Investigative policing and the Ripper murders Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

Who was Inspector Frederick Abberline?

A Scotland Yard (CID) inspector who had served in H Division, sent back to Whitechapel to lead the detectives on the ground in the Ripper investigation.

What was the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee?

A volunteer group of local shopkeepers and property owners formed in 1888, led by George Lusk, to protect the area during the Ripper murders.

What did the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee do when the government refused to offer a reward?

It put up its own reward for information, and paid unemployed men to patrol the streets at night.

Give two investigative techniques used by detectives in the Ripper investigation.

Any two of: sketches, photographs of crime scenes and victims, interviewing witnesses house to house, post-mortem evidence, bloodhounds, police in disguise.

Why did the Ripper murders cause problems of cooperation between police forces?

The crimes fell in different areas, so the Metropolitan Police had to work with the City of London Police, and information was not always shared.

Give one way media reporting hindered the hunt for Jack the Ripper.

Sensational newspaper reporting spread panic and false leads, such as publishing hoax letters, and increased pressure on the police.

True or false? The police used fingerprint evidence in the Ripper investigation.

False. British police did not use fingerprinting until Scotland Yard set up its Fingerprint Bureau in 1901.