How would YOU catch the Ripper?

[Harry D]

Let's say you could fire up the wayback machine and revisit Whitechapel during the murders. How would you set about catching 'Jack?' Bearing in mind that embroiling yourself in the case could cause you to become a suspect... or worse.

At which point would you try to catch Jack red-handed? How would your own theory of the canonical victims factor into things?

[Robert]

I wouldn't do any better than the police. But one thing I would do, if I were a reasonably high-ranking policeman and if I could get approval from above, would be to use public funds to recruit (unofficially) a number of the more sober and reliable prostitutes to make enquiries among their street sisters as to whether there were any strange clients, creepy punters etc. They would of course not reveal that they were working for the police. It would be a bit like what the police were already doing with plain clothes officers but the advantage would be that these would be women and would be trusted by the other women. It's not much but it's the best I can think of.

[Harry D]

I wouldn't do any better than the police.

Not even with the benefit of hindsight?

But one thing I would do, if I were a reasonably high-ranking policeman and if I could get approval from above, would be to use public funds to recruit (unofficially) a number of the more sober and reliable prostitutes to make enquiries among their street sisters as to whether there were any strange clients, creepy punters etc. They would of course not reveal that they were working for the police. It would be a bit like what the police were already doing with plain clothes officers but the advantage would be that these would be women and would be trusted by the other women. It's not much but it's the best I can think of.

How do we know the police didn't already have prostitutes working as informants?

[Wickerman]

If women had been viewed as capable the police would have used them, instead it was deemed necessary to dress men up as women.
Women were not considered for police duties until the First World War.

I wouldn't do any better than the police.

Even at that, we only know a little of what the police did through the press. I'm sure they applied more imaginative thinking to this problem than we have learned about.

At which point would you try to catch Jack red-handed? How would your own theory of the canonical victims factor into things?

We don't even know if he killed all five, or even more than five. We are not sure what he looked like, no idea why he struck when he did, not a clue where he lived.
If he could have been caught at all it would have been by pure luck, just like Sutcliffe.

[Robert]

I think there were things that the police could have done better, though whether that would have led to the killer's capture is debatable. Re the prostitutes, the police may for all I know have had contacts among the prostitutes, but I think I should add to what I said before, and suggest that these prostitutes should have reported to a woman - some woman recruited by the police who could sift the info and pass on the best bets to the investigating officers. Inevitably the prostitutes would have supplied a mix of gossip, intuition, astute observation and malicious score-settling, and it really takes a woman to sort through that lot and know what's worth keeping.

[Errata]

Put men on the rooftops in secret. People never look up. I am constantly amazed at what people do when no one is around them horizontally, but 10 feet away vertically.

[pinkmoon]

I would not be able to catch the ripper because a requirement from an individual to do so would require a lot of courage as I am a fully certified coward who comes from a long line of cowards I could not possibly join in the hunt.

[bolo]

I wouldn't try to catch him red-handed but rather hide myself in the shadows near one of the crime scenes with a sniper rifle and night-vision gunsight (provided said wayback machine would allow me to take these items with me), and then... BAM, no more ripping and no more casebook.org...

Seriously though, of course my aim would be to catch him before he even starts the series of killings. I'd try to get back to 1888 a few weeks before the attack on Polly, check out the area around Buck's Row and position a few trustworthy men there, shouldn't be too difficult to catch him that way.

Man... I'd really, and I mean REALLY love to lock myself in a dark room with him. Oh the fun we would have...

[GUT]

Well if I used the "Wayback Machine" I'd get Mr Sherman involved.

He would probably build a couple of big mouse traps and bait them with a couple of unfortunates [after all they were disposable] along comes our Jacks and job done.

[Robert]

Ah, well if it's one of those time travel threads then I guess my answer is that you won't be able to catch him or stop him. If you could, you would expunge the Ripper mystery, which means that you wouldn't be making the trip in the first place. If you can, then you can't. Therefore you can't.

[bolo]

Therefore you can't.

I could. My beer belly alone could defy time and space.

[GUT]

G'day Robert

Ah, well if it's one of those time travel threads then I guess my answer is that you won't be able to catch him or stop him. If you could, you would expunge the Ripper mystery, which means that you wouldn't be making the trip in the first place. If you can, then you can't. Therefore you can't.

I get it the old time space continuum conundrum.

[bolo]

I get it the old time space continuum conundrum.

Yeah. Which of course is a really helpful addition to a thread like this.

Rhaa, rhaa, reality, rhaa, rhaa.

[GUT]

G'day Bolo

Probably as helpful as Mr Peabody's mousetrap.

[GUT]

In seriousness though we know when each murder happened, or close to, and where so it would be as simple as a stake out.