Whitechapel

Question 1

Background info

Answer 1

Area in east London - notorious for poverty, crime, alcoholism and prostitution.

Charles booth survey- 37.5% of residents living in worst kind of poverty.

Police- met police - 1829
Jack the Ripper- 1888
Carried out murders on prostitutes - failure to capture him gathered attention of the media.

Question 2

Features of Whitechapel - work

Answer 2

25 shillings per week
Sweatshops- 20 hours of work a day
Docks- work on ships- wanted job

Question 3

Features of Whitechapel - Housing

Answer 3

30,000 people with 4,000 houses

Rookeries: overcrowded slum areas split into several apartments with up to 30 people, sharing beds

Lodging houses- 200 for 8,000 people

Peabody estate- 11 new blocks, 286 new flats, 3 shilling per week

Question 4

Features of Whitechapel - violence

Answer 4

Overcrowding, poverty and high immigrant numbers led to tension

Prostitutes vulnerable to violence

When Jack the Ripper mutters took place, easy to blame each others ethnic groups

Question 5

Features of Whitechapel - Environment

Answer 5

Narrow, unlit, overcrowded roads

Noise, smell would help a criminal escape

Streets maze like

Pickpocketing was easy because of overcrowding

Question 6

Immigration tensions - Irish

Answer 6

Not well liked

Known for drunken behaviour and violence

Used money early to move to America

Fenians- terrorist group wanted Irelands freedom from Uk

Organised bomb attacks on landmarks

Police set up special branch for terrorise

Question 7

Immigration tensions - Jews

Answer 7

Moved to east end after pogroms in Russia

Didn’t mix with the locals

Locals jealous of Jews work

Stood out because of cultural differences

Beatings and attacks on Jews were common

Question 8

Policing

Answer 8

Met police - set up 1829 by Robert peel

13,000 men to police 5 million people

1300 on a shift at a time

Charles warren - police commissioner

Bloody Sunday- riot dealt with by army

1878 - CID set up, detectives of 216 officers

Question 9

Difficulties of policing - routine

Answer 9

Whitechapel covered by H-division

Officers would walk the beat and act as deterrents

Pay was poor so recruits were poor

Question 10

Difficulties of policing - alcohol

Answer 10

Common amongst poor and unemployed, very cheap but very strong

45 pubs on the main road

Violent crimes caused by alcohol

Attitudes towards police were low and attacks common

Question 11

Difficulties to policing - prostitution

Answer 11

Vulnerable women easy to attack at night

62 brothels with 1,200 prostitutes

Often drunk so couldn’t help with investigations

Question 12

Difficulties of policing - protection rackets

Answer 12

Agreements made with gangs and local businesses to protect them. Smashed up if they disagreed

People afraid to report gang violence because fear of attacks

Monkey parade were a big gang

Question 13

Difficulties for policing- environment

Answer 13

Couldn’t see at night because of unlit roads and smog

So hard to catch criminals

Question 14

Difficulties for policing - local newspapers

Answer 14

Mocked police not being able to catch criminals, especially Jack the Ripper

Fewer people wanted to help police because of this.

Question 15

Jack the Ripper - How police dealt with it - public involvement

Answer 15

Inspector Frederick Abberline was in charge of the case

Public involvement

300 men sent letters claiming to be the killer

Every letter had to be followed up, most were fake so waste of time and resources

Question 16

Jack the Ripper - police force rivalry

Answer 16

One victim was killed on the border of met police and London city police

Charles warren wanted the met to investigate so removed vital evidence from a place inside London city police territory

Question 17

Jack the Ripper - local media

Answer 17

Most newspapers made the most of the murder by adding dramatic images and wild speculation

Journalists quick to jump to conclusions

Accused killer of being foreign and Jewish leading to tensions in the area

Question 18

Jack the Ripper - removal of evidence

Answer 18

Charles warren was worried that blaming the Jews would lead to tensions so removed the vital evidence

It read: ‘the Jews are the men that will not be blamed for nothing’

Question 19

Obstacles to police success catching killer

Answer 19

Restriction of police:

No scientific methods
No finger printing (12 years until used)
No blood analysis
No data bases
Poor photography
Lack of experience

Question 20

Whitechapel vigilance committee

Answer 20

Run by George lusk and other business men frustrated at lack of police progress.

Contradicted police methods

Question 21

Techniques used to investigate the murders

Answer 21

Eye witnesses:
Leads could be misleading because of drunk eye witnesses

Soup kitchens:
Weren’t allowed to offer money as a reward so offered soup to the poor in return for information

Info from journalists:
Locals would talk to journalists so they collected a lot of info. However too quick to jump to conclusions. More interested in the story

Officers dressed up as prostitutes to catch killer, led to them being mocked by the press

Question 22

Beat constables

Answer 22

Special uniform:

Woollen trousers and jackets (deep blue)

Uniform stood out in the crowd

Truncheon carried to defend constables

They wore top hats and carried handcuffs