The national and regional context of policing Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

Who was Sir Charles Warren?

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, 1886–88; criticised for mistakes such as ordering a chalk message on a wall in Goulston Street to be washed off before it was photographed, and he resigned in 1888.

What was the Home Secretary's role in policing?

The government minister responsible for the Metropolitan Police; he appointed the Commissioner, and in 1888 refused to offer a reward for information on the Ripper.

Why was the CID set up in 1878?

The 1877 'Trial of the Detectives' showed that senior Scotland Yard detectives had taken bribes, so the Detective Branch was replaced by the Criminal Investigation Department under Howard Vincent.

Give one problem with the quality of Metropolitan Police recruits in the 1880s.

Many were new and inexperienced and had little local knowledge of Whitechapel's streets and criminals.

True or false? The public in the 1880s generally saw the Metropolitan Police as efficient and respected.

False. Many, especially in poor areas and in the press, mocked the police as incompetent, particularly after the Ripper murders.

What happened on 'Bloody Sunday', 13 November 1887?

Sir Charles Warren banned a protest in Trafalgar Square; police backed by soldiers broke it up, many were injured, and working-class Londoners grew more hostile to the Met.

Why was the Metropolitan Police stretched thin in the 1880s?

In 1885 it had only about 13,000 officers for a city of over five million, and only around 1,400 were on duty at any one time.