Why were the police unable to catch Jack the Ripper?

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Jack The Ripper was never caught and his identity remains a mystery to this day. The police were unable to catch Jack The Ripper and solve the mystery of the Whit Chapel murders because of several reasons.

    Lack of police experience was a main factor’s towards the incapability to catch Jack the Ripper; there had never been a killer like the Ripper before. Over a hundred years later, serial killers are still unlikely to be caught. Therefore, in 1888, only a fluke or a foolish mistake would have caught him.

  Lack of evidence also proved to be a struggle for the police. The Ripper left virtually no physical evidence of his crimes; In 1888, the police relied mostly on catching someone in the act which, of course, didn’t happen. In 1888 there were no forensics, no DNA tests and no fingerprinting, the lack of forensic tests would also make it difficult to prove conclusively if two or more crimes had been committed by the same person. The police gave an extremely desperate impression for evidence as they printed and distributed a handbill to 80,000 houses and interviewed many lodgers, butchers and slaughterers.

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   Moreover, the murder case involved a lot of interference. The Ripper crimes inspired the public to get involved in the investigation, causing problems and tying up the already stretched resources. The press’ constant reporting also contributed to this interference as a result of the plentiful hoax letters and lying witnesses. There were also a lot of incidents wasting important police time, for example the police spent ages investigating “Leather Apron” during the second murder, this was not helped by the press who publicized the story and virtually forced the police to chase him.

  Another reason to the ...

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