Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper: Turning a Modern Eye Toward an Old Investigation
Daryl R. Cozart http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-cozart.html Of the volumes that have been written about Jack the Ripper and the literal death grip he held over the City of London, very little has focused on the efforts of the police and investigators who were obligated to capture the villain and end the reign of terror. With the exception of some short biographies of the primary police personnel and the constant attention given to the error made by Sir Charles Warren in erasing the Goulston Street writings, not much effort has been spent on the over-all police effort from a law enforcement/investigative standpoint.
Contrary to popular belief (both in 1888 and present) the officers of the Metropolitan Police and City Police were not complete idiots. There is a vision of officers running around like Keystone Cops unable to catch a stray cat, much less a heinous serial killer. The only reason this image has persisted is that they did not apprehend Jack the Ripper. However, some understanding must be had as to the position Jack put the police in. Many of the police at the time had years of experience as beat officers or as investigators. Working in such a heavily populated area as London, these officers had seen just about every type of vice, crime and depravity known to exist. They certainly were not strangers to death and murder. During the mid to late 1880's, there was a frequent stream of bodies found in alley's, floating in the Thames and cries of "murder" in the night. Some of the officers in Whitechapel in the fall of 1888 may have been recently assigned, but most police will tell you that crime is the same everywhere.
What the police were not as thoroughly experienced with was murder without any obvious motive. A robbery gone bad or a jealous husband killing his wife's suitor would have been understandable. Likewise, if Polly Nichols had died as a result of cheating a
Daryl R. Cozart http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-cozart.html Of the volumes that have been written about Jack the Ripper and the literal death grip he held over the City of London, very little has focused on the efforts of the police and investigators who were obligated to capture the villain and end the reign of terror. With the exception of some short biographies of the primary police personnel and the constant attention given to the error made by Sir Charles Warren in erasing the Goulston Street writings, not much effort has been spent on the over-all police effort from a law enforcement/investigative standpoint.
Contrary to popular belief (both in 1888 and present) the officers of the Metropolitan Police and City Police were not complete idiots. There is a vision of officers running around like Keystone Cops unable to catch a stray cat, much less a heinous serial killer. The only reason this image has persisted is that they did not apprehend Jack the Ripper. However, some understanding must be had as to the position Jack put the police in. Many of the police at the time had years of experience as beat officers or as investigators. Working in such a heavily populated area as London, these officers had seen just about every type of vice, crime and depravity known to exist. They certainly were not strangers to death and murder. During the mid to late 1880's, there was a frequent stream of bodies found in alley's, floating in the Thames and cries of "murder" in the night. Some of the officers in Whitechapel in the fall of 1888 may have been recently assigned, but most police will tell you that crime is the same everywhere.
What the police were not as thoroughly experienced with was murder without any obvious motive. A robbery gone bad or a jealous husband killing his wife's suitor would have been understandable. Likewise, if Polly Nichols had died as a result of cheating a