Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper

Source Related

In August 1888 a killer who became known as Jack the Ripper committed

the first of a sequence of murders. To this day the description of the

killer remains a mystery. A mad person who is violent and dangerous

who emerge to kill without warning and with no guilt, horribly killed

five women in the East End of London.

1. Study Source A, What can you learn from Source A about the murders

of the Martha Tabrum and Polly Nicholls?

Source A is part of an article in the East End observer describing the

murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls. It is therefore a primary

source of evidence with a fairly reliable purpose of informing the

public of the east end. Clearly it is written by somebody living in

the area at that time and therefore helps us to see the people's

opinion of the murders at that time. Most importantly we can learn

that people linked the two murders together, 'both crimes are the work

of a demented being' this statement is purely the writers opinion as

no further evidence ever proves this to be the case however the

article informs us there were similarities to the murders.

We can also learn the context of the murders, 'the victims have been

the poorest of the poor, and no adequate motive in the shape of

plunder.' From this statement we can notice that the murders were done

in cold blood and not considered robberies. It could also be suggested

that the Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram did nothing to defend such

an attack but were murdered suddenly ...

... middle of paper ...

...only good for policing crowds and keeping order rather than

detective work. He was especially criticized for not offering a reward

for capturing the Ripper. The city police officers made crime scene

illustration, took many photographs of two of the victims. This proves

that the police did try all their best to capture the Ripper, but it

was difficult as the murders were cleverly continued and not a trace

was left of the murderer, so in a way the police were not too blame,

also other than medically examining the victims to discover the cause

of death and taking statements from everybody who might know something

there was little, also that the Metropolitan police force did, and

looking at all the sources there wasn't much more the police could do

in that time when comparing to the present(2004-2005) police force

tactics.