

autopsy

pro: reports suggested that the cut marks on one of the victims indicated that the killer was left handed and had some knowledge of anatomy

photography and sketches

pro: these were made of the murder scenes but it was more to identify the victim rather than help solve the crime

identifying suspects

pro: identity parades were used without success but they did rule out suspects like ‘leather apron’, and some later reports suggested that the murders cold have been committed by a hunter, butcher or slaughter man as well as a surgeon or doctor

trying to catch him in the act

pro: the local police encouraged poor people to come forward with evidence promising them a hot meal

con: police wore disguises to try and lure the ripper into a trap, and experimented using bloodhound dogs to track trials in London parks but failed to pay the owner so couldn’t use them again