The Problems with Policing Whitechapel (Edexcel GCSE History)

Did Whitechapel Experience More Crime than Other Areas of England in c1870-c1900? - Summary

Rookeries and Crime

• Rookeries created issues with law and order in Whitechapel because:

  • Criminals recruited people living in lodging houses in the rookeries

    • The criminals promised people a better life if they worked for them

    • Many people would do anything to avoid going to the workhouse or staying in the lodging houses

  • Criminals stole from people living in the rookery

    • Pickpocketing was common in the rookery as it was very hard to catch the thief

    • Criminals employed orphans or homeless children to steal

How did rookeries impact H Division?

• Rookeries made policing Whitechapel challenging for H Division

  • The overcrowded housing created narrow alleyways

    • Criminals with local knowledge could escape quickly 

    • A constable found it difficult to police all the alleyways on his beat

    • The Residuum usually had a better knowledge of the area

    • Criminals could commit their crimes undetected and hide from H Division

  • There was a large amount of people living in the rookeries of Whitechapel

    • A significant number of people could become victims of crime, especially theft

      • This increased the number of crimes that H Division had to solve or attempt to stop

    • H Division had to consider hundreds of suspects

      • This required a large number of constables and detectives to question suspects and witnesses

      • The Met made fewer arrests and prosecutions in Whitechapel

Whitechapel and the Issue of Alcohol

• Alcoholism became an increasing issue in Whitechapel

• Alcohol was easily available

  • Many poorer people drank gin as it was cheap and very strong

  • The drinking water in Whitechapel was very poor 

    • Overcrowding caused a strain on Whitechapel's sanitation

    • The water supply often became contaminated

    • Diseases such as cholera spread through the water

    • Many adults and children drank alcohol as they considered it safer and free from disease

• Many people living in Whitechapel relied upon alcohol

  • Drinking alcohol allowed people to forget about issues such as employment, money and living conditions

• Local businesses thrived off of Whitechapel's alcoholism

  • There were hundreds of pubs and gin palaces in Whitechapel

How did alcohol increase crime in Whitechapel?

A flow chart showing how alcoholism led to an increase in crime in Whitechapel between c1870 and c1900

How did alcohol impact H Division?

• Alcoholism meant policing Whitechapel was hard for H Division

  • Tensions between the different nationalities of Whitechapel increased due to alcohol

    • Violent attacks by the Irish community on Jewish people were common

  • The number of alcoholics in Whitechapel made it challenging for detectives to investigate crime

    • Witnesses were often drunk and unreliable

    • Drunk victims might not report a crime. If they did report a crime crime, they often could not give the police enough detail to catch the criminal

Whitechapel and the Issue of Prostitution

• Women found it challenging to find jobs in Whitechapel

  • Employers were more likely to hire men 

  • Divorced and widowed women relied upon a job for survival

    • Society looked down on divorced women and would not hire them

• Unable to get a job, many women in Whitechapel turned to prostitution

  • Prostitution was incredibly dangerous for women

    • They were often victims of rape, assault and theft

    • A lack of contraception caused backstreet abortions

      • Untrained doctors conducted this procedure

      • Many women died from infection, blood loss or shock during the operation

How did prostitution impact H Division?

• The Metropolitan Police had little sympathy for prostitutes

  • Prostitution was not illegal

  • H Division would believe a crime against a prostitute was not as serious as crimes committed against men or middle-class victims

    • The police and society believed that it was the prostitute's fault for putting herself in a dangerous position

    • Many people did not understand that many women had to become prostitutes to avoid the workhouse or death

  • The police knew that some prostitutes were criminals, committing petty crimes such as theft

• As a result, prostitution led to more issues with law and order in Whitechapel

  • The Met did not protect prostitutes

  • Society did not care about crimes committed against prostitutes

  • An increasing number of women resorted to prostitution and crime to survive

Whitechapel and the Issue of Gangs

• Multiple gangs established themselves in Whitechapel

  • One of these gangs was the Bessarabian Tigers

    • They were also known as the 'Stop At Nothing Gang'

    • Gang members were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe

    • Their rival gang was the Odessians

• Gangs terrorised the people of Whitechapel

  • The Bessarabian Tigers and the Odessians organised protection rackets on local Jewish businesses

    • Each gang demanded that local businesses pay them protection money 

    • Any business that refused would have their stall or shop destroyed

  • Gangs fought each other for:

    • More territory

    • The management of illegal pubs or unlicensed boxing matches 

    • Pickpocketing and robberies 

How did gangs impact H Division?

• Gang violence caused issues for H Division

  • Witnesses did not report gang crime

    • People feared that a gang would attack them if they reported their crime to the police

    • As a result, the Met struggled to arrest or try gang members for their crimes

  • H Division was underfunded and understaffed

    • The Met did not have enough constables on duty to police gang activity or stop gang violence

  • Gangs often attacked policemen

    • To avoid harm, the H Division believed it was better to let the gangs fight against each other

• Gangs controlled some areas of Whitechapel

  • Areas such as Ewer Street became lawless as constables refused to police there

  • The public's fear of gangs increased, especially among Whitechapel's middle classes

The Reputation of the Police in Whitechapel

• Constables acted as social workers for the community in Whitechapel. Their role included:

  • Dealing with issues such as vagrancy and collecting poor relief

  • Ensuring that sewage and litter were properly disposed of

  • Taking children to school

• The social work of H Division caused positive and negative responses from Whitechapel's residents

How did the people of Whitechapel view the police?

• Overall, many people in Whitechapel had a negative view of H Division

  • This attitude impacted how unwilling the people were to assist the Metropolitan Police in catching 'Jack the Ripper'