Metropolitan police Flashcards
What was the attitude towards the metro police in the 19th century in Whitechapel?
People feared that a centralised police force could be used by the government to spy on ordinary Englishmen and interfere with their liberty.
What years was the police force in Whitechapel improved?
1894: New system for identifying suspects was put in place using physical measurements, photographs and the mug shot
1895: New rules for recruitment. Applications between 21 and 27, able to read and write well and has to be over 5”9
Who was Edmund Henderson?
He was appointed as commissioner in 1870 but was forced to resign in 1886 following a string of scandals.
What was Edmund Henderson accused of?
He was accused of relaxing police discipline, he allowed officers to grow beards and reduced the amount of military drill practice they had to do. However, the critics often ignored his efforts to raise the standard of reading and writing in the force and the expansion of the Detective Force.
What was the case of Thomas Titley?
In 1880, the police had dressed up in plainclothes and posed as customers wanting to buy chemicals in order to bring on an abortion
How did the Thomas Titley case affect the people opinion and how did the media react?
This scandal was reported in the newspapers and increased suspicion and distrust of the people about the police. On 17 December 1880, the London daily news wrote that the case had been manufactured in an extraordinary manner.
What was the jury’s verdict on the case of Thomas Titley?
The jury found him guilty but recommended a lenient sentence on the ground of provocation by the police inducing him into the crime. Then the following year 3,800 people signed a petition against his eighteen month sentence.
In 1884 and 1885, the Irish fenian terrorists exploded a series of bombs including two that damaged the Houses of Parliament. Why was this especially humiliating?
The special Irish branch which had been set up in 1883 by Edmund Henderson had failed to stop the plot. After a further riot in Trafalgar Square that got out of control, Henderson was replaced by Charles warren in January 1886
What was unfortunate about Charles Warrens appointment time?
He was appointed just six months before the new Home Secretary was appointed, Henry Mathews. Matthews made no secret of his dislike for Warrens approach and made it clear he would have preferred to promote James Munro, warrens deputy. Munro himself undermined warren by complaining he didn’t do enough to support the CID with enough men or money
What was Charles Warrens approach to his job?
He tried to raise standards in the Metropolitan Police by increasing the frequency of military drill practice, tightening up the rules for recruitment and bringing more ex soldiers into the force
Why were people worried about warrens methods?
Warrens focus on military discipline made people worry that the force was becoming an army which would be used to control the people
Describe the situation in late 1888 about Jack the Ripper?
In late 1888, when Jack the Ripper started killing people in Whitechapel, he seemed to be running rings around the police and they were incapable of catching him
What led to Charles warrens resignation?
In November 1888, at the height of the ripper crisis, warren wrote an article that was published in the Murray Magazine, a popular newspaper, criticising the government about not stopping the riots and protests. He was reacting to accusations about the police using excessive force to stop a protest in Trafalgar Square in 1887, and the criticisms that he was turning the police into a military organisation. However his mistake was not getting the article approved by the Home Secretary, Henry Matthews. Warrens criticism of the government looked like criticism of Mathews and he wrote to warren in 1888 to rebuke him. He offered his resignation in anger and matthews accepted it at once
