Limitations of Police Methods
When it came to catching criminals, police were exceedingly limited in the methods which they used. Photographic evidence had just been introduced whereas forensic evidence and finger printing had not even been invented. As there was no such thing as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing, the police could not tell whether the blood was from the victim or the murderer or in another occasion whether the blood was from a human or from an animal. Since psychological profiling did not exist in the 19th century, the police could not build up a profile of the murderers’ habits or lifestyle. As the detectives department had only been running for ten years detectives had very little experience. Also, since crime scenes were always disturbed mostly by the police themselves, important clues and evidence were often destroyed.
Rivalry Between Police
During the late 19th century there was a great rivalry between the Metropolitan Police Force and the City Police Force. Both forces wanted to be more superior than each other and therefore would never share evidence even for a common goal like capturing Jack the Ripper. What may have been an important clue was removed by Sir Charles Warren (Metropolitan Police Commissioner) himself. The torn part of one of the victims Catherine Eddowes apron was left in Goulsten Street where the killer had written on the wall, ‘the Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing.’ Sir Henry Smith, the Assistant Commissioner of the City Police wished to keep the evidence which was written on the wall or at least photograph it. However, the rivalry burst into open hostility when Warren rubbed the message off the wall. The investigating policeman protested and asked that the message should be covered up at least until photographs had been taken. This was another of the main factors of why Jack the Ripper was never caught. This important clue could have been used to compare handwriting with the letter. In the past the Jews had been blamed for many murders as they were disliked greatly by the community and any mention of the killer being Jewish would have led to riots. This was what the police wanted more than trying to catch the killer. Jack the Ripper was never caught because the Metropolitan and City Police Forces refused to help each other.
Problems With The Investigation
The first prostitute to be killed by Jack the Ripper was Polly Nicholls. Over a week later, Annie Chapman was also brutally murdered. Medical experts linked the two murders and three witnesses came forward. At an inquest, all three stated to believe that Annie Chapman had been murdered at around five thirty in the morning. One witness even gave a detailed description of the man she had seen with Annie and believed to be the Ripper. “…he was dark complexioned and was wearing a deerstalker hat.” The evidence given by the three witnesses created another problem for the police. Dr George Phillips the police surgeon had given the death to be about four thirty in the morning. However, the police decided to accept the evidence of Doctor Phillips and so did not follow up any evidence from the other witnesses. Instead, they started to research into abattoirs and slaughterhouses after Doctor Phillips claimed “… the injuries have been made by someone who had considerable anatomical skill and knowledge”.
Elizabeth Stride was the first woman murdered on the night of the double murder. Four witnesses came forward, one of whom was Police Constable William Smith. He described the man to have been wearing a dark, deerstalker hat, which was backed up by a second witness. In the murders that followed, that of Annie Chapman and Catherine Eddowes, three other witnesses believed the man to have been wearing a dark, deer stalked hat. However, the police were too busy interviewing more than 2,000 lodgers and 76 butchers. The press had their own ideas about the murderer and questioned a Jewish slipper maker nicknamed ‘Leather Apron’, regarding the killings. The murders were now big news and the police received hundreds of letters, by people who claimed to know or be the Ripper. Unfortunately for the police, all the evidence did not lead anywhere and after weeks of research, all accused produced alibis.
Conclusion
It is obvious that there were many factors which stopped the police from catching the Ripper. The nature of the killings meant that the police had to prevent the mutilations or catch the Ripper. This was not helped by the fact that their department was underdeveloped. The rivalry of the police forces did not help the situation. However, the largest factors were the problems and errors, which occurred during the investigation and the rivalry of the police forces. False information or leads meant police time was wasted, and this prevented them from catching the ruthless Jack the Ripper.