History 1.6 - Whitechapel, c1870-1900: crime, policing and the inner city

what were 4 of the main issues related to in Whitechapel? (and what is the acronym)

PASS - Poverty, Accommodation + housing, Sanitation, Social problems

Why were jobs often unstable in Whitechapel?

Many relied on temporary jobs - just for the day. Men would have to turn up first thing in the morning in hopes to pick up daily work and it was not guaranteed.

What were the slum areas in Whitechapel also known as?

Rookeries

What was the average living space for each person in Whitechapel?

About 2.3 square metres

How many people were homeless in Whitechapel?

About 1,000 people

What was the workhouse and who used it?

A place where desperate homeless people could find a bed; conditions were terrible and inmates were treated like prisoners and criminals.

What was overcrowding like in 'doss houses' on Dean Street?

Over 30 people often lived in each one

What were houses in Whitechapel like?

Often disgusting; toilets were outdoors, and people used pots and buckets indoors

What caused heavy pollution in East London?

Westerly winds brought pollution from factories; on bad days visibility was extremely low

What diseases were common in Whitechapel slums?

Typhus and tuberculosis

How was sanitation in Whitechapel?

Very poor; sewers often ran onto streets and the smell was atrocious, especially in summer

Why were crime rates high in Whitechapel?

People often stole just to afford a night's accommodation

Why was prostitution common in crowded areas?

Many women had no other job options; attacks on them were regular

What was street violence like in Whitechapel?

Common, especially around pubs; fights broke out frequently and many people were alcoholics

How many people lived in one house on average during the 1880s?

more than 7

How much of Whitechapel used lodging houses?

they were used by about a quarter of the population

What were the responses of the government to improve conditions in WC? (and the acronym)

PAW - Peabody Estate, Artisans' Dwelling Act, Workhouses

Who built the Peabody Estate and when was it opened?

built by a charity called the Peabody Trust, opened in 1881

what did the Peabody Estate consist of?

11 blocks of flats

what was a pro of the Peabody Estates and what was a con?

Pro: they were affordable for a worker on the average wage and were much better than most other WC housing.

Con: The estate replaced an area of slum housing, where some of the poorest Londoners lived. The estate would have been too expensive for the poorest Londoners.

when was the Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Act passed?

1875

what did the Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Act do?

Forced the owners of slum houses to sell them to the local council. The housing was then meant to be demolished and redeveloped by either the council itself or would be sold to a business that would do this.

When was the Poor Law Amendment Act passed?

1834

what did the Poor Law Amendment Act do?

forced all local authorities to open a workhouse. The poor could get meals and a bed but were treated very harshly. For example, they had to do pointless hard labour.

What was an example of a workhouse in Whitechapel?

the South Grove Workhouse

why were wages so low in whitechapel?

many workers, few jobs

what were the 4 main employers in wc?

the bell foundry

the docks (taking goods off/ on ships)

sweatshops

railway construction

The environment of Whitechapel was _________ to crime. Why?

conducive

Poverty led to desperation

Alcoholism was widespread

Middle class people lived nearby, could steal from them

When did Irish immigration mostly happen?

1840s and 1850s, mainly after the potato famine of the 1840s.

Why did Irish immigration happen?

Because the potato famine caused starvation in Ireland.

Why did Irish immigrants compete with poorer English residents?

They accepted low wages for labouring jobs, undercutting English workers.

What jobs did Irish immigrants often take?

They often worked as 'navvies' (navigators) doing low-skilled labour in London.

When did Jewish immigration mostly happen?

Mostly after 1881, following the assassination of Russian Tsar Alexander II.

Why did Jewish immigration happen?

Because Jews were persecuted by the Russian government after 1881.

What effect did Jewish business success have on English workers?

It made many poorer English people resentful.

How did Jewish immigrants affect existing English businesses?

They were accused of making cheap clothes and shoes in sweatshops and undercutting prices by cheating.

Why were English people jealous of Jewish workers?

Because poor Jews found work quickly through Jewish-run businesses.

How did Irish immigrants affect housing in Whitechapel?

They competed with poorer English residents for houses, raising rental costs.

Why was housing competition a problem for the poor?

Because rent increased and the poor couldn't afford the higher costs.

How did Jewish immigrants affect housing in Whitechapel?

They competed with poorer English residents and often lived in separate communities.

Why did Jews live in separate communities?

Because of racism and feeling more comfortable with other Jews.

How many Jews lived in Whitechapel in some areas?

Up to 95% of the residents were Jewish in certain areas.

What effect did Jewish segregation have?

It created suspicion as Jews were seen as secretive, different, and separate.

What religion were most Irish immigrants?

They were mostly Catholics.

