Source F is a police leaflet published after the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Kate Eddows. It shows that the police attempted to catch Jack the Ripper by capturing public attention and encouraging the public to come forward with information. This emphasises the desperation of the police as relations between the police and residents were poor and this leaflet was published only after the ‘double murder’. Therefore the leaflet indicates that the police did not have any strong leads and had to appeal to the public in order to catch Jack the Ripper.
The source, however, is very limited in that it is a simple leaflet and provides very little information. It was handed out to the poor people in White Chapel and the police were careful in providing only the most basic information, such as the dates and locations of the murders.
Source G, on the other hand, shows that the police attempted to catch Jack the Ripper by coordinating its efforts with the government. It shows that they believed a close connection with the government would ensure that the police would work to their optimum ability to capture Jack the Ripper. Furthermore, the source highlights that the police also worked with the Mile End Vigilance Committee, a group formed by mostly Jewish businessmen intent on catching Jack the Ripper and thus shifting the suspicion from the Jewish committee. This as a whole suggests that the police tried to catch Jack the Ripper by working closely to large organisations. Moreover, Source G shows that the police did not use ‘the practice of offering reward for the discovery of criminals’. The source states that ‘experience showed that such offers of reward tended to produce more harm than good’, highlighting that the police attempted to catch Jack the Ripper by relating to past experiences and by not offering a reward.
In conclusion, Source F and G demonstrate the two different methods the police adopted to make its search for Jack the Ripper more efficient. In the absence of any credible suspects, the police appealed to the public for information and external organisations such as the government and the more communal Mile End Vigilance Committee. The sources suggest that the police thought carefully about how they could catch the Ripper, ruling out the offer of a reward on a murderer they knew very little about. Thus their proceedings show the difficulty of the task they faced and highlight the importance of the advanced scientific techniques that we rely so heavily upon to solve crimes committed today.
