policing

• H division

  • The Met divided into 20 divisions = each was responsible for policing a different area of London

  H division = responsible for the policing of Whitechapel

  • Run by a superintendent and a chief inspector + a hierarchy of policeman working under them
  • 1885 = run by a superintendent, a chief inspector, 27 inspectors and 37 sergeants
  • The sergeants supervised around 500 constables, who went out on the beat
  • The number of police in the H Division went up and down
  • 1888= there were 575 police officers, including constables and detectives, for the population of about 37,000 
• Leman street police station


  • main station for H division and the Whitechapel area
  • most records of this police station have not survived
  • 1881 census = two sergeants, 42 police constables and six prisoners staying there on the night of the census
• The most common type of crime that H Division constables would have dealt with was disorderly behaviour. This would have been closely followed by crimes against property, such as theft or fraud, and crimes of violence.
• role of the beat constable

  • prevent crime by being an obvious presence on the streets of Whitechapel, and to arrest those who commit a crime
• beat constable uniform

  1. Woollen trousers and a deep blue-black jacket with shiny buttons
  2. Custodian helmet, designed to deflect a downward blow to the side
  3. A truncheon, which a constable could use to defend himself from attack
  4. Handcuffs
  5. An oil-fired bull’s-eye lamp, which gave out heat as well as light to keep the constable warm and allow him to creep up on suspected criminals by hiding behind the flame
  6. A black and white stripped armband to show they were on duty
• what a beat constable would do

  • patrol a specific area - usually alone
  • walks a specific route given by the sergeant = in the day the route takes around 30 minutes, at night took 15 minutes
  • beat constable expected to know the route as well as shops, warehouses, pubs, alleyways and yards that led off their route
• the constable's instructions

  • expected to reach specific places at certain times so that his sergeant can meet him and contact him when necessary
  • precise instructions on the speed + nature of their walking = including walking at a gentle pace, walking close to houses at night and keeping to the kerb side of the pavement during the day
  • before going out on duty the constable would study a list of wanted criminals or crimes that had occurred before the shift
• • if a constable was away from his route or a crime happened in his route which he missed he can be fined or dismissed if he doesn't have a good enough explanation
• development of the CID

  • the detectives worked in local divisions so that they knew their area well and the people well

  day-to-day work of the detectives =

  1. working in plain clothes so that they could follow suspects
  2. looking out for criminals who repeatedly committed a crime
  3. supervising criminals who had been released from prison early for good behaviour
  4. observing and gathering information from their divisions
• difficulties with policing in Whitechapel

  • slums
  • alcohol
  • prostitution
  • gangs
  • immigration
  • attacks on Jewish people
• slums


  • densely packed rookeries
  • dark and unlit alleyways + yards
  • criminals could watch for victims and quickly hide after
• alcohol

  • caused some people to become more vulnerable to becoming victims of crime
  • made disputes worse = lead to violence
  • also 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
• prostitution

  • not an actual crime itself
  • women often resorted to this when in need of money unable to work or forced by someone else or even alcoholism
  • regarded as a social problem that needed to be monitored
  • made women more vulnerable crime = violent attacks or rape
  • not stable or safe work = women may have to resort of petty crimes such as theft
  • no available contraception = backstreet abortions are more common = Women often died from surgical shock or infection
• attitudes to prostitution

  • Victorians tended to see women as 'unfortunate' + were not sympathetic towards them
  • police didn't aid the women either
  • the police usually turned a blind eye to their plight
  • some did recognise that the alternate to prostitution was starvation
  • 1888 = it was estimated that there were 62 brothels and 1,200 sex workers in Whitechapel
• Gangs

  • Well-organised gangs developed that were involved in illegal pubs and unlicensed boxing matches
  • gangs like Bessarabian Tigers and Odessians formed a protection rackets = took money from people in return for protecting them from attacks
  • if people refused to pay they would have their shops/ market stalls destroyed
  • Gangs and protection rackets preyed on immigrants
  • already wary of the police and rarely reported crimes due to language or cultural barriers
  • H Division was undermanned, there was no attempt to shut down fights or gangs’ criminal activities
• immigration

  • The presence of migrants caused tension in Whitechapel
  • many stories in newspapers accusing them off criminals activities
  • police constables also had to respond to Jewish migrants about their complaints about how they received low wages for the long wages they worked
  • protests caused problems for the police, who arrested the leaders on some occasions after violence had occurred
• attacks on Jewish people

  Anti-Semitism and suspicion made life hard for Jewish people living in Whitechapel.

  • racially characterised as greedy and dishonest
  • newspapers reported stories about attacks on Jewish migrants and crimes carried out against them
  • Jewish migrants spoke Yiddish = hard for them to communicate with the people of Whitechapel
  • Jewish migrants didn't trust the police because of how they've been treated by the police in Eastern Europe or the Russian Empire
  • tried to prevent and resolve their own problems within their own communities
• views towards the police

  • the police were viewed more negatively than in other areas of London because of the poverty
  • often attacked by gangs = seen as the upholders of unpopular government decisions
  • public protests = often the police who were attacked
  • economic depression hit East London in the 1870s and 1880s = protests = police called to calm the situation down = police attacked because they were seen as instruments of the government's decisions
  • some people recognised the good work of the H Division police in providing soup kitchens and looking after homeless or stray children