Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2024
First exams 2026
Why Couldn't the Police Catch 'Jack the Ripper'? (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Natasha Smith
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
What Lessons did the Police Learn From the Whitechapel Murders? - Summary
The failure of the police to catch 'Jack the Ripper' led to a thorough review of the practices of the Metropolitan Police. The Met did not have a centralised criminal database. This impacted the ability of the police to narrow down potential suspects in the Whitechapel murders. In 1894, the Met adopted the Bertillon System of record-keeping. The Bertillon System took measurements of a suspect, captured their mug shot and stored this information in a central file. A decade later, the police also took fingerprints to add to this file. This helped the police catch repeat offenders. In the Whitechapel murders, constables could only signal for assistance by a whistle. H Division received a telephone line to Scotland Yard in 1901. Instead of being on foot, the Met equipped their constables with bicycles in 1909. While this lagged behind some local police forces, it still improved the communication systems at the Metropolitan Police. Whitechapel remained a dangerous part of London. Despite acts that improved public health and housing in the area, the 1890s saw an increase in burglaries and crime against prostitutes. Murder still occurred throughout the 1890s. The legacy of 'Jack the Ripper' remained in Whitechapel. |
Rivalry between Police Forces in the Whitechapel Murders
In 1888, there was a strong rivalry between the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police
The London City Police was formed in 1832
It changed its name to the City of London Police in 1839
In the 1830s, the Met put pressure on the government to force the City of London Police to merge with them
The City of London Police only covered an area of roughly 1 square mile of London. Its boundaries fell inside the Metropolitan Police's zone of London
The government allowed the City of London Police to function independently from the Met. This is because:
It was a wealthy and powerful area of London and the government needed the support of the City of London's residents
It had a strong pride in its local police force
How did police rivalry affect the investigation into the Whitechapel murders?
Historians have suggested two reasons why Commissioner Warren removed the writing from Goulston Street:
Whitechapel was experiencing strong anti-semitism during the Whitechapel murders. Warren did not want the photograph to cause more aggression between the Jewish community and other nationalities in Whitechapel
Competition with the City of London Police. Commissioner Warren removed a clue in Eddowes' murder. He hoped that this would give the Met an advantage in their investigations over the City of London Police
The rivalry between the two London police forces took the focus away from catching 'Jack the Ripper'
The Problems of Media Sensationalism in the Whitechapel Murders
The newspapers made investigating the Whitechapel murders a lot harder for the police. The newspapers in 1888:
Published factually incorrect statements about the murders
Encouraged anti-semitism by suggesting the murderer was a Jewish person
Created hysteria in Whitechapel, increasing the public's fear
The large amount of publicity disrupted the police investigation
The newspapers' constant reporting encouraged hoaxes
This spread misinformation about the murders
The Metropolitan Police assigned Inspector Frederick Abberline from the CID to the case. His role was to assist H Division in catching 'Jack the Ripper'
Abberline received over 300 letters and postcards from people claiming to be 'Jack'
The police published some of these letters, like the 'Dear Boss' letter. They hoped that someone would recognise the handwriting
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You can use newspapers like the Illustrated Police News as sources of evidence for a 'How would you follow up...' question in the Crime and Punishment exam paper. Newspapers are useful to historians because they show us the zeitgeist (or mood of the time) in Whitechapel. The example above shows how scared people were during the Whitechapel murders. There are serious limitations to this style of source. Newspapers like the Illustrated Police News were called 'Penny Dreadfuls.' They cost a penny, which was affordable to most people. They focused on the most shocking or disgraceful stories to appeal to the masses. As a result, the information in them is often incorrect or exaggerated.
The Lack of Forensic Science
Key developments in forensics happened after the Whitechapel murders
What technology did the Metropolitan Police not have access to in 1888?
Technology | How many years after the 'Jack the Ripper' murders was this available to the police? |
|---|---|
Fingerprinting | 12 years |
DNA | 98 years |
Blood types | 27 years |
A database of mug shots | c10 years |
Tape-lift method | c70 years |
How was a lack of forensics an issue in the Whitechapel murders?
The Met had virtually no scientific methods to help them discover 'Jack the Ripper'
The only chance of getting a prosecution was catching the murderer in the act of killing
Did the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee Help or Hinder the Whitechapel Murders Investigation?
The Whitechapel community became frustrated at the police's attempts to catch 'Jack the Ripper'
They did not understand why the police would not offer financial rewards for providing information that led to an arrest
A group of Whitechapel businessmen created the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee on 10th September 1888
This was a reaction to the murder of Mary Ann Nichols
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee:
Organised its own reward system
Employed two detectives focused on the 'Jack the Ripper' case
Created as much attention as possible at night
Members of the committee walked the streets with hob-nail boots, whistles and burning planks of wood
Government reaction to the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
How genuine were the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee's intentions?
Some historians believe that the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee wanted to catch the murderer
They used their own money to fund rewards for information and pay for the detectives
They patrolled the streets at night showing their dedication
Worked Example
Study Source B.
How could you follow up Source B to find out more about the failure of the police to catch Jack the Ripper?
In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use
4 marks
Source B: From a report in the East London Advertiser newspaper, published on 15th September 1888. The writer is commenting on Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Charles Warren's decision to bring in soldiers to help police Whitechapel "The double stupidity of weakening his detective force and strengthening his ordinary police force from reserves and military destroys two safeguards of a community. It deprives it of a specially trained force of men with brainpower specially adapted for detective work and it takes away the old community constable, to be replaced by a man with a few years' military service, but with no qualification for serving the public. Nothing has indeed been more characteristic of the hunt for the Whitechapel murderer than the lack of local knowledge displayed by the police". |
Answers:
Detail in Source A that I would follow up: "the lack of local knowledge displayed by the police" (1)
Question I would ask: Did any soldiers recruited by the Metropolitan Police have local knowledge of the Whitechapel area? (1)
What type of source I would look for: The Metropolitan Police's records of the soldiers assisting H Division in September 1888 and the army records from this period (1)
How this might help answer my question: The Metropolitan Police's records would show the names of the soldiers and the army records would show me where the soldiers came from. This would indicate how many soldiers came from Whitechapel or the surrounding area and would have local knowledge (1)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When answering the "How could you follow up..." question on a written source, ensure you use a quote for the "Detail in Source" section of your answer. This shows the examiner the specific section of the source that you are referring to. In addition, make sure your question matches the source you have chosen. In the worked example, you can see the quote has highlighted the 'lack of local knowledge'. This detail is then the main focus of the 'Question I would ask' section of the answer.
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