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Boundaries between City Police and Metropolitan Police Jurisdictions
Casebook Message Boards: General Discussion: General Topics:
Boundaries between City Police and Metropolitan Police Jurisdictions
Author: Brian Schoeneman
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 12:10 am |        | Help!
I'm having some trouble specifically figuring out where the City Police and the Met's jurisdictions began and ended in Whitechapel/Spitalfields. Was there a specific street or road that set the demarcation?
Anyone have a quick breakdown as to which victims were killed in the City? If I remember correctly, Liz Stride was the only one. Were there more?
B |
Author: Jack Traisson
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 01:33 am | | Brian,
Only Catherine Eddowes was murdered within the jurisdiction of the City of London Police force. Which is why there was an argument that night over the preservation of the writing in Goulston Street, because it was in Metropolitan territory.
I hope you have a map handy, otherwise the next two messages (originally written by Viper) may be difficult to follow.
Cheers,
Author: The Viper
Tuesday, 26 December 2000 - 11:41 am
Chris,
Whether this is the best place to clarify matters is debatable, but you make a fair point. Readers outside the UK must find it hard to understand all the different police forces and bodies referred to. I suspect this applies particularly to the distinction between London and the City of London which everyday logic might suggest are one and the same, but which are not.
Let’s take the police first and no doubt those with far greater knowledge will correct any errors here. Policing in Britain is divided up among a large number of different forces by area. The different counties and large conurbations each have their own force. London, (population about 5 million in 1888, 7.5 million today) has its own which is known as the Metropolitan Police. The exception is one tiny area to which we will return later. Each police force has two basic sub-divisions - the uniform branch and the CID (Criminal Investigation Department). Uniform provides the traditional interface with the public, patrolling the streets and attending reported incidents of crime. Thereafter proven instances of crime are often handed over to the detectives who comprise CID for investigation. Their function is to follow up and track down the miscreants who have not been arrested in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
With such a large population to cover, the Metropolitan Police force is sub-divided by district. Hence we meet mainly H Division (a.k.a. Whitechapel Division) in the Ripper case. Their area stretched eastwards from the City border to cover part of Aldgate, Spitalfields, St. George’s-in-the-East and the bulk of Whitechapel. We also find references to J Division (or Bethnal Green Division), especially concerning Polly Nichols who was murdered on their patch. J Division covered a huge geographical area stretching from around Whitechapel Station out north-east all the way into the county of Essex. Each of these Divisions was comprised of uniformed and CID officers, the CID men being experienced local policemen who knew the area and its villains well. The Divisional Inspector for H Division was Edmund Reid, who dealt with eight out of the eleven cases in the Whitechapel Murders file, since the murders took place on H’s patch.
Additionally there was a central CID which could be brought into high profile cases across all areas. It was based in the Westminster area (near to the administration seat of London). This became known as 'Scotland Yard' after the location of its offices. Scotland Yard’s experienced team of detectives included men with specialist knowledge of particular areas. Inspector Frederick Abberline was assigned to the Whitechapel murders from the Yard because of his extensive knowledge of the Whitechapel area – he having once been its Divisional Inspector.
The small area not covered by the Metropolitan Police was the City of London, which had its own police force, among many other privileges. To understand the reasons for this it is necessary to look briefly at the capital’s history. Modern London is a vast urban sprawl, but originally 'Londinium' as founded by the Romans was in a very contained area of roughly one square mile north of London Bridge, as Leanne has stated. Around AD200 this was reinforced when a 20 ft. high defensive wall was erected around the city, enclosing about 330 acres. At different times this wall would fall into disrepair and be rebuilt, until it and the seven gates were finally dismantled as superfluous in the mid-eighteenth century. Such a barrier did the wall present to invaders that in 1066 the victorious Norman ruler, William The Conqueror, agreed to give the city special privileges which it had enjoyed under the Saxons in exchange for its peaceful occupation. The City has made use of these rights ever since, and has ruthlessly exploited its huge wealth to extract further concessions. (Monarchs from the Normans to the Stuarts were always short of cash). Even though by the eighteenth century the neighbouring city of Westminster to the west had been connected by ribbon developments to create one huge, expanded city which we would recognise as modern London, the so-called "Square Mile" has retained its own unique system of government to this day. This includes the poste of Lord Mayor (currently David Howard), which is an entirely separate office to the recently created position of Mayor of London which covers the rest of the capital (Ken Livingstone). Hence when you see references to the City of London in books it means something very specific – not the whole of London but the tiny historic core (which over time has been extended beyond the old walls both to the east and west a little), with its own administration. The latter includes the right to its own police force. Another of its powers is the administration of some of the old London markets - which is where this topic started.
