Paper 1A: Whitechapel c1870-c1900 Crime, Policing and the Inner City Flashcards
Define the following:
Rookery (1)
Brothels (1)
Sweated Trades (2)
Workhouses (2)
Rookery - slum area of whitechapel
Brothels - prostitution houses
Sweated trades - hard labour houses for long hours with little pay (would be last resort for many)
Workhouses - hard labour for accommodation and basic necessities
Describe 2 features of WhiteChapel between c1870-c1900 (4)
One feature of Whitechapel is the poor sanitation of the streets. Since many people needed to sleep in shifts in temporary accomodation, there was little to no maintenence in the accommodations; people discarded their faeces on the streets as there was no suitable sewage system and no one regulated public cleanliness.
Another feature of Whitechapel was that it was extremely polluted. With the industrialisation of England, the smoke from the factories would end up in the streets of Whitechapel which would create a dense smog that could result in many breathing difficulties and overall health probems.
Could Mention: Rookeries
Explain the Artisans Dwelling Act 1975 (2)
-landlords had to mainatin high standard of housing e.g. ventialtion
- allowed local authorities to demolish slums if not up to standards
Explain why lodging houses were needed (2)
Many families had unstable income so they could only afford a shift-bed system. Due to the overcrowding, there was no housing situation for many; mutiple families had to share one singular room and some even slept in the ‘gardens’
Explain why crime rates were high in Whitechapel (12)
Talk about:
Prostitution
Alchoholism
Unemployment
Workhouses
Overcrowding
Orphans
Prostitution was a necessity for some women who relied on this as their income so the police was met with great hostility when trying to enforce this. Many women would also be vulnerable from assault or rape on the streets.
Alcoholism was very common since it was cheaper than clean water and people needed to drown their sorrows from the hard labour they do and their overall quality of life. The Alcohol would lead to disorderly behaviour and crime e.g rape
Unemployment had increased due to immigration increasing the already critical overcrowding and so many were left without jobs, resulting to crime out of necessity
Workouses were insufficiently providing basic necessities for the workers so they resulted to crime out of necessity
Overcrowding led to petty theft and also high unemployment
Orphans had to fend for themselves and so that led to petty theft
Explain 2 features of Irish Immigration in Whitechapel (4)
One feature of Irish immigration was that they were alcoholics. The labour they had to do every day in the sweated trades made them resort to alcohol due to the quality of their lives which in turn, made them disorderly on the streets. Their behaviour increased the tension between the community.
Another feature of Irish Immigration was that they were seen as suspicous. Due to terrorist groups such as the Fenians, they increased the fear within the community because of their violent motives which led to increased hate crime toward the Irish. This led to an increase in hate crime.
Describe how tensions rose concerning immigration in Whitechapel (6)
- Many of the Irish were seen as suspicious due to the Fenians so hate crime increased
- Jews were blamed for assassination of Tsar Alexander in Russia which increased hate crime
- Newspapers portrayed Jack the Ripper as a caricature of an Irish Jew e.g the ‘Observer’
- High levels of unemployment
- Conflicting cultures
What was the role of the H division of the Met Police and how did attitudes of them differ between classes? (6)
The H division patrolled WC
- Upper classes ridiculed them since they were seen as unintimidating and ineffective
- They were busybodies
- The lower classes resented them for enforcing prostitution since many relied on that source of income
- They seemed to care more about enforcing good manners at the expense of their safety
- They had a reputation for violence and heavy handedness
State the Criticisms of the Met police in Whitechapel (5)
- They were seen as busybodies trying to enforce good manners at the expense of their safety
- They only carried a Truncheon which was really ineffective since criminals had more dangerous weapons
- Reputation for violence and heavy handedness
- People were afraid to report protection rackets as they may be put in danger which meant that they weren’t doing thier jobs properly
Explain, in detail, the factors that made it difficult to enforce the law (four)
Prostitution was a source of income many women relied on and so the police was met with great hostility when enforcing this.
Protection rackets were when a gang will demand money from small businesses at the threat of ransacking them. No one would report them as they would be in danger too.
Alchoholism was widespread and highly indulged in so the disorderly behaviour that was caused by this would be difficult to enforce
Overcrowing meant that many crimes were undsicovered and many of the criminals could easily hide from the police
State the advantages and disadvantage of Police & Court Records as a source (3)
They can be misleading since many people may not report incidents
Can give a local perspective on crime
State the advantages and disadvantages of Memoirs as a source (3)
They are unreliable since memoirs are altered versions of the people to make them look good in the public eye
They could be written a long time after an event and so would be inaccurate
Allow for detailed, personal accounts
State the advantages and disadvantages of Media as a source (two)
Media is mainly sensationalised rather than fact - one sided
Can express societal views of the time
Explain the sources the Police followed up: (4)
- Following up leads
- Lunatic asylums
- Soup kitchens
- Journalist theories
Following up leads - Police found common items with the victims whereby, they went to jewlerry shops of pawnbrokers to track the items
Lunatic asylums - It was believed JTR either broke out of a lunatic asylum or was put in one after his crimes
Soup kitchens - Police used this as an incentive for the poor to come out as witnesses in turn for a hot meal
Journalist theories - Most of the theories they had was guesswork which made the police waste valuable time following up on them e.g. a person going by the name ‘Leather apron’ was believed to be the killer but later proved wrong
Explain the criticisms of the investigation: (3)
- Sensationalised media
- Lack of forensic techniques
- Police force rivalries (+destroying evidence)
Media - The media sensationalised their findings, raising fear in the public but also making the police waste their time on journalist guesswork
Forensics - Due to not yet discovering DNA, fingerprints could not be traced nor blood samples. We could not yet tell the difference between animal and human blood. This made evidence scarce and insufficint. You would have had to catch the criminal red handed
Rivalry - The Met Police and the City of London Police forces had a rivalry between them which meant that they destroyed valuable evidence so that they uncovered JTR first e.g. Commsioner Charles Waren ordered the destruction of the graffiti
