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However, there were 11 murders in the series of crimes that were officially known as "The Whitechapel Murders."
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INTRODUCTIONPart 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
A view of Christchurch, Spitalfields by night.THE AUTUMN OF TERROR
ByRichard Jones
An Introduction To The Whitechapel Murders
JACK THE RIPPER 1888
The
Jack the Ripper murders occurred in the East End of London in 1888 and,
although the Whitechapel Murderer was only a threat to a very small
section of the community in a relatively small part of London, the
crimes had a huge impact on society as a whole.
Indeed, by
focusing the attention of the press and the public at large on the
streets and people of one of London's poorest and most crime-ridden
quarters, Jack the Ripper, whoever he may have been, managed to expose
the sordid underbelly of Victorian society and, in so doing, he helped
create an awareness amongst the wealthier citizens of London of the
appalling social conditions that had been allowed to develope, largely
unchecked, right on the doorstep of the City of London, the wealthiest
square mile on earth.
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
On this website you
can study all aspects of the Jack the Ripper murders and of Victorian
crime in general, as well as learning about the history of the area in
which the crimes occurred.
You can also study what the police were doing to try to catch the murderer and read about the public reactions to the crimes.
You can also cast your vote for the person that you think is the likeliest suspect.
Peruse Original Victorian Photos Relating To The Crimes, The Crime Scenes And The Victims.
The backyard of number 29 Hanbury Street.
Explore The Murder Sites As They Were Then And As They Are Now With Exclusive Online Videos.
Whitechapel High Street in 1890.
Witness History As It Happened With The Victorian Newspaper Cuttings Library.
An illustration showing Police Constable Watkins finding the body of Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square.
Study The Police Investigation Into The Infamous Murder Spree.
A sketch of the corner in Mitre Square where the body of Catherine Eddowes was found.
Consider The Evidence, Both For And Against, The Many Suspects.
An illustration showing victim Elizabeth Stride with her suspected murderer.
Follow The Events As They Unfolded In 1888 With Our Timeline.
People in the kitchen of a Victorian common lodging house in Spitalfields.
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The Blog
For
thought-provoking articles about the case and about the history of the
East End of London we maintain a regularly updated blog about all things
Jack the Ripper.
The blog covers many fascinating aspects of the case together with expert analysis on those aspects.
We
feature the latest finds concerning the Whitechapel murders as well as
various related topics on the area and on the history of London in
general.
Most Recent Blogs
A newsboy in a cap holding a newspaper
April 11th, 2024
Those London Murders, 1888.
A newsboy in a cap holding a newspaper.
April 8th, 2024
An English Clergyman Arrested.
A newsboy in a cap holding a newspaper.
April 4th, 2024
Viewing The Body Of Mary Kelly.
A newsboy in a cap holding a newspaper.
March 29th, 2024
The Trafalgar Square Question
WATCH THE JACK THE RIPPER DOCUMENTARY
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The Victims Of Jack The Ripper
This
documentary provides a full introduction to and a synopsis of the
Whitechapel murders, which took place between April, 1888 and February,
1891.
With the aid of contemporary illustrations and photographs,
the viewer is transported back to the autumn of terror to learn about
the lives of the victims, see the locations where the Jack the Ripper
murders occurred, and visit the cemeteries where the victims are buried.
The video makes for an excellent introduction to the case.
JACK THE RIPPER VICTIMS
HOW MANY VICTIMS WERE THERE?
One
of the problems with ascertaining the exact number of victims that Jack
the Ripper had is the fact that he was never caught, so it is difficult
to ascertain an exact number of victims. The generic Whitechapel
Murders file - the official name for the police investigation into the
crimes - contains eleven victims, and it is generally believed that five
of these were the work as the killer now known as "Jack the Ripper."
However,
it should be stressed that the idea of there being a so-called
"canonical five" victims is by no means certain. Indeed, many experts
will tell you that there may have been as few as four victims or as many
as eight victims of the ripper.
The list below is broken down
into the "canonical five" Jack the Ripper victims; the generic
Whitechapel murders victims, and other murders and attacks that took
place in the area at the time which may, or may not, have been the work
of Jack the Ripper.
The Canonical Five Victims
A newspaper illustration showing Police Constable Neil finding the body of Mary Nichols.
August 31st, 1888
Mary Nichols, Murdered In Buck's Row, Whitechapel.
A sketch showing the finding the body of Annie Chapman in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street.
September 8th, 1888
Annie Chapman, Murdered In Hanbury Street, Spitalfields.
A newspaper sketch showing the finding of the body of Elizabeth Stride.
