jack today.

[paul g]

Supposing the geography of the area had not changed, with the methods the police have now and taken the canonical five only after which murder would jack be apprehended.
Obviously we would have to discount cctv and his or hers D.N.A was not on the data base.

[GUT]

Supposing the geography of the area had not changed, with the methods the police have now and taken the canonical five only after which murder would jack be apprehended.
Obviously we would have to discount cctv and his or hers D.N.A was not on the data base.

Too many variables, he still may have walked.

[gnote]

The way a crime scene is handled now is obviously much superior. It's likely they would have been able to discover some small bits of trace evidence at a minimum. Whether or not they would find something that could conclusively be tied to a single suspect or a clue that would narrow the suspect field down considerably is another matter.

[RivkahChaya]

It depends on how counter-forensic savvy Jack was. If the police developed a profile that was fairly accurate, and knew more or less where he might strike next, and if there were as many women on the force as there are now, plus men as skilled at undercover work as the modern force has, I think he would have been apprehended the night of the double event. Possibly the night of the Chapman murder, but I'm not sure the full canvass of undercover people would be in force right after Nichols. It might take the Chapman murder for full alert. But by the night of the double event, I think there would have been a police woman on every corner looking to pick up a John, and at least two undercover officers watching every woman out in the open, probably one also in the "open," as a street person, or some other person who would blend in an appear unthreatening, and at least one under literal cover inside a building or car, and armed with whatever the police in the UK can have-- pepper spray, tasers, bean bag guns (yes, those are a real thing).

I have a feeling that the street-corner trade would go away temporarily, as Johns would be afraid of being picked up for soliciting, or being mistaken for the Ripper, and the Ripper might try to hold off for a while, but eventually he'd be out again. I doubt he'd stray to much afield, because I don't think he had a lot of money, and in modern London probably wouldn't have a car (I'm assuming it's pretty much like New York, and most people don't own one, even middle class people).

Anyway, he might not be arrested the night of the double event, but eventually he'd be picked up soliciting a police woman, or maybe just attacking a civilian but when there are lots of undercover people around, and he'd be apprehended right away.

Something would make the connection-- maybe it would be the DNA of a previous victim on the knife he tried to use on the decoy. But somehow, they'd tie it all together. Maybe he'd even confess. I don't suppose he'd be getting out of prison, ever, but maybe by confessing, he could try to get admitted to a mental ward instead of a maximum security prison. I have no idea how the plea bargain system in the UK works.

[Shaggyrand]

I don't know but if I'm honest I'm actually going to go with probably not. They would have considerably more evidence but an actual capture I don't believe so. The police might make a bigger show of what they were doing and the cable news crime shows would be riveting. The only thing they would definitely do now that would make a real difference in their chances is offer a nice sized reward.

But until just a minute ago I thought bean bag guns were just 12 gauges in bright colors so they don't get confused with the ones loaded with shells, not counting the ARMA-100 but wouldn't be used by police.

[Rosella]

I've got a feeling that with greater mobility and superior transport links, 21st century Jack would have been spreading his area of activity and wouldn't stay in one small locality for his C-5.

How many serial killers are at large now, at any one time, with all our vastly superior forensic knowledge, profiling, data bases etc.? It's the nature of the beast that these sorts of killings are the hardest of all to crack.

I agree that the use of policewomen and police surveillance would make it harder for Jack. However, if he was captured it might very well be by one of those strokes of luck for the police that enabled the Yorkshire Ripper to be caught, one of those chances no serial killer can plan for.

I do think that if he was apprehended, now or in the 19th century, he would feign madness, perhaps schizophrenia, though with what success, who knows.

[SirJohnFalstaff]

Supposing the geography of the area had not changed, with the methods the police have now and taken the canonical five only after which murder would jack be apprehended.
Obviously we would have to discount cctv and his or hers D.N.A was not on the data base.

it depends if he has been apprehended for lesser crimes before. If he was already in the system, he would probably only kill once. If not, at least they would know after the second victim if it was the same killer.

One thing for sure, in my mind, with how fast information travels and police now operate, there wouldn't be a double event.

Also, police know now the importance of informant, so he might even get caught very early.

So, in a nutshell, I don't think there would have been as many victims before he get caught.



EDIT- Also, should we take into account social measures of this day? Certainly something would be done so no women would be forced to stay out because they cannot afford a bed, at least until the killer is caught.

[Robert St Devil]

I can only think of two modern methods that might capture him before he reached his fifth: 1) betted use of the media, and 2) better trained police canine squads. Profiling and databasing might take longer than the 3 months he took fof the five women.

[Ginger]

Supposing the geography of the area had not changed, with the methods the police have now and taken the canonical five only after which murder would jack be apprehended.

I really doubt he would have been, myself. Absent DNA, fingerprints, and surveillance videos, I'm not convinced that modern theories and methods of detection are actually more effective than those of the Victorian age. If the man can't be collared on physical evidence, then it pretty well boils down to finding someone who knows something and will talk, just as it did back then.

Keep in mind as well that there's a co-evolutionary aspect to crime and law enforcement. Each side is watching and learning from the other, so that advantages from new methods seldom remain for long. There's a temptation to view such questions in terms of modern law enforcement vs. the criminal methods of the past, but a present-day Jack would use the methods known to criminals of today.

Additionally, we no longer have the constable walking his beat, who knew his neighbourhood and its residents. That's arguably one area where modern communications and transportation have actually made the police less effective on the ground, for all that it allows more effective operations in terms of cost.

Also, people no longer know their neighbours, don't socialize on street corners, and don't walk from place to place as they used to. It can be argued that that makes Jack all the more obvious if someone sees him, but it also means that there's less chance for him to be seen, and certainly less chance for someone to notice a neighbour's odd habits.

[GUT]

I can only think of two modern methods that might capture him before he reached his fifth: 1) betted use of the media, and 2) better trained police canine squads. Profiling and databasing might take longer than the 3 months he took fof the five women.

I doubt that police canines are better trained today than hunting dogs in 1880s.

Now better deployment of them may have been a benefit, but then it never ceases to surprise me that they don't use more canines everyday, personally i think every policeman on the street should have a dog with him

[SirJohnFalstaff]

I can only think of two modern methods that might capture him before he reached his fifth: 1) betted use of the media, and 2) better trained police canine squads. Profiling and databasing might take longer than the 3 months he took fof the five women.

i disagree. Once they know it's the same killer, the manpower would become overwhelming. I don't think he could kill a third person in the same area.