Could the Ripper have been a Policeman?

[TheTypeWriter]

If a Policeman was alone on a beat he would have had time and opportunity to commit the murders and would not have been suspected, I don't personally think it was a Policeman but I don't think it's entirely outside the bounds of possibilities either.

Does anyone know if anyone suspected this at the time, or if there is any books or websites that mention this theory? I have looked it up but haven't found much on it.

What is your own opinion on the possibility that a Policeman could have been responsible?

[Simon Wood]

Hi, Remington Olympia Underwood,

In 1889 somebody—I forget who—wrote to Scotland Yard or the Home Office—I forget which—accusing Sergeant Thick [H Division] of being Jack the Ripper.

I believe the letter is in the JtR Companion.

Regards,

Simon

[lynn cates]

coppers

Hello TW. Welcome to the boards.

I take it your question regards one killer and five women? If so, one would likely need:

1. A copper who not only changed beats frequently but went simultaneously from SY to CoL and back again.

2. A copper with an unusually large beat.

3. A copper who wore his clothes after regular beat hours.

The last could cause trouble if his number were recognised.

Happy hunting.

Cheers.
LC

[Steven Russell]

He need not have been wearing his uniform but his knowledge of beats and police procedure etc. could have been advantageous.

Personally, I think it's unlikely. Policemen always come under suspicion sooner or later in serial killer cases for various reasons. I know from "private info" that certain coppers suspected one of their own (not a particular one) of the Yorkshire Ripper crimes prior to the arrest of the real culprit.

I'd be interested to learn if there have been many policemen found guilty of serial killings. I know Kenneth Bianchi was a wannabe cop, Dennis Rader was a sort of glorified dog catcher, and Dennis Nilsen actually was a Met. officer for eight (?) months. What others are known?

Best wishes,
Steve.

PS Welcome, TW.

[Monty]

Christie, however neither he or Nilsen killed in the open.

Monty

[Steven Russell]

Christie, however neither he or Nilsen killed in the open.

Monty

Oh yeah! Wasn't Christie a "special", Monty?

[sdreid]

Yes, a policeman has been proposed to explain why the victims let their guard down in this and other serial killer cases.

[sdreid]

Christie, however neither he or Nilsen killed in the open.

Monty

If you think Albert DeSalvo was the Boston Strangler, I believe he was formerly a Sergeant in the Military Police.

[Monty]

Yes Steven,

Christie was a Special during the war.

I did not know that Stan, things you learn. Did he apply for the regular Police?


Monty

[sdreid]

I don't know that he did Monty - their standards are probably higher.

[martin wilson]

It's the great unwritten research sourcebook,the police and the ripper.
A collation of who they were,where they were and when they were would be invaluable,if only to save constantly going out of casebook forum to check inquests,maps,statements etc.
A modern take would be useful to me, I find plodding through the long winded Victorian writing style pretty tough.
All the best.

[Robert]

I suppose a policeman could have committed the crimes off-duty. I just have a problem with a policeman, his hands full of intestines, exclaiming "What's all this, then?"

[RavenDarkendale]

Speculation into areas where even a faint possibility could give us clues.

Was JtR a policemean? Two Words. Miter Square. The time table for the murder and mutilation makes more sense if the murderer (of Eddows only, for this to work, because this is a questioned JtR murder, perhaps a copycat) was one of the patrolmen. Perhaps he only SAID he walked his beat and saw nothing. Perhaps he was there doing his slasher thing!

Scenario 2: What if a policeman was not the murderer, but an accomplice covering for the real JtR. That would assure JtR would escape, and most of the time, be uninterrupted. If Elizabeth Stride were actually a JtR victim, which has been questioned time and time again, it could be how he was warned of the approaching wagon in time to duck and run.

Thoughts, anyone?

[Phil H]

Scenario 2: What if a policeman was not the murderer, but an accomplice covering for the real JtR. That would assure JtR would escape, and most of the time, be uninterrupted. If Elizabeth Stride were actually a JtR victim, which has been questioned time and time again, it could be how he was warned of the approaching wagon in time to duck and run.

A) As has been said before, policemen had their beats and, Mitre (sic) Square was in London Police territory, so it would be difficult for one man to be everywhere with a reason.

B) The rattle of iron-rimmed wheels on cobblestones would surely have been their own warning?

Phil H

[moonbegger]

Hello all ,

This article [By Derek F. Osborne ] is also curious

Long stated that he did not know of Eddowes' murder when he made his find. If this is true, then why did he seize on that apron rag in the first place? For at that time (in his professed ignorance), it clearly had no meaning whatsoever for him. When the body of Catherine Eddowes was found, it was discovered that she had been disemboweled, "cut up like a pig, " her old and distressed clothing pushed up above her waist And no-one knew then that part of her apron was missing. How could they, considering the ghastly, blood-soaked sight that confronted them?

Goulston Street was part of Long's beat. It was a street he had already patrolled earlier at 2.20am. But at that time, there was no sign of any writing or rag in the entrance to Wentworth Dwellings - a fact also recorded by Halse, who had checked the entrance himself at 2.20am, when he passed along the very same street. And in doing so, he must have encountered Long, who was also in Goulston Street at this time. Now we find two sources - two policemen and two different notebooks - both recording their presence and times in the same street. And Halse would naturally have informed his brother officer as to the murder which had so recently taken place in Mitre Square. Thus, Long was made aware of two facts: a woman had been murdered, and her killer was on the loose. There had been no mention of a missing piece of apron, because at that time no-one knew of its existence.