September 30th, 1888
Elizabeth Stride Murdered In Berner Street, Whitechapel.
A newspaper sketch showing PC Watkins finding the body of Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square.
September 30th, 1888
Catherine Eddowes, Murdered In Mitre Square, City Of London.
Sketches of Miller's Court and Mary Kelly from the Illustrated Police News.
November 9th, 1888
Mary Kelly, Murdered In Dorset Street, Spitalfields.
Other Whitechapel Murders
A newspaper sketch showing Emma Smith being followed a a group of youths.
April 3rd, 1888
Emma Smith, Attacked, She Later Dies Of Her Injuries.
A newspaper sketch showing the discovery of the body of Martha Tabram.
August 7th, 1888
Martha Tabram, Murdered In George Yard, Whitechapel.
A newspaper illustration showing Rose Mylett in her coffin.
December 19th, 1888
Rose Mylett, Murdered In Clarke's Yard, Poplar.
A sketch showing the discovery of the body of Alice McKenzie.
July 17th, 1889
Alice McKenzie, Murdered In Castle Court, Whitechapel.
Newspaper sketches showing the finding of the Pinchin Street torso.
September 10th, 1889
Woman's Torso Found Under A Railway Arch In Pinchin Street.
A sketch showing the location of the murder of Frances Coles.
February 13th, 1891
Frances Coles, Murdered In Swallow Gardens, Whitechapel.
Other Attacks
A photograph of White's Row as it was at the time of the attack.
February 25th, 1888
Annie Milwood, Stabbed In White's Row, Spitalfields.
A newspaper sketch showing the attack on Ada Wilson.
March 28th, 1888
Ada Wilson, Attacked In Maidman Street, Mile End.
A newspaper sketch showing Annie Farmer just after the attack on her.
November 21st, 1888
Annie Farmer, Attacked In George Street, Whitechapel.
Read More
THE POLICE INVESTIGATION
The Punch Cartoon showing a blindfolded policeman being taunted by criminals.
Catch Me When You Can!
THE POLICE HUNT FOR JACK THE RIPPER
The
Whitechapel murders were the focus of a huge criminal investigation
that saw the Victorian police pit their wits against a lone assassin who
was perpetrating his crimes in one of 19th century London's most
densely populated and crime ridden quarters. As a result of official
reports and the efforts of journalists to keep abreast of the progress
(or, perhaps, more accurately, lack of progress) that the police
investigation was making, we are able watch that investigation
unfolding.
We can analyze the methods that the police used to try
and track the killer and compare them with the methods that the police
would use today. We can also ask - and hopefully answer - the question
why didn't the police catch Jack the Ripper?
The Victorian police faced numerous problems as they raced against time to catch the killer before he could kill again.
A
major one was the labyrinth-like layout of the area where the murders
were occurring, made up as it was of lots of tiny passageways and
alleyways, few of which were lit by night.
And, of course, the
detectives hunting the killer were hampered by the fact that criminology
and forensics were very much in their infancy.
Read More
THE JACK THE RIPPER SUSPECTS
The cartoon Nemesis of Neglect showing a shrouded phantom holding a knife with the word crime on its forehead.
Who Was Jack The Ripper?
AN EVER GROWING LIST
Despite
the fact that no-one was ever brought to justice or charged with the
crimes, there have, over the years, been more than a hundred named
suspects who may or may not have been Jack the Ripper.
Some of those suspects are fascinating, whilst others are down right ridiculous.
Aaron
Kosminski, Thomas Cutbush and Montague John Druitt are suspects that
fall into the first category, whilst Prince Albert Edward Victor, the
Freemasons and Lewis Carroll belong firmly in the latter category.
Yet,
one thing is certain. No matter how unlikely the names of those that
appear on the ever expanding list of suspects might be, the on going
challenge of "nailing" the ripper has helped keep this series of crimes
at the forefront of criminal and social history for over 125 years.
Read More
THE JACK THE RIPPER LETTERS
The Dear Boss Jack the Ripper letter.
Yours Truly Jack The Ripper
LETTERS FROM HELL
Another
intriguing aspect of the case is the number of letters that were sent
to the authorities that either purported to come from the killer or else
offered suggestions on how the perpetrator of the atrocities might be
brought to justice.
The most famous of all these letters, and the
one that gave the murderer the name that has ensured the longevity of
his legend, was the missive sent to the Central News Office in late
September 1888.
This was the infamous Dear Boss Letter, that bore the chilling, though accurate, signature - Jack the Ripper.
