ripper case

• In what year were five women murdered in Whitechapel?

  1888
• The problem of police force rivalry?

   short time after Catherine Eddowes' body, P discovered e piece of Eddowes' apron withblood. there was a message scrawled in chalk on the wall: 'The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing’. Commissioner Warren ordered to wash off before photographed, fearing Jewish community.may have ordered for it to be washed off as Eddowes was killed inside boundaries of London, which had its own police force, did not want to be beaten to the capture of a serial killer by a rival police force.

  • rivalry between forces was a big problem
• The police investigation

   There was much criticism of the police, especially as emotions ran high after a double murder on the 30th September. So Chief Inspector Swanson made a Home Office report on Metropolitan Police methods : house-to-house searches, questioning more than 2000 lodging house residents,

  The press heavily interfered with the investigation publishing stories based on the guesswork of journalists and unreliable interviews. The police would then have to read these stories wasting time. press was highly critical of the police.
• Obstacles to police success: Lack of forensic techniques -

  ithout basic forensic techniques, the police's chances of success were severely limited. It would be another 12 years before fingerprinting was used to detect criminals. DNA evidence only began to be used in the later part of the 20th century. Scientists could not yet detect the difference between animal blood and human blood. Crime-scene photography was only just beginning to be used to record evidence.
• The Vigilance Committee -

   This seriously disrupted police efforts. Organised by the local community, the committee took to the streets night after night with burning planks of wood and whistles in the vain attempt that they would catch the Ripper. The leader, George Lusk received letters hoax letters claiming to be from The Ripper. The vigilance committee damaged the police investigation as the public were confused about where to report leads and crucial evidence was not passed on to the police.