Both source C and B suggests that the murderer had good understanding of anatomy and how to skilfully cut the body; ‘It was done by one who knew where to find what he wanted.’ Source C shows that that the murderer had detailed knowledge of anatomy, ‘In the neck there was a long incision which commenced on the left side, two and half inched below the angle of the jaw, cutting the windpipe completely in two.’ This shows that the murderer did not commit his crimes hastily. The murderer made sure he worked carefully like a surgeon. Source B also agrees with source C that the murderer must have been an experienced individual by saying, ‘no mere slaughterer of animals could have carried out these operations.’ This shows that the coroner believes that the murderer was well disciplined in human anatomy.
The evidence shown in source C seems to back up source B more than it supports source A. This is because both source’s B and C are scientific reports explaining the actual murders of victims. Source A is a newspaper article and is based on opinion rather than fact.
3) Study Sources D and E
How useful are Sources D and E in helping you to understand why the Ripper was able to avoid capture?
Source D is useful in helping us understand why the Ripper was able to avoid capture. It shows that the witness account was sketchy and she does not appear to know exactly what she saw, ‘I think he was wearing a dark coat but I cannot be sure.’ The evidence given by the witness could also have led to the police going down the wrong line of investigation, ‘he looked like a foreigner, as well as I could make out.’ This demonstrated that the police wasted resources potentially looking for the wrong person.
Source D does not tell you all the reason why Jack the Ripper avoided capture from the police. It does not tell us about the lack of forensic evidence and also the police’s inability to deal with rare cases such as murder cases. Source D does not tell us about the other eye witness accounts which may have been just as un-useful for the police.
Source E helps us to understand why the Ripper was able to avoid capture from the police. It demonstrates the weakness of the police in preventing murders like this, ‘he was referred to one police officer to another.’ This also shows that the police ignored advice from people who were prepared to give constructive criticism. Source E also shows that Whitechapel was a good area for a criminal to hide in, ‘the main thoroughfares of Whitechapel are connected by a network of narrow, dark and crooked lanes.’ Source E is also useful in showing the slow pace of investigation because the police ignored this informant and allowed other murders to continue, ‘then came the first murder, he went again to the police…then came another murder.’ This shows that the police were slow in reacting to the crimes that were being committed.
However, source E is a limited view of why the Ripper was able to avoid capture because it is an account from a critical journalist. The article may be bias against the police and very critical. The journalist writing the article dies not take into account the many difficulties that the police were having, like the lack of witness accounts. You do not really know what action the police were really taking to capture the Ripper. This means that source E is not completely useful in showing us how the Ripper avoided Capture.
In summary, source D is more useful in trying to understand why the Ripper avoided capture. It shows that witness accounts let the police down. Source E is useful as it shows that the police ignored certain informants who had advice for the police. However, it is very critical and does not show why the police were failing in their investigation.
4) Study Sources F and G
Use sources F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain how the police tried to catch Jack the Ripper.
The Victorian police force at the time of Jack the Ripper murders were not very professional in dealing with cases like serial murders. This was because they had a lack of forensic evidence and experience in relation to murders like Jack the Ripper was committing. When interviewing witnesses the police force did not make use of all the available evidence. The fact that the police failed to catch the murderer shows that the police at the time were unsuccessful.
Source F’s nature shows that it is a police leaflet published after the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Kate Eddowes. The purpose of this leaflet is to inform the police the public of Whitechapel to come forward with any evidence about the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Kate Eddowes.
The significance of this leaflet in showing how the police tried to catch the Ripper is that the police were now appealing for information regarding suspicious characters ‘should you know of any person to whom suspicion is attached, you are earnestly requested to communicate…’ This leaflet only gives the dates of the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Kate Eddowes, and it is very vague about where the murders took place. Another point source F shows is that the police’s lines of enquiry were running out and they needed other sources of help from the Whitechapel public, as their other methods were failing. The source also shows that the police continued to conduct their investigation in Whitechapel. This means that they were still keeping their enquiry very localised.
Finally, source F shows that the police were unsuccessful because source F is a limited way of helping the police. The leaflet does not include any information about the killer like any clear description of the murderer.
Source G’s nature is a letter to the Mile End Vigilance Committee from the Home Secretary. The origin is from 17th September 1888 which was after the murders in Whitechapel; by Jack the Ripper. The purpose of this letter to the Mile End Vigilance Committee was to persuade them that a reward for giving evidence to find the Ripper was not allowed. ‘The practise of offering rewards for the discovery of criminals was discontinued some years ago, because experience showed that such offers of reward tended to produce more harm than good.’
The significance of source G is that it is showing the desperate measures that people of the East End were willing to go to in capturing the Ripper. People were forming their own committees to backlash against the police. The source shows that the public were becoming frustrated with how the police were dealing with the investigation. The fact that they wanted reward money for any evidence given shows that they urgently wanted to catch the killer, this was because they believed that people were not coming forward with vital evidence which was needed to catch the Ripper.
