The Historical Environment

Question 1

Police recruits for the MET (4)

Answer 1

1. Most from outside of London
2. Good pay attracted them
3. Some had been soldiers but most were labourers/farmers
4. Some issues of absence and drinking on the job
5. Only 1383 were on duty at a time

Question 2

Define ‘beat’ constable

Answer 2

They patrolled a set route of streets to deter criminals from committing crimes

Question 3

Development of Criminal Investigation Unit (3)

Answer 3

1. Set up in 1878
2. Those in the CID were separate from other forces
3. Initially had little success shown by Jack the Ripper murders

Question 4

Commissioner Sir Charles Warren (6)

Answer 4

1. Appointed in 1886
2. Banned a planned unemployment protest in Trafalgar Square
3. He deployed thousands of police and violent clashes followed causing injuries
4. Operation directed from horseback
5. When Jack the Ripper struck Warren ordered an increase in patrols
6. Failure to catch Jack the Ripper cost Warren his job

Question 5

Attitudes towards police (2)

Answer 5

1. They still had some people’s trust but incidents such as Trafalgar square riots made many working class people believe the police were against them
2. Economic depression and ensuing poverty of the period added to hatred of police

Question 6

Housing in Whitechapel

Answer 6

1. Lodging houses - paid nightly fee for a bed and a kitchen. Around a quarter of population of Whitechapel used this accommodation
2. Rookeries - slum areas where most were located; extremely crowded and poor sanitation
3. George Peabody paid for building of 11 blocks of flats in former slum. Peabody estate opened in 1881 and charged reasonable rates

Question 7

Describe workhouses (6)

Answer 7

1. Last resort for the poor
2. Offered bed and food in return for hard labour
3. Conditions deliberately poor and families were split up
4. Inmates wore a uniform
5. Most were elderly, ill, disabled or unmarried mothers
6. After 1880 young orphans were cared for in Barnardo’s homes

Question 8

Describe lack of employment opportunities (3)

Answer 8

1. High unemployment due to economic depression
2. Many women turned to prostitution
3. If you had a job you worked long hours for low pay in factories or built the railways or worked in the dockyards

Question 9

Describe the link between environment and crime (4)

Answer 9

1. Low income levels meant stealing
2. Unreliable work meant lots of spare time leading to alcoholism and violence
3. Overcrowding led to tension between residents often resulting in violence
4. Levels of prostitution meant violence on women

Question 10

Describe tensions with Irish immigrants (3)

Answer 10

1. Poverty meant most could only live in cheap parts of London
2. Most worked as navvies or dockers
3. Reputation of drunk and violent also associated with terrorism such as Fenians who were seen as fanatical terrorists fighting for Ireland’s independence

Question 11

Describe tensions caused by fluctuating population

Answer 11

1. Most accommodation in Whitechapel was temporary meaning many temporary residents who had no interest in fostering any sense of community

Question 12

Describe tensions with Eastern European immigrants (3)

Answer 12

1. Mostly Russian and Polish Jews who fled persecution
2. Poverty meant settling in cheap areas of London
3. Tended to stick together causing segregation

Question 13

Describe tensions with Anarchists and socialists (3)

Answer 13

1. Wave of attempted revolutions and many ended up in London’s East End
2. Movements were anarchism, opposed organised government, and socialism which wanted to end capitalism
3. Both movements feared by authorities but attracted some support from residents of Whitechapel

Question 14

Name 5 resulting tensions…

Answer 14

1. Immigrants and local populations over access to housing and jobs
2. Jewish immigrants accepted lower pay leading to increase of sweatshop system
3. Anti-Semitism and violence rose rapidly
4. Anyone with a foreign accent was suspected of being a violent revolutionary
5. Foreigners blamed for many crimes

Question 15

Describe the work of the H Division… (3)

Answer 15

1. Constables given a set route to patrol
2. Stopped and questioned people
3. Regularly reported to sergeant and everything was recorded in a diary

Question 16

Name 7 problems in policing for the H division

Answer 16

1. The Environment - narrow alleys and crowds made chasing people difficult
2. Gangs - they employed individuals well trained at both stealing and getting away
3. Violent demonstrations - led to disorder and needed a large number of police to control it
4. Prostitution - very few jobs available for women
5. Alcohol - pubs sold strong alcohol at affordable prices so drunkenness could cause violence
6. Protection rackets - gangs demanded protection money to protect businesses
7. Attacks on Jews - due to immigration attacks became common

Question 17

Describe the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee (4)

Answer 17

1. Set up by businessmen due to police lack of progress with ripper murders
2. Offered rewards
3. Patrolled the streets every night
4. Disrupted the police investigation but hampered them due to false leads

Question 18

Describe Investigative Policing Techniques (7)

Answer 18

1. House to house searches
2. Distributing leaflets and appealing for info
3. Follow up clues found at the crime scene
4. Following up evidence from bodies detailed by post mortems and coroners reports
5. Detailed annotated sketches of crime scene and photographs taken
6. Setting up soup kitchens to encourage the poor to come forwards
7. Interviewing witnesses or suspects

Question 19

Name 2 improvements after 1888

Answer 19

1. Met introduced Bertillon system of taking measurements and photographs and suspects and keeping records to be shared
2. Introduction of telephones improved the speed of police communications

Question 20

Describe the media (3)

Answer 20

1. Attracted hoax letters and thousands of theories that all had to be investigated
2. Stirred up racial hatred leading to more violence
3. Added to pressure on police by criticising the investigation

Question 21

Describe Jack the Ripper (3)

Answer 21

1. % women were strangled and mutilated in Whitechapel
2. Murderer known as Jack the Ripper as name use don some letters sent to the police
3. To this day the murderer has never been discovered