In the late 19th Century the East End of London was in the grip of fear as a series of horrendous murders were committed on prostitutes living in the area. Later generations blamed the police for failing to capture the murderer who came to be called Jack the Ripper.
It is necessary to have a picture of the police force at this time and also of the social conditions in the White chapel area, where the killing took place, and making an assessment based on studying important sources.
Question 1
Source A is from an article in the East End Observer and is a very accurate reflection of what happened In the case of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls. In the spring and summer of 1988 came the first two of the series of demented murders. On 6th August another prostitute Martha Tabram was murdered, stabbed thirty-nine times on "the body, neck and private parts."
Polly Ann Nicholls was found lying in Bricks Row on 31st August. The cause of the death was a slash from ear to ear. There were deep cuts in her abdomen. The East End Observer reports that the victims had been "of the poorest of the poor." In both cases the extraordinary violence used pointed to the work of a "demented being". The coroner, Wynne Batter was of the opinion that the murderer knew how to use a knife and was skilled at finding the organs.
Question 2
Source C is the report on Elizabeth Stride. The report on Elizabeth was again because although the victims throats had been slit from "ear to ear" as had the others, the body had not been mutilated. The murder of Elizabeth Stride took place in a house unlike the previous murders, which were in dark alleys. Her legs had not been drawn up, which was unlike the others as well. She held a small packet of breath freshener wrapped up in tissue paper. Her throat had been slit. The incision began on the left side, went across the throat cutting the windpipe completely in two.
This time there were no other incisions. The intestines were not spilling out as in the other two murders. These differences make this unlike the other Ripper murders and there is the possibility it was a murder of passion and a rather better class of girl because she has her own room and fresh mints. Therefore it does not support the "demented" violence usually used by the ripper nor does it show "considerable anatomical skill and knowledge".
Question 3
The description given by Elizabeth Long at the inquest into the death of Annie Chapman of a man she saw talking to her before she was killed mentioned the deerstalker hat and dark coat, foreigner- looking, about forty. It would seem that neither Elizabeth Long nor other witnesses gave reliable descriptions of suspects. Even Gorge Hutchinson, who saw a man with Mary Kelly just before she was murdered, could only give a confused description of "a man about thirty five, hair dark, dark trousers, long dark coat, dark hat."
Such accounts were not ...
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Question 3
The description given by Elizabeth Long at the inquest into the death of Annie Chapman of a man she saw talking to her before she was killed mentioned the deerstalker hat and dark coat, foreigner- looking, about forty. It would seem that neither Elizabeth Long nor other witnesses gave reliable descriptions of suspects. Even Gorge Hutchinson, who saw a man with Mary Kelly just before she was murdered, could only give a confused description of "a man about thirty five, hair dark, dark trousers, long dark coat, dark hat."
Such accounts were not helpful for the police to follow up. White chapel, in the East End, lies between Mile End in the east and Aldgate and Spitalfield in the west, it was a cosmopolitan area in the late 1800s and a refuge for Jews fleeing from Russia. The people were very poor. Women resorted to prostitution when the breadwinner in the family lost his job. Some women turned to this to supplement the very small wages they were paid, others to keep themselves supplied with gin and lodgings on a day-to-day basis. The area was an evil collection of slums with molten, reeking tenement houses, over crowded and filthy. Public houses were in abundant supply. From the main roads, a network of dark, narrow lanes penetrated inwards, but despite the gloomy environment, levels of crime were not high.
We have some people trying to warn police of the criminality, which was in creasing in the area. An article published in a local paper said that an informant told them he had warned the police of what could happen in this area. He was sent from one police officer to another without making any impression. After the first murder he again warned the police of the dangers in the area. Nothing was done. Then came another murder.
The unreliability witnesses such as Elizabeth Long and Hutchinson made it very difficult for the police to get a clear description of the serial killer. More over, the network of narrow, dark and crooked lanes made it early for a criminal to escape.
