The police had some trouble interpreting and using the evidence. This was a key reason in why Jack the Ripper was not caught. With the nature of the crimes, many thought the killer was from a medical background but this theory was dismissed as people of a medical background were of high status and were not suspected. There were some contradictions in the evidence given. For example, William Hutchineson, a witness, gave an almost too detailed description of the killer. This may have been an attempt to deflect attention from himself. The police did not pick up on this. With contradictions like this, it was very difficult for the police to know what evidence was true. There was a high Jewish population in the area, and so many anti –Semitic people looked down upon Whitechapel. Consequently, many people believed that the killer was Jewish. This may have influenced the direction of the investigation.
The police were unable to catch Jack the Ripper due to their ineffective methods of investigation. This was the police’s first experience of a high profile murder case. The police wasted a lot of time questioning butchers even though they had been ruled out by the coroner. This gave more time for Jack the Ripper to escape. The police showed their inexperience and their desperation when they sent out a hand bill to 80,000 houses. This led to false leads and wasted further time.
Police work was limited in 1888. This is one of the reasons that Jack the Ripper wasn’t caught. The first detectives were appointed in 1842 so the detective department was in its infancy when Jack the Ripper struck. The main focus of police work at the time was crime prevention, not crime solving. In hindsight, we can see that the methods used were quite simple and easily flawed. In 1862, the first criminal photographs were taken as it was believed that it was possible to identify criminal ‘types’ from the shape of their head. There was little training for police constables and any training they did receive usually involved military drills. Personal appearance and good behaviour were the main priorities of becoming a good policeman, not ability to prevent and solve crime. This shows the limitations of the police work.
I believe that the poor methods of investigation were the most important factor in preventing the police catching the murderer. This is because much time was wasted using ineffective methods such as sending out hand bills to houses. This would have led to inadequate evidence being submitted and wasting police time.
Simon Cole
