Would the bloodhounds have saved Warren's career ?

[Sam Flynn]

Apropos of not much at all, I have to admit that it was only a few weeks ago that, in a moment of epiphany, I noticed that "Burgho" was an anagram of "Brough"

If that's been remarked upon before, forgive me. If not, I thought you might find that a wee bit interesting.

[Nemo]

I agree Caz, and it might imply that the trail to Goulston Street was a false one

If PC Long missed it first time round, then that is fair enough - The Ripper led the dogs a short distance away to the model dwellings

If PC Long did not miss it, then the "missing" 40 minutes or so (sorry I forgot how long it was) may be him laying a false trail for some distance and finally ending up at the model dwellings - a doubling-back circular trail maybe

[caz]

The fear of the use of bloodhounds is another story...

Indeed Nemo - and I do have to wonder whether Kate's killer may have mulled over what he thought the possibilities were, before dropping half of her apron in that doorway.

Was he perhaps anticipating the following order of events: 1) the finding of Kate herself, minus half her pinny, prompting 2) the sending out of a search party to try and retrieve the missing half, in the hope that its whereabouts might afford them a clew leading to the apron-snatcher's?

Love,

Caz
X

[halomanuk]

And then some.....

[DVV]

They wouldn't have had much to lose by trying it !!

Which would translate in Provençal by:

"Se ti fai pas gaù, ti fara pas maù."

Amitiés,
David

[halomanuk]

Well the predominant scent would be the blood and MJK obviously,but,the next recent scent would have to be the Ripper as he spent quite a bit of time in there.
They wouldn't have had much to lose by trying it !!

[Nothing to see]

Whose scent would the dogs have followed? Probably was a good idea when first thought of but it was left too late to be practical. Wouldn't have saved Warren. He was dead meat long before Miller's Ct.

[Barnaby]

Well, of course!

[DVV]

I know next to nothing about dogs but I seriously doubt that bloodhounds would have been of any use in Miller's Court.
The body was discovered far too late, it was daytime and the streets were already crowdy.

But had PC Watkins patrolled with Burgho or Barnaby...

Amitiés,
David

[halomanuk]

It is so frustrating to know what they might have done..it is amazing how politics and other issues get in the way of even something as vile and important as this was..

[Supe]

Guys,

Despite their name, bloodhounds do not track the scent of blood , so slaughterhouses, abbatoirs and the like would not throw them off (even as someone a while ago claimed that menstruating women would disorient them). What they track is the scent of molecular-sized skin particles that, like unseen dandruff, we humans are always leaving in our wake.

I will defer to Sam's story of the inefficability of using the dogs at Miller's Court, but there are examples in the States of bloodhounds performing amazing feats of tracking.

As it was, the dog's owner and the Met had a dispute over money so they were never used. Might have been interesting at least.

Don.

[Mr.Hyde]

Mr.Hyde

I should have said that if the bloodhounds were used earlier,maybe at the 'double event' maybe things would have been different.

Yep.They would have caught JTR.
We would have to find something else to do with our spare time!

[Nemo]

The fear of the use of bloodhounds is another story...

[Nemo]

There you go... can't really argue with that

[Sam Flynn]

My father was a highly regarded police tracker-dog handler and trainer for 30 years, retiring just over a decade ago. When I described the conditions around Dorset Street/Miller's Court to him - with this very question in mind - he was extremely doubtful that the hounds would have succeeded. Indeed, he reckoned that the best-trained dogs he'd ever had (and he'd worked with some excellent dogs in his career) would probably have failed.

The environments most conducive to a dog's success are fields, forests etc., where not too many other human scents are likely to have accumulated over time. The crowded streets of Spitalfields would have presented a cacophony of smells sufficient to confuse the hell out of most dogs. The time factor would have played a part, too - needless to say, it's much preferred if the trail is as fresh as possible, but several hours had passed since the departure of Mary's killer, which in itself would have posed a challenge in even the best conditions.