Question 4
In a police leaflet published after the murders of Elizabeth stride and Kate Eddowes the police indicated that after the murders of three women in the White chapel area, supposedly by someone residing in the area, they were requesting anyone who had information or suspicious to contact them. The Mile End Viligance Committee on 17th Ser 1888 wrote to the Home Secretary urging him to offer a reward for information about murders. He replied that the practice had been discontinued because they tended to produce more harm than good and there was no need to depart from this rule in this case. We see that police tactics were totally inadequate. Their Public Notice did not give any help at all to jog people's memories, no details were given about locations, methods of killing etc. the offer of a reward to the very poor people in the area, they might have been more alert and aware, especially of strangers who came at intervals. The attempts were very inadequate and immature. The only positive action seems to have been the large numbers of uniformed and plainclothes policemen who flooded into the deserted streets after dark. The Mile End Viligance Committee hired men to patrol the streets at night. Things seemed to go back to normal until Mary Kelly's body was discovered in a room mutilated, with all internal organs removed. Police patrols were increased, especially as outbreaks of mob violence occurred against suspected individuals. The police took the information given by William Hutchinson seriously and they narrowed their find to this. It was too good a description and more than one writer has suggested that Hutchinson was trying to avoid suspicions himself.
Question 5
It could be argued that the police were blamed for not capturing Jack the Ripper. They did not do enough. In source E there is evidence that people warned the police about further murders. A local newspaper had information from a resident that he had asked for the police force to be strengthened and order kept especially at night. He was sent from one police officer to another without any results. The White chapel area was small enough for intensive searches.
The blame also lies with the police placing too much trust in unreliable witnesses. Annie Chapman had not really been sure of what she had seen, but the police spent a great deal of time following her evidence, wasting police time.
The press too was full of "leads" and the police were pressured into following these, such as the Jewish "Leather Apron Man".
Instead, the police should have questioned local people more. Thousands came forward to help and even formed a local committed who went out on patrol every night-The Mile End Viligance Committee. The police did not make use of these locals.
The home Secretary wrote to the Mile End Committee on 17th September 1888 stating that offering a reward for the discovery of criminals had been discontinued some years before because they tend to do more harm than good and there was nothing in the present circumstances to justify changing the rule. This was a mistake as the offer of a reward of more reliable evidence could have been received. It is also possible that people withheld evidence hoping that a reward might be offered.
The police were too quick to destroy vital evidence. They should never, for example, have rubbed out the chalk message left on the wall after the murder of Eddowes.
These are some of the criticisms against the police and their methods. It seems evident that the inefficiency and lack of professionalism on the part of the police resulted in their failure to capture The Ripper.
When we look back on the case from today we appreciate that the police was still in its infancy. They did not have the extensive training of our modern police force. Their efforts were very immature. There was no finger printing, no DNA. The London CID had only been set up in 1878. The officers did their best with the limited technology available. The leaflet to the occupier, which they published and distributed, was very inadequate. It did not even give the names of the victims, locations other than "in or near the White chapel area."
It must not be thought that the efforts made by the police were very poor. They did put many men on the beat, many dressed as women, thousands of suspects were questioned, they used bloodhounds, but their approach was unsophisticated, especially for the kind of locality which White chapel was, full of crooked lanes, dark lanes and hidden backyards. It was easy for the Ripper to kill quickly, and then escape through the maze of dark alleyways.
The Ripper was a sly and clever killer. In an article in the times the journalist described the killer's cunning in that not a trace is left of the murder, not the slightest clue. It would seem it was the cleverness of the killer, not the stupidity of the police that led to his never being caught.
Today many criminals are caught by reliable descriptions. None of the witnesses could give and more that a vague description such as that of George Hutchinson, age about thirty-five, hair dark, dark trousers, long dark coat, dark hat. This would fit hundreds of people today with all the wonderful resources of science, technology, the publicity and their detailed training are often unsuccessful and sometimes make false arrests the very new London police force can be forgiven for never having tracked down the cunning, notorious Ripper.
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ZAKEER HUSSAIN
HISTORY