Whitechapel Flashcards
what was the main police station in Whitechapel called
Leman Street Police Station was the main station for H Division and the Whitechapel area.
what was a beat constable
Regular on-foot patrol by each police officer around a set area of Whitechapel;
Police had a truncheon, handcuffs, a whistle, a lamp, and their note book;
Constables kept records in their beat diaries and regularly met and discussed
events with their sergeant;
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Focus on observation, stopping and questioning and chasing and apprehending suspected criminals.
why was alcohol a problem for police in Whitechapel
Alcohol caused some people to become more vulnerable to becoming victims of crime.
Alcohol also made disputes worse, leading to violence. Moreover, it caused problems for police constables who were trying to obtain formation about a crime from drunk witnesses and victims.
Very strong drink was available to all but the very poorest people, and there were 45 pubs and gins houses in Whitechapel - one on almost every street corner.
what is corruption
a dishonest behaviour done by those in positions of power such as managers or government officials.
what is incompetence?
in 1881, Whitechapel’s 30,709 people lived in 4,069 houses - on average 7.5 in each;
what was housing like in Whitechapel
Much of Whitechapel contained slum housing (also known as “rookeries”);
Houses were divided into several apartments sometimes with 30 people in
each house;
In 1881, Whitechapel’s 30,709 people lived in 4,069 houses - on average 7.5 in
each;
Whitechapel’s population density was 189 per acre compared to 45 in
London as a whole.
what was the CID
The Metropolitan Police also had a detective force, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) with 294 detectives in 1883;
The CID was set up in 1878 by Howard Vincent after the ‘Trial of the Detectives’ (1877) which exposed corruption in the previous detective force.
what was the h division
Whitechapel was the H-Division of the Metropolitan Police;
It was run by a Superintendent, a Chief Inspector, 27 Inspectors, 37 Sergeants
and around 500 Constables;
There were 15 CID detectives attached to the Whitechapel H-Division;
This force was responsible for policing 176,000 people among the poorest
areas of London;
There was a police to population ratio of 1:300 in Whitechapel compared to
1:390 for the whole of London (but there was far more crime in Whitechapel).
when and who were the victims of the Jack the Ripper murders
31 August, 1888: Mary Ann “Polly” Nicholas – Buck’s Row, Whitechapel
8 September, 1888: Annie Chapman – 29 Hanbury Street, Whitechapel
30 September, 1888: Elizabeth Stride – Dutfield’s Yard, Berners Street,
Whitechapel
30 September, 1888: Catherine Eddowes - Mitre Square, Aldgate, City of
London
9 November, 1888: Mary Kelly – 13 Miller’s Court, Dorset Street, Whitechapel
what were the problems the media caused for the police after the Jack the Ripper murders.
The police and the media.
300 letters and postcards sent to police or newspapers by men
claiming to be the murderer. Most famously, “Dear Boss” (first using the
name Jack the Ripper);
Hostility from the press including rubbishing police leadership, officers
and methods by respectable (The Times) and popular (e.g. Illustrated
Police News) newspapers.
when was fingerprinting first used
after 1900 so not in the Jack the Ripper murders
why was blood and dna not an option in the investigation of the jack the ripper murders
Blood and DNA: DNA evidence only used from late C.20th. Scientists could not tell difference between human and animal blood, let alone blood groups.
why were witnesses relied on but not always helpful in the Jack the Ripper murders
o The lack of forensic techniques (see below) meant that the police
were forced to rely on eye-witnesses.
o Eye-witness evidence was generally lacking and, where available,
vague, for example, George Hutchinson’s statement regarding the man he thought he saw Kelly just before her murder, and Matthew Parker’s vague identification of a man in the vicinity.
what is the census
The census was taken every 10 years (1871, 1881, etc.) It is an official government document which is designed to record details about the whole of Britain’s population. Forms were sent to each address, help was provided where needed and there were punishments for inaccurate or incomplete information. The census records every address (including workhouses and lodging houses) and the names, ages, relationship (husband, wife, son, daughter, etc.) and employment of every person. The records can give evidence of, for example, overcrowding.
