section D

• H division:

  -the division of the metropolitan police responsible for the Whitechapel district

  -run by a superintendent and chief inspector

  -had 27 inspectors and 37 sergeants and around 500 constables and 15 detectives

  -they were overstretched and understaffed so would often turn a blind eye to fights and criminality

  -sometimes H division also carried out social tasks like hosting soup kitchens
• difficulties of policing Whitechapel:

  -high levels of poverty and unemployment meant crime levels were high

  -practical difficulties involved in policing rookeries and narrow alleyways, and courts with poor lighting and multiple entrances/ exits

  -prostitution was common and although not illegal, was seen as a social issue

  -by 1888 it was estimated there were around 62 brothels and 1200 prostitutes

  -women who became prostitutes were vulnerable to assault and rape
• difficulties of policing Whitechapel:

  -abortions were also common, they were illegal but police turned a blind eye -many women died from infection or surgical shock of the abortions -alcoholism was common and gin was cheap -in one mile of Whitechapel there were 45 pubs or gin palaces -there were a number of opium dens -violence was stirred up by gangs like the Odessians from Eastern Europe -gangs would run protection rackets, demanding money from small businesses and smashing their shops -hard to gather evidence to arrest gangs as people were scared to report them
• Whitechapel vigilance committee:

  -businessmen and traders set it up on 10 September 1888 after frustration of the polices failure to solve the Jack the Ripper case

  -they organised their own reward system for the murderer's arrest

  -they took the streets at night, with burning planks of wood, whistles and hob nailed boots trying to make noise

  -some believe they supported the SDF and were secretly trying to undermine the police