Whitechapel

Question 1

What was Whitechapel like during the 19th century?

Answer 1

It was an inner city of poverty

Question 2

What were ‘rookeries’?

Answer 2

An area filled with lodging houses in which some of the poorest people lived in terrible overcrowded conditions

Question 3

What’s a doss house?

Answer 3

A lodging where you pay a small fee to say for the night. It cost 4p. It was cheaper if you wanted to sleep on a rope

Question 4

What was the ten bells pub?

Answer 4

It was a pub which is popular for stop off points by prostitutes looking for work or thieves and robbers. Mary Kelly, the last victim of Jack the Ripper, drank at this pub the evening she was killed

Question 5

Who was Charles booth?

Answer 5

A person who set up sociological research projects in Whitechapel to explore poverty, living conditions and religions across the area.

Question 6

What was flower and dean street?

Answer 6

It was well known rookery, having a reputation for thieves, drunkards and prostitutes. It was seen as a vicious criminal area in the booth maps.

Question 7

What was the purpose of a workhouse?

Answer 7

People who were unable to afford a bed for the night or unable to work, go here for shelter

Question 8

Why were people reluctant to go?

Answer 8

There were strict rules on what people ate, how they worked, the time they went to bed and got up, families were segregated and weren’t allowed to talk to each other, parents were allowed to see their children once a day.

Question 9

What would you usually do in a casual ward?

Answer 9

Pick apart oakum, work in the kitchens or clean the workhouse. This was since otherwise people would be tempted to stay at the workhouse at the taxpayer’s expense

Question 10

What was the Peabody Estate?

Answer 10

A rookery in which the death rate is more than 50 in 1000. It was developed by a wealthy banker in 1879 but it proved too expensive for normal people there so increased overcrowding elsewhere

Question 11

Why were Victorians afraid of crime? (1)

Answer 11

A criminal underclass- natural criminals who were born to commit crime
Lodging houses and pubs-unhealthy and overcrowding conditions would spread criminal behaviour
Alcohol- gave a rise to drunkenly disorderedness and committing crimes. Also could affect making people victims of crime like Jack the ripper in which the women were drunk.

Question 12

Why were Victorians afraid of crime? (2)

Answer 12

Immigration- high numbers of Irish and especially Jews. Jews found it hard to integrate due to language barriers and cultural factors. They had to work for Jewish employers making them more segregated and a target for prejudice.
Politics- Irish nationalism increased terrorist attacks and Jewish people brought radical political beliefs such as socialism and anarchism

Question 13

Why were Victorians afraid of crime? (3)

Answer 13

Schemes to improve conditions were hard as it could make the situation worse due to expenses

Question 14

What was the public attitude towards the Metropolitan Police

Answer 14

Many people were worried that a centrally controlled police force by the government could control people’s lives.

Question 15

Why did Commissioner Edmund Henderson resign?

Answer 15

He was involved with a number of scandals such as the trial of detectives (1877), failing to stop Fenian bombings in 1884 and 85 and failed to stop a riot in Trafalgar Sqare

Question 16

Why did Charles Warren resign?

Answer 16

Even though he raised standards, people were worried he was trying to make the police like a military force and in Nov 1887, put down a protest in Trafalgar Square with excessive force. Also criticised the government in an article, which had not been approved by the Home Secretary and made it seem like it criticised him

Question 17

Where were police recruits recruited?

Answer 17

Scotland Yard

Question 18

What were the requirements for police officer applicants?

Answer 18

Must be older than 21, younger than 32
Must be at least 5”9
Must not have more than 2 children
Must not have any trade and partner must not have trade too 
Must be literate 
Must be physically fit

Question 19

Who were the police recruits?

Answer 19

31%- people from country side

12%- from military

Question 20

Benefits of being a policeman

Answer 20

Steady job at an age where poorly paid work was common
Pension after 30 years
Sports clubs were set up

Question 21

What was the H division?

Answer 21

Police division which covers Whitechapel

Question 22

What was Leman Street Police Station?

Answer 22

Main H division police station

Can be used for census returns

Question 23

What was the Thames police court?

Answer 23

The court for the whole area of Whitechapel.

Shows number of cases for each type of crime and what Constable’s did as a part of their work.

Question 24

What was a constable’s equipment

Answer 24

Truncheon, blue black uniform, oil lamp, helmet

Question 25

What was the beat?

Answer 25

Patrols in which Constables took and was very specific and timing and routes. It was the main method to prevent crime.

Question 26

Characteristics of the beat

Answer 26

At the day it lasted 30 min, at night 15 min
Each shift would last 9 hours, usually travelled alone, expected to know surroundings and would switch the beat every month to prevent corruption.

Question 27

Disadvantages of the beat

Answer 27

Easily predictable and criminals can work out the route and Constables had to check premises at night and criminals can escape but can easily be prevented by leaving strips of paper in doors so if opened, policemen will know if criminals have escaped

Question 28

What was the CID?

Answer 28

Division of detectives to detect crime.

Question 29

Routine of detectives

Answer 29

They work in plain clothes and shadow suspects and follow or arrest them. They would receive a report every day from a chief inspector on unsolved crimes and ongoing investigations, they also observed and gather information but were limited by technology

Question 30

Problems policing Whitechapel

Answer 30

Layout of street and the buildings themselves made it hard, alcohol made people vulnerable to crime, making sure pubs obey the rules, well organised gangs and immigrants as it proved hard to communicate with them (Jews)

Question 31

Methods to catch the Ripper (1)

Answer 31

Careful observations- keep a note of the scene so would help solving the crime and finding the criminal
Photography and sketches- the MET made limited use of photography, city of London used it more. Some sketches were used such as the body of Mary Kelly

Question 32

Methods to catch the Ripper (2)

Answer 32

Autopsy-examination of body, used in Lucy Fisher and Elizabeth stride to identity the timing and method of killing.
Interviews-asked local public for any clues, didn’t help as it didn’t lead to anything
Identification techniques-take notes of suspects given by witnesses but were unreliable as they could be fake

Question 33

How did the press make it difficult for the police?

Answer 33

Sensationalism-mislead people and led more people making up stories
Ruining the reputation of the police- harming methods planned which could have helped such as using bloodhounds
Ripper letters- misleading police, wasting more time
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee-ruined reputation of police

Question 34

Did City and MET police work well together?

Answer 34

They worked very well together, increased manpower, cooperation and H division learnt a lot from the city from new techniques. However there was tension after the double murder as Warren washed away the anti Semitic graffiti due to a new potential riot which caused problems.