why were the differences between the different newspapers
Press reports – particularly from higher-class publications like The Times - may contain comprehensive, objective, accurate and typical evidence. On the other hand, particularly in more popular journals such as the Illustrated Police News and the East End Observer, there is a tendency to sensationalise and exaggerate to get attention and increase sales.
what were some problems with policing in Whitechapel §
Whitechapelhadaterriblereputationforhighlevelsofcrime(muchof
it linked to levels of poverty and unemployment);
o Crime was made easier, and policing more difficult, by the maze of
badly lit alleyways and courtyards with multiple entrances and exits; o Immigrantculturalandlanguagebarriers,plusprejudiceagainst
immigrants, added to policing problems;
o Someareas,suchasEwerStreet,weresodangerousthatthepolice
wouldn’t go there.
why was homelessness a problem for people in Whitechapel
Homelessness:
There were “lodging houses” / “doss houses” where homeless people could
sleep in 8-hour shifts:
Terrible unhygienic conditions including heat, rats and shared beds
(dirty, unhygienic bedding, etc.);
200 lodging houses catering for 8,000 people.
what is an example of a place in Whitechapel where homelessness and crime were a big problem
1871 census: 902 lodgers in 31 doss houses.
1871 Board of Works Report: 38 houses, 143 rooms, 298 people including
evidence of overcrowding and buildings in dilapidated condition.
Narrow yards, dilapidated houses, very cramped rooms, poor sewerage.
Terrible reputation for prostitution, thieves and violent crime.
(Modern police profiling of the crimes suggest that, along with two of his
victims, the Ripper probably lived on Flower and Dean Street.
where was a place where housing was moving forward in Whitechapel
Modelhousing–thePeabodyEstate:
Artisan’s Dwellings Act, 1875, encouraged slum clearance.
1881, George Peabody funded slum clearance and the creation of 286 flats
in the Peabody Estate.
Rents were from 3 to 6 shillings for 1 and 3-room flats respectively (average
labourer income was 22 shillings).
why was there division between some people and the jewish community in Whitechapel
Massive Jewish immigration from Russia to Whitechapel occurred in the
1880s.
o Hostility to the Jewish immigrants:
The Jewish immigrants had a reputation for being a separate un-British, unintegrated community. This was based on physical looks, clothing, language, religion, culture and the fact that they tended to live in their own separate communities;
Jewish immigrants were unpopular for their business success and business practices such as running sweatshops, paying low wages and, therefore, being able to undercut British businesses;
The Jews were also unpopular due to their supposed link to radical socialist and anarchist political groups.
Links to immigration:
o Therewassignificantprejudiceagainstimmigrantgroups.This
frequently, as in the Ripper murders, led to press (e.g. Illustrated Police News) and public pressure on the police to focus their attention on immigrants as suspected criminals (e.g. Leather Apron / John Pizer);
o Irishimmigrantshadareputationfordrunkennessandviolentcrime including terrorism (Fenian link);
o Jewishimmigrantshadareputationforgangs,immoralpractices,and radical political links (Anarchism and Socialism).
what were the slums in Whitechapel known as
rookeries were common in the slum areas of Whitechapel. They were areas filled with lodging houses, where very poor people stayed in overcrowded conditions
what were lodging houses or doss houses
individuals could sleep in dormitory style bunks paying a few penny’s a night. Lodgers could pay less if they were upright and leaning over a rope
were there Irish immigrants in Whitechapel
Yes. Irish migrants had been settling in Whitechapel since the 1840s and by c.1870 there were well-established Irish lodging houses. It was mostly Irish workers who were employed at the docks as ‘navvies’ (navigators); doing labouring jobs on canals, railways and roads; or working as dockers on the Thames. They were characterised as being drunk and violent.
did some jewish immigrants bring over ideas of socialism
Some Jewish migrants brought the idea of socialism to London with them and set up socialist organisations such as the International Working Men’s Educational Club and a newspaper, Worker’s Friend, in Whitechapel.
