What the Ripper Saga Teaches Us

Gruesome. Horrible. Terrifying.

These are some of the words often used to describe the Jack the Ripper saga which unfolded in Whitechapel. Despite numerous efforts by law enforcement authorities, the killer was never found and this has left many people frustrated and some, intrigued.

It’s hard not to be intrigued and curious about the Jack the Ripper investigation. The Ripper struck multiple in 1888 and the opportunities to apprehend him were there. Yet, the he was left unknown and unscathed. That is what people find the most intriguing and frustrating; the Ripper walked free.

However, there are lessons to take from this, which we will highlight below.

The Importance of Police Patrol

During the late 1800s, the majority of Whitechapel was a red zone. The increasing murders resulted in an increased police patrol, especially after dark.

Night patrol duty was improved and the shift hours extended to ensure a sufficient number of constables and police officers were patrolling the streets. Many think it was this increased presence that led the Ripper to make some mistakes and leave behind important evidence, such as Catherine Eddowes’ shawl.

The Importance of Proper Evidence Collection

It is not often that we find examples of mishandled evidence, but there was one such example with the Ripper case. The infamous graffiti left, allegedly, by the Ripper on Gouslton Street was wiped clean by the Inspector in-charge. The reason given was that the contents of the graffiti were anti-sematic which could cause a public outrage among certain ethnicities and put lives at risk.

Crime scene investigators and experts agree that wiping it clean was a huge mistake because potential clues were lost. Today, evidence collection is a science, and crime scene experts work meticulously to collect samples that could make or break the investigation.

Crime Does Not Pay

Being a bad person or doing bad things will get you nowhere in life.

This is the most important message to take from the Jack the Ripper saga. The Ripper may have stayed elusive all these years, but he no doubt lived a life of seclusion, isolation and fear.; the fear of getting caught was always with him.

The Ripper murders eventually stopped; not because the Ripper decided to call it quits, but more likely because the fear, of getting caught and facing the law, consumed him. There were no financial gains for the Ripper. All of his victims were women with very little source of income. If he had any agenda of instilling fear in the wider community, it didn’t come to any sort of fruition. Whitechapel is still a district for hardworking people today, and it is flourishing, despite the dark chapter associated with it.

You can learn much more about the Jack the Ripper case by taking a guided tour that outlines some very important facts and visual details of the case. We mentioned earlier how people are so intrigued by the Ripper saga, that is why they come from all over the world to experience the Jack the Ripper tour. So if you are planning on a visit to London, be sure to take our guided tour.