Why did English Protestants distrust Irish Catholics?

There were long-standing suspicions of Catholics due to past persecution.

What political views did many Irish migrants hold?

They supported greater freedom for Ireland or even total independence.

What made Jews stand out in appearance and behaviour?

They dressed differently, spoke different languages, and lived with other Jews.

Why did Jews speak different languages?

Because they had just arrived from Russia or Europe.

Why were Jews slow to learn English?

Because they often worked and lived among other Jews.

How did Jewish customs differ from the English?

They had different customs and traditions, like resting on Saturdays instead of Sundays.

what is anarchism?

they were against the idea of an organised society ran by a government

what is socialism?

higher taxes should be imposed on the rich to redistribute money to the poor. Extreme socialists wanted to get rid of capitalism

who were though to be socialists and anarchists?

People stereotyped Jews as mostly being socialists/ anarchists

what was the Worker's Friend and when was it set up?

a socialist newspaper set up by a group of Jews 1885. The newspaper was in Yiddish, making it seem even more secretive and suspicious.

How did newspapers treat anarchism?

People overreacted about anarchism and its links to crime because newspapers sensationalised it. There were a number of anarchist terrorist bombings in the 1890s but they were exaggerated by the media.

Both _____ and _____ were considered to be dangerous

anarchism and socialism

What was the socialist party and when was it formed? What was its main aim?

The extremist socialist Socialist Democratic Federation (SDF) was set up in 1881. Its main aim was to overthrow the capitalist government

Why was socialism considered a dangerous threat?

Radical socialists came to London from Europe because Britain was seen as a more tolerant country. To some people it seemed like Britain was a refuge for many terrorists - this was an exaggeration.

When was Bloody Sunday?

Sunday 13 November 1887

What was Bloody Sunday?

An event where hundreds of protestors in Trafalgar Square were arrested by the police and many more were injured. It was a turning point which made the authorities worried and made the socialists and anarchists even angrier with the government. People accused the police for using too much force.

what were 2 of the reasons the authorities believed contributed to the rise of socialism and anarchism?

1. Lodging houses - allowed people to come and go freely and were often overcrowded. The authorities believed that radical anti-government ideas were likely to spread here, because people lived in close proximity to those with radical beliefs.

2. Pubs and drinking culture - large numbers of working class people drank heavily. Alcohol was cheap and fights often broke out around pubs. The government believed this created an atmosphere of lawlessness.

which division did the Whitechapel murders take place in and why was this an issue?

On the border between H division (part of the Metropolitan Police) and the area where the City of London Police worked.

who were the main police officers in the Met Police?

beat constables

what were the problems faced by police in Whitechapel? (and the acronym)

LNV - Lack of numbers, Negative attitudes towards the police, Vigilante violence

how many police officers were there in WC and what was the ratio of people in WC to police officers?

During the 1880s, there were just over 500 police officers in Whitechapel, that made roughly one police officer to three hundred people in WC. (1:300). The ratio is better than the modern ratio, but they lacked technology and WC was very lawless.

How many detectives were in H division? (where WC was)

only 15 detectives who were trying to solve the Ripper murders

why were the police negatively perceived?

Seen as "the enemy" by many poor people because they would arrive to arrest people and sort out disturbances, thefts etc. The media also fueled this with cartoons and sensationalised speech against the police printed. People also believed they were incompetent for not catching Jack the Ripper.

how did vigilante violence make policing harder for the police?

Some of the local people in wc believed the police weren't doing a good enough job so set up the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The leader was a man called George Lusk, he received a lot of press attention and began to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of Jack the Ripper.

However, this simply brought in many fake leads and evidence, it was a hindrance to the police's duties, and increased the panic surrounding the murders.

In what ways were the social problems an issue for the police in WC? (with acronym)

DAPPA - demonstrations, alcohol, prostitution, protection rackets and gangs, attacks on Jews (aka suspicion from Jews against the police and suspicion from the police against Jews)

Why were demonstrations of workers common?

unhappy with conditions of work, some worked 18 hours in sweatshops

how many brothels were there in wc by 1888?

there were 62 brothels by 1888 in wc

why did gangs make policing harder in wc?

they made some areas too dangerous for even the police to enter, so were mostly left alone by the police.

what were two examples of protection rackets? (and where did they come from)

Bessarabians and Odessians were gangs from eastern europe which threatened business owners, mainly Jews, for protection money against other gangs.

what was one reason for suspicion against Jews from the police and other people in WC?

the language barrier

why did the Jews think the police were suspicious?

They were persecuted by the police in their homelands

There was widespread antisemitism in WC from both _____ and _____. There were also some _______

police officers, locals, antisemitic attacks

what were 2 ways immigration made policing harder in Whitechapel?