Finally, Source G shows that the Home Secretary was not willing to grant permission for rewards. This was because the Home Secretary thought that rewards would encourage bogus evidence from members of the public who just wanted money for false evidence.
Both source F and G show that the police were failing to catch Jack the Ripper. The fact that a Vigilance committee was formed shows that the public were losing confidence with the police’s unsuccessful methods.
Using sources F and G along with my own knowledge I can see that the way the police tried to catch the Ripper had many flaws. Firstly, they had a lack of experience with what they were dealing with. They had never come across this nature and level of crime before. Secondly, they had no experience of forensic knowledge which would have been crucial evidence at the time. They were not aware of how to collect and study forensic evidence such as finger prints or DNA as they did not have this type of technology. The police methods at the time were also flawed as they were often led down the wrong path of enquiry, such as looking for a foreign looking person. This was mainly because of the very weak witness accounts. The police failed to interview enough witnesses, which would have allowed them to cross-reference witnesses they already had.
The police were not very effective in the methods that they used at the time. The police needed to act on a faster pace as the Ripper may have been getting away. When the first murder was committed they should have produced leaflets like shown in source F. The police did eventually ask the public for any key things they remembered, but this should have been done much sooner. I also think that the police should have used rewards for vital evidence. The fact that there was no reward could have meant missing out on vital evidence in capturing the Ripper. My own knowledge and the sources show that the methods used by the police in capturing the Ripper were flawed.
5) Study all of the sources
‘The police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper.’
Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this view.’
The methods used by the police in the Ripper investigation were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. Some of the methods they used were interviewing witnesses and issuing leaflets asking for information from the public.
Studying source E supports the view that the police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. It demonstrates the weaknesses of the police in many ways. Firstly, it shows that the police ignored advice from ‘informants’ who could have helped the police catch the Ripper, ‘He warned that murder would ensue if matters were left as they were.’ Source E also shows the slow pace of the investigation because the police ignored this informant and allowed more murders to continue. Secondly, this source emphasises the disorganisation of the Victorian police force at the time of the Jack the Ripper murders, ‘he was referred from one police officer to another.’
Source F also shows how the police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. The leaflet does not give enough detail or information to encourage the public to come forward with any evidence in helping capture the Ripper. It also shows the way the police focused their investigations locally, even though they evidence suggested that the killer was not local.
Source G supports the view that the police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. Members of the community took it upon themselves to find the murderer forming the Mile End Vigilance Committee. This shows that the police were failing their investigation because the local community no longer had any trust in them. Source G also shows that the police were taking too much time in their investigations. Using my own knowledge I can see that Elizabeth Stride’s murder was the third victim of Jack the Ripper. At this time the public were becoming frustrated by the lack of progress by the police. The fact that the Home Secretary had to get involved shows that the situation was getting out of control and that the Metropolitan police force could not handle the investigation of the Ripper murders.
Source H also supports the view that the police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. The article which was published after the murder of Mary Kelley shows that the police were not any closer in capturing Jack the Ripper. The police were also to blame for not capturing the Ripper because they did not have enough evidence for the case, the only way they might have been able to catch him was by, ‘some accidental circumstance,’ which would ‘ lead to a trace which may be followed to a successful conclusion.’
Some of the sources back up the idea that the police were not to blame for not capturing the Ripper. I can see this by studying certain sources. Source A shows that the murders by Jack the Ripper were unique cases and the police force weren’t experienced enough to deal with such investigations. The article which was published after the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls talks about how there was, ‘no adequate motive.’ The victims ‘have been the poorest of the poor.’ This also shows that there was no obvious motive and this would have made it difficult for the police to capture the killer, as they wouldn’t know who to look for or who the next victim would be. The article shown in source A may have been misleading to the police force, ‘each murder suggests the idea that both crimes are the work of a demented being.’ This article may have led the police to the wrong type of suspects.
Source D can also be used to show that the police weren’t to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. Source D is a witness account from Elizabeth Long who was describing the man seen talking to Annie Chapman before she was murdered. This witness account has many flaws and the witness does appear to be convinced of what she saw, ‘I think he was wearing a dark coat but I cannot be sure.’ The evidence given by Elizabeth Long could also have led the police down the wrong line of investigation. ‘He looked to me like a foreigner, as well as I could make out.’ This shows that the police were wasting resources and time and potentially allowing the Ripper to escape from the police and commit another murder.
In conclusion, the police were to blame for not capturing Jack the Ripper. This can be mainly seen from the sources I have studied and also from my own knowledge. The sources that show the police were not to blame for capturing Jack the Ripper are weak. Sources such as E, F, G and H demonstrate that the police enquiry was flawed. The sources show that the police ignored key informants who had good advice for them. Using my own knowledge I can see that the police were to blame because of their lack of experience with such types of investigations. This inexperience allowed Jack the Ripper to avoid capture.