The old City wall in the eastern quarter originally ran along the line of the eastern pavement of Duke Street. By 1888 the border went through Middlesex Street. So when JTR took Catherine Eddowes to Mitre Square to murder her, he was inside the City of London and therefore acting within an area covered by the City Police. As a result Eddowes’ body was taken to a different mortuary and her inquest was held by the City’s own coroner, Mr. S. F. Langham. The investigation of her case was the responsibility of the City of London Police under the control of Major H. Smith as the acting Commissioner. Thus on the night of the Double Event, Jack was able to exploit the inevitable confusion caused by having two different police forces following up two different murders.
I hope this clarifies some of the distinctions a bit, but if it doesn’t it’s somebody else’s turn anyway.
Regards, V.
-----------------------------------------------
The City boundary does follow the line of Mansell Street today but it didn’t at the time of the Whitechapel Murders. According to Godfrey’s reproduction map of Aldgate 1873-94 (sheet 7.67) the northern section of Mansell Street as far as Great Alie St. was inside the City, but the boundary then ran back east towards Minories leaving the remainder of the street outside it. The reason is complex, being related to the historic privileges accorded to certain monastic lands in the Middle Ages. E-mail me privately if you want to know more about that subject – it isn’t relevant background material to the case and doesn’t belong on these boards. All of Aldgate High Street, including the section known as Butcher’s Row was inside the City, though the properties on the south side fell into two different parishes. The civic boundaries of the area were a complete mess.
Regards, V. |
Author: Brian Schoeneman
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 07:59 am | | Jack,
Thanks alot - this will help me a great deal! Thanks to Viper too for the old post. 
B |
Author: Vicki
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 05:33 pm | | Brian,
Thanks for bringing up this subject as I have a question of my own.
Here is is. How many divisions were there altogether? I think I read where J division was fairly new at the time of the ripper murders. Was there a division K?
Vicki |
Author: Brian Schoeneman
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 06:10 pm | | Vicki,
From what I have been reading about the Met, there were originally 17 divisions when it was started - this was later expanded to 20 divisions by 1886.
Division K was for West Ham. Division J (Bethnal Green) was new - it was latest divison added in 1886.
B |
Author: Jack Traisson
Sunday, 10 November 2002 - 09:39 pm | | Hi Vicki, and Brian,
All you need to know about the London Police divisions can be found here:
http://www.gendocs.demon.co.uk/police.html
Cheers |
Author: Vicki
Monday, 11 November 2002 - 06:36 pm | | Lambeth's division letter is missing, but it is probably L.
Thank you, Jack
Vicki |
Author: Jack Traisson
Monday, 11 November 2002 - 08:34 pm | | Hi Vicki,
Take another look, it's there. Just scroll down the page until you reach 'Police Divisions in 1888.' And yes, L Division is Lambeth.
Cheers |
Author: Brian Schoeneman
Monday, 11 November 2002 - 11:26 pm | | Jack,
You are a gentleman among scholars - that one website just saved me three hours work pouring through books. This is going to be a signficant help in my paper.
I owe you a beer.
B |
Author: Jack Traisson
Tuesday, 12 November 2002 - 03:26 am | | Hi Brian,
If you will be attending the JtR conference in Baltimore, April, 2004, I will take you up on your offer!!! Unfortunately, it is doubtful I will be at Liverpool, 2003.
I am glad the information is useful to your work.
Cheers |
Author: The Viper
Thursday, 12 December 2002 - 11:06 am | | In connexion with Brian Schoeneman's enquiry about the City boundary of 10th November, and with Jack Traisson's reply utilising an old poste of mine, I found the following clarification today. It refers to Mansell Street on the S.E. edge of the City. The same text appears in both the 1884 and 1899 versions of the City of London Directory, the latter being published after some changes to the status of the boundary had been made. Therefore, the statement most certainly applied at the time of the murders.
"A portion only of this [Mansell] street is within the City boundary, viz., from No.1 to No.37 (excepting Nos. 3, 5 & 7) on the E. side, and from No.2 to No.38 (excepting Nos. 8 and 10) on the W. side, all of which is in the parish of St. Botolph Aldgate and the Ward of Portsoken. The remainder of the street is in the parish of St. Mary Whitechapel."
Hope this clarifies things for all you people who need this information.
Regards, V. |
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