Increased the demand for jobs, so it often left other people homeless and destitute, they would then have to turn to crime.

Also increased overcrowding, making it hard to keep track of affairs.

what crime solving techniques were available to the police? (and the acronym)

SPAIN - Sketches at the crime scene, Photographs at the crime scene, Autopsy and coroner's report, Interviews, New techniques

who made the sketches at the crime scene?

police officers or police surgeons before anything had been moved

why were sketches at the scene of the crime good and why were they bad?

good: allowed investigators to visualise and meant that there was a clear record of what happened which would not be distorted by memory.

bad: sketches were not always taken (only Catherine Eddows' body had a sketch), and the person drawing may miss out crucial details as they do not seem important to them. Or they may exaggerate. Sketches were still interpretations of the scene.

who took photographs at the crime scene?

taken by a specialist police photographer

what was a reason photographs were useful and what were 2 reasons they weren't?

they were much more accurate than sketches and not up to an artist's interpretation

However, they were mainly only used to identify the body, not really to help catch the killer.

photography may also have given the police less detail than they needed since photography was a new technology so pictures were often not of the best quality.

what was the difference between an autopsy (postmortem) and a coroner's enquiry?

an autopsy was a specialist medical examination which investigated the cause of the person's death. The doctor would write a report on how the death occured.

Coroner's enquiry was a legal proceeding where a coroner (a special type of judge) would hear how a person died and decide if further investigation should take place.

why were autopsies helpful and why were they not helpful?

the autopsy was a detailed examination of the body and allowed the police in the Ripper killings to make some useful deductions e.g. the killer being left handed.

however, the medical techniques available to the police were not very advanced e.g. they could not tell the time of the murder.

how many people did the police interview and when?

interviewed over 2,000 people after the double murder on 30 September 1888.

how many handbills did the police distribute and what were they?

they were a paper telling people to come forward with any information on Jack the Ripper, 80,000 were distributed.

why could interviews be considered useful and why were they not?

led to 300 lines of enquiry and 80 arrests, providing lots of info

witnesses are not always reliable e.g. Matthew Packer claimed to sell grapes to Elizabeth Stride before she died, however it was found that he was an attention-seeker.

what were 3 examples of new techniques used by the police to try and find the killer?

a pair of bloodhounds were hired, identity parades, criminal profiles

what were identity parades?

witnesses were asked to identify men who they claimed to have seen speaking to the victims

what were criminal profiles?

detailed reports on criminals, including sketches of their face which were educated guesses.

why were new techniques useful and why were they not?

useful: identity parades eliminated Jack Pizer, who was a suspect

however, the techniques were very new so the police could not make full use of them, e.g. there were too few bloodhounds and they were used for too short of a timespan to be effective.

who was the head of the Metropolitan Police during the Ripper murders and why was he disliked?

Charles Warren, he was heavily criticised by the media which led to public scrutiny of him, which then led to him resigning.

who was Frederick Abberline and what did he do?

He was the head of the CID and was gone for a long holiday when the ripper murders took place

why was the media a problem for the police? (2)

heavy criticism and negative attitudes towards the police

also, sensationalised stories to sell more papers, Penny Dreadfuls did this commonly. It created many false leads and hysteria. There were 22 London newspapers published every day who were competing.

what were 2 examples of the Metropolitan Police and the City Police working well together?

the Met Police lent some officers to the City Police to help catch the killer e.g. PC Long, who found a piece of Catherine Eddows' apron, was "on loan" from the met police A division to the City Police.

Some of the individual police officers got along well, e.g. Donald Swanson (In the MP) and James McWilliam (head of the City Police's detectives) got along very well and worked together effectively.

what were 2 examples of the MP and the CP not working well together?

Both forces wanted the credit for catching the killer, so often did not share information with each other

Charles Warren had some graffiti near the crime scene, a piece of evidence, washed away despite it being in the CP's jurisdiction. This led to some conflict.

what happened in 1829, 1842, 1877 and 1888?

1829 - Met Police founded

1842 - the Detective Department was set up

1877 - Detective Department reformed as the CID

1888 - Ripper murders

the police had been widely criticised right from ______________

the beginning of the Met Police, as people believed they were interfering with ordinary citizens' lives.

what happened with the Met Police in 1877?

detectives working in the Detective Department were found guilty of corruption; they were found tipping criminals before they were about to be arrested, allowing them to escape. The media and public were already suspicious of the police, this event made the detective department tainted. As a result it was replaced with the CID.

what happened with the Met Police in 1880?

The Thomas Titley affair where it was found that the suspect was encouraged by the police to commit a crime to arrest him. People believed this was unjust and thought it may happen to them, loss of trust.