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  • If Jack were alive today...

    How long would it take a modern-day 'Jack the Ripper' in the scummiest part of London before he was caught? Given the modern criminal profiling, state of the art forensics, and Big Brother surveillance, my best guess would not be... not very.

  • #2
    Hi Harry,

    a modern-day serial killer would be aware of modern-day options and methods of the police and other stuff like CCTV, etc. IMO there's no reason to believe that a JTR of our time couldn't be as "successful" as his historical counterpart. Real life doesn't work like movies or TV series, forensics and DNA profiling is not the end-all and be-all of criminology.

    Best wishes,

    Boris
    ~ All perils, specially malignant, are recurrent - Thomas De Quincey ~

    Comment


    • #3
      G'day Harry D

      Originally posted by Harry D View Post
      How long would it take a modern-day 'Jack the Ripper' in the scummiest part of London before he was caught? Given the modern criminal profiling, state of the art forensics, and Big Brother surveillance, my best guess would not be... not very.
      It took them a while to get Sutcliffe in the 80's with huge advances over 100 years. Jack of course would know all about the technology [he'd probably watch CSI etc] and at least take more care.
      G U T

      There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

      Comment


      • #4
        If Jack were alive today ...



        He would be the ....


        world's oldest man.
        G U T

        There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Harry

          I think the amount of CCTV would be Jack's biggest problem. He would probably be forced to kill in more remote area's than in 1888 or face being court.

          Cheers John

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by GUT View Post
            If Jack were alive today ...



            He would be the ....


            world's oldest man.
            Hi GUT

            Recently I saw in the New York Times that the person who became the world's oldest man (I think it should be "known oldest man") last March had died with that title for only 55 days. That gentleman was only 111 years old (when he was born Theodore Roosevelt was in the second year of his first administration, Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom, Germany was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II and Chacellor von Bulow, and the Wright Brothers were about to succeed (and Samuel Langley to fail) at heavier - than - air flight).

            At that point when he was born it was thirteen years since the "Autumn of Terror".

            Jeff

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            • #7
              If Jack were alive today, he might have a car. Certainly, his victims would be servicing customers indoors as well. It would be Millers Court everytime.

              Assuming our basic model of Jack is correct, he killed people he didn't know, and he killed people who were breaking the law and thus were leading him to places where it was safe to commit crimes. This would have served him well today. He doesn't need to know as much about where the CCTV cameras and such are if his victims know that.

              Comment


              • #8
                G'day Jeff

                Originally posted by Mayerling View Post
                Hi GUT

                Recently I saw in the New York Times that the person who became the world's oldest man (I think it should be "known oldest man") last March had died with that title for only 55 days. That gentleman was only 111 years old (when he was born Theodore Roosevelt was in the second year of his first administration, Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom, Germany was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II and Chacellor von Bulow, and the Wright Brothers were about to succeed (and Samuel Langley to fail) at heavier - than - air flight).

                At that point when he was born it was thirteen years since the "Autumn of Terror".

                Jeff
                Totally agree that is should be "oldest known man". But I feel that was about all the so called records.

                Worlds oldest known person is currently 116.
                G U T

                There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

                Comment


                • #9
                  G'day Damaso Marte

                  Originally posted by Damaso Marte View Post
                  If Jack were alive today, he might have a car. Certainly, his victims would be servicing customers indoors as well. It would be Millers Court everytime.

                  Assuming our basic model of Jack is correct, he killed people he didn't know, and he killed people who were breaking the law and thus were leading him to places where it was safe to commit crimes. This would have served him well today. He doesn't need to know as much about where the CCTV cameras and such are if his victims know that.
                  Really depends on whose model you are referring to.

                  But agree if all indoors possibly some horrendous scenes.
                  G U T

                  There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by GUT View Post
                    It took them a while to get Sutcliffe in the 80's with huge advances over 100 years.
                    Technology has advanced exponentially in the last thirty years.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Damaso Marte View Post
                      If Jack were alive today, he might have a car. Certainly, his victims would be servicing customers indoors as well. It would be Millers Court everytime.

                      Assuming our basic model of Jack is correct, he killed people he didn't know, and he killed people who were breaking the law and thus were leading him to places where it was safe to commit crimes. This would have served him well today. He doesn't need to know as much about where the CCTV cameras and such are if his victims know that.
                      I agree Damaso Marte, Jack might have a car and it would be Millers Court every time. However I still think CCTV cameras would mean he was court as they would be footage of prostitutes getting into Jack's car or going off with him hours before they were murdered. Even if he was careful to avoid CCTV. CCTV is so prevalent it would be nigh on impossible to avoid all CCTV unless he only killed in very remote areas.

                      Cheers John

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Harry,

                        Interesting thread. Stranger murderers are notoriously tough to catch, even today. It's hard to say how easy/difficult it is for modern serial killers because we know only of the ones that get caught. There are lots of unsolved murders out there.

                        The surveillance problem isn't one of committing the crime (he'd move in doors as others have stated), rather its one of picking up the victims in public places, leaving the scene of the crime, buying his red ink and chalk at Wal-Mart, etc.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Barnaby View Post
                          Hi Harry,
                          .... buying his red ink and chalk at Wal-Mart, etc.
                          Especially if he used a credit card. Cash the only danger would be getting caught on camera buying them and I suspect Jack didn't have a credit card
                          G U T

                          There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I think you somewhat underestimate the CCTV surveillance in Britain today...it's in shops, petrol stations, offices, bus stations, railway stations, on motorways, on High Streets, even on buses, (up to 20 cameras on a bus), and trains...if he behaved nowdays, like he did then, he'd be caught...

                            We're probably the least private nation on earth nowdays...and frankly I feel safer for it...

                            All the best

                            Dave

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              If JtR were superimposed to 2014 and committed the exact same crimes in the exact same spots (though the buildings don't exist anymore), he would be caught in less than a month. In fact, he probably would probably be caught before getting to the Kelly murder, possibly even before the double event.

                              However, as someone pointed out, JtR would be mobile (car). His victims would also be more mobile. They would also have access to certain defenses such as pepper spray, cell ohones, possibly even firearms. So there never could be a true carbon copy repeat of what happened in 1888.

                              Criminals have evolved, victims have evolved and police have evolved. But for 1888, JtR was definitely ahead of the times.

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