WHITECHAPEL + JACK THE RIPPER
Housing
Employment
Pollution
Alcohol
Immigration
streets and roads were 'maze-like'
rookeries (slums) were extremely overcrowded
up to 30 people shared 1 apartment
the Peabody Estate was built in 1857 by George Peabody and offered a better alternative
there were lodging houses where the homeless could sleep in shifts - 200 lodging houses for 8000 people
high unemployment due to tough work conditions
many women turned to prostitution to survive - 1,200 in 1888
crime became alternative employment - begging, theft for food due to starvation
workhouses were a last resort as inmates did manual labour in exchange for bed and board. People would rather die than go to the workhouse
smoke from trains turned houses black and affected health
at times it was not possible to see your hand in front of your face - pea soup fog
caused violence, theft for more alcohol and brawls
many tuned to alcohol to escape reality
women tended to ignore domestic responsibilities for alcohol
50,000 Jewish people moved here in the mid-late 1800s and they weren't trusted
Irish immigrants had a reputation of being very violent and were not well liked
tensions increased as many types of people crammed into Whitechapel
Crime
had a terrible reputation or high levels of crime
crime was made easier by the maze of badly lit alleyways
prejudice against immigrants and language barriers added to policing problems
some areas, such as Ewer Street, were so dangerous that the police wouldn't go there
main problems included prostitution, gang crime and alcohol-linked violent crime
Policing
whitechapel was the H division of the Met Police
responsible for policing 176,000 people among the poorest, most crime-stricken areas of London
Jack the Ripper
was a serial killer who murdered and mutilated 5 women in the East End of London in an area called the 'evil square mile' which included Whitechapel. This was a slum area, full of smoke from factories and narrow streets and alleyways. He was never caught.