Press
coverage of this letter led to a veritable avalanche of similar
correspondence that resulted in the police investigation almost being
brought to melt down.
Yet, the likelihood is that the person
responsible for the murders was not the same person who sent this
letter. Indeed, it was believed by police officers at the time, and the
majority of modern day experts are unanimously in agreement, that the
letter was in fact the work of a journalist.
Read More
EAST END HISTORY
The window of 13 Miller's Court, inside which Mary Kelly was murdered.
Victorian Whitechapel And Spitalfields
A WINDOW ONTO THE PAST
The
Jack the Ripper murders also serve as a reminder of a not too distant
past when a whole section of London society fought a daily battle
against poverty and starvation.
As such they provide us with a
window through which we can look back on a bygone age when the eyes of
the world were focused on the daily lives and struggles of the East
Enders who were most affected by the crimes.
Thanks to newspaper
reportage on the case, coupled with the records and musings of
philanthropists and reformers who wished to bring the plight of the East
End's poor to the attention of the wider Victorian society, we have an
unrivalled opportunity to, literally, peer into the very streets where
the Whitechapel Murders occurred at the time they were occurring and to
observe the impact the killings had on those who dwelt in the area.
We
can, quite literally, become spectators to events as they occurred and
watch the mood in the streets change from mild unease to outright panic,
as the ferocity of the murders increases and it becomes apparent that
the police can do nothing to stop the unknown perpetrator.
Read More
THE PRESS
Some of the newspaper headlines about the Whitechapel murders.
INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPER COVERAGE
One
of the more intriguing aspects of the Jack the Ripper murders is the
amount of worldwide newspaper coverage that they generated. Journalists
converged on the streets of the East End to report on the murders, and
were often appalled by the diabolical living conditions.
An illustration from a newspaper showing a Jack the Ripper suspect attacking a woman.
INQUESTS AND INTERVIEWS
Pages
and pages were given over to reporting on the inquests into the deaths
of the victims; local residents were interviewed at length; police
officers were followed, and sometimes even bribed, as reporters
endeavoured to secure that all too elusive exclusive that might help
sell more newspapers.
A press illustration showing a blindfolded policeman.
PRESS CRITICISM
The
authorities were subjected to a constant barrage of press criticism,
both for the inability of the police to bring the killer to justice, and
the appalling social conditions that they had allowed to develop
unchecked right on the doorstep of the City of London, the wealthiest
square mile on earth.
The Jack the Ripper signature on the Dear Boss letter.
A JOURNALIST'S INVENTION
Plus, most importantly, and as mentioned earlier, the name Jack the Ripper was most probably the invention of a journalist.
Read More
SOCIAL HISTORY
A phantom figure rows a boat on the River Thames.
THE VICTORIAN SOCIAL CONDITIONS
The
Whitechapel murders certainly played a part in helping to highlight the
social conditions in certain parts of the East End of London, where a
vast underclass had been fighting a daily battle for survival with many
of the inhabitants being forced to dwell in appalling living conditions.
A group of Victorian women picking oakum.
THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR
For
many years, philanthropists and the socially concerned had been warning
of the consequences that might ensue should something not be done to
alleviate the hardships that were endured by the huge underclass that
dwelt in the slums of Whitechapel and Spitalfields.
A group of Victorian children, with bare feet, look in a shop window.
BRED IN THE SLUMS
When
the Jack the Ripper atrocities began to focus the attention of society
at large on the living conditions of the people in the area where the
crimes were occurring, many came to see the murderer as an inevitable
outgrowth of the crime, vice and squalor that were all endemic in the
district.
The Punch cartoon, The Nemesis of neglect, showing a hollow-eyed shrouded figure with a large knife.
THE PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT
Indeed, Jack the Ripper became the physical embodiment of widely held fears and prejudices about the East End of London.
Read More
THE EAST END TODAY
A photograph of the White Hart Pub on Whitechapel High Street.
ALMOST UNRECOGNISABLE
The
East End of London today is almost unrecognisable from the East End of
Jack the Ripper. Houses that in 1888 were infamous slum dwellings are
now sought after residences that can sell for millions of pounds. What
were once notorious back street boozers are now pricey gastro pubs.
An old East London house with a gaslamp over its front door.
TIME CAPSULES
Although
the murders sites themselves have long since vanished, there are
numerous streets and buildings that have survived and are still much as
they were in the late 19th century. Many streets are true time-capsules,
whilst some of the dark, cobbled alleyways can still feel menacing by
night!.
The houses in Fournier Street as they are today.
