Crime and Punishment - Whitechapel Flashcards
What was the economic status of Whitechapel?
Whitechapel included the wealthy and the poor but majority lived under the poverty line in terrible conditions, they lived very close to the rich who were suspicious of them
Where is Whitechapel located?
East End of London
What were rookeries?
Terribly overcrowded lodging houses where people had awful living conditions
What is a doss?
A place to stay
What was Flower and Dean Street?
This was a well known rookery which was rifed with poverty, alcohol, disease, drugs and prostitution; surprisingly it was very close to middle class areas of Whitechapel
What was Whitechapel Workhouse and Casual Ward?
It was somewhere people went if they could not find rooms in a doss house, it was an unpopular choice due to strict rules
What were some of the rules in a workhouse?
- Families were separated
- You were not allowed to speak
- Clothing must be uniform
- You must work for stay
What was the Peabody Estate?
A second well known rookery with lodging houses, you had double the chance of dying if you lived there than anywhere else, it was refurbished but the rent was too high for many people increasing overcrowding in other places
What is ‘residuum’?
Believing that criminals were born to steal, rob lie or murder
Why was there so much tension in Whitechapel?
The wealthy were highly suspicious of the poor who they thought would take advantage of them the first chance they got
Why could lodging houses and pubs be a source of crime?
It was believed that it was here that crime was passed along to the decent people forced to live alongside criminals
How did drink contribute to crime?
People would often turn to drink to get rid of their troubles, this made them more likely to commit a crime and also to be more vulnerable to crime
Why was Whitechapel attractive to immigrants?
It had cheap lodging and they fund work easily
Why was there tension between people in Whitechapel and immigrants?
People thought that immigrants got jobs easier than other ‘hard-working people’
What were the two main immigrant groups in Whitechapel?
Irish immigrants and Jews
Why didn’t people like Irish immigrants?
Many terrorist attacks had been carried out in their name
Important:
Jews were forced to employ one another and so were living in one area and segregated from one another
What was the ratio of men to ploiceman?
Roughly 1:300
What did the Beat system entail?
One policeman walking the same path everyday (sometimes backwards to catch criminals), through this he got to know the people and area well and could communicate with them, once a month the beat would be switched to prevent corruption
Why was policing Whitechapel difficult?
- Geography - tight alleyways for escapes and crime and very overcrowded
- Alcohol made it difficult to deal with
- Organised gangs
- Prostitutes were vulnerable
- Political disputes and tensions
What new methods were used in the Jack the Ripper case?
- Photographs
- Detailed written observations of the crime scene
- Sketches
- Interviews
- Autopsies
- Witness Statements
- Printing handouts with information and warnings
- Criminals profile
- Identification parades