OLD HOUSES AND PUBS
Streets
such as Fournier Street, Princelet Street and Wilkes Street still
possess a Victorian ambience that time and progress have not dispelled;
whilst pubs such as the Ten Bells and the Hoop and Grapes would still be
recognisable to a 19th century East Ender should they drop in for a
pint.
Tour guide John Bennett gives a Jack the Ripper tour.
JACK THE RIPPER TOUR
You can, if you wish, explore these places on one of our popular tours that explore the streets of Jack the Ripper's London.
Read More
An image of a wall with frames on it.
RECORDS OFFICES
Locations At Which Records On The Jack The Ripper Case Are Kept.
Exhibits at the London Hospital Museum.
MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS
Visit Museums And Exhibitions Associated With The Case.
Mitre Square in 2011.
TOUR THE MURDER SITES
Enjoy Our Online Video Tour Of The Murder Sites.
A female student reading a book by a bookcase.
ARE YOU STUDYING JACK THE RIPPER?
Ask Any Questions You May Have If You Are Studying The Case.
Books flying around a library
BOOKS ON JACK THE RIPPER
A Recommended Reading List Of Books On The Case.
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Whitechapel murders
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Featured article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A phantom brandishing a knife floats through a slum street
The
"Nemesis of Neglect", an image of social destitution manifested as Jack
the Ripper, stalks Whitechapel in a Punch cartoon of 1888 by John
Tenniel
The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the
impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3
April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these
eleven unsolved murders of women have been ascribed to the notorious
unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
Most, if not
all, of the eleven victims—Emma Elizabeth Smith, Martha Tabram, Mary
Ann "Polly" Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes,
Mary Jane Kelly, Rose Mylett, Alice McKenzie, Frances Coles, and an
unidentified woman—were engaged in prostitution. Smith was sexually
assaulted and robbed by a gang. Tabram was stabbed 39 times. Nichols,
Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, Kelly, McKenzie and Coles had their throats
cut. Eddowes and Stride were murdered on the same night, within
approximately an hour and less than a mile apart; their murders are
known as the "double event", after a phrase in a postcard sent to the
press by an individual claiming to be the Ripper. The bodies of Nichols,
Chapman, Eddowes and Kelly had abdominal mutilations. Mylett was
strangled. The body of the unidentified woman was dismembered, but the
exact cause of her death is unclear.
The Metropolitan Police,
City of London Police, and private organisations such as the Whitechapel
Vigilance Committee were actively involved in the search for the
perpetrator or perpetrators. Despite extensive enquiries and several
arrests, the culprit or culprits evaded capture, and the murders were
never solved. The Whitechapel murders drew attention to the poor living
conditions in the East End slums, which were subsequently improved. The
enduring mystery of who committed the crimes has captured public
imagination to the present day.
Background
Dorset Street, Spitalfields, seen here in 1902
In
the late Victorian era, Whitechapel was considered to be the most
notorious criminal rookery in London. The area around Flower and Dean
Street was described as "perhaps the foulest and most dangerous street
in the whole metropolis";[1] Dorset Street was called "the worst street
in London".[2] Assistant Police Commissioner Robert Anderson recommended
Whitechapel to "those who take an interest in the dangerous classes" as
one of London's prime criminal "show places".[3] Robbery, violence and
alcohol dependency were commonplace. The district was characterised by
extreme poverty, sub-standard housing, poor sanitation, homelessness,
drunkenness and endemic prostitution.[4] These factors were focused in
the institution of the 233 common lodging-houses within Whitechapel, in
which approximately 8,500 people resided on a nightly basis.[5]
The
common lodging-houses in and around Whitechapel provided cheap communal
lodgings for the desperate, the destitute and the transient, among whom
the Whitechapel murder victims were numbered.[6] The nightly price of a
single bed was 4d (equivalent to £1.98 in 2021)[7] and the cost of
sleeping upon a "lean-to" rope stretched across the bedrooms was 2d for
adults or children.[8]
All the identified victims of the
Whitechapel murders lived within the heart of the rookery in
Spitalfields, including three in George Street (later named Lolesworth
Street), two in Dorset Street, two in Flower and Dean Street and one in
Thrawl Street.[9]
Police work and criminal prosecutions at the
time relied heavily on confessions, witness testimony, and apprehending
perpetrators in the act of committing an offence or in the possession of
obvious physical evidence that clearly linked them to a crime. Forensic
techniques, such as fingerprint analysis, were not in use,[10] and
blood typing had not been invented.[11] Policing in London was—and still
is—divided between two forces: the Metropolitan Police with
jurisdiction over most of the urban area, and the City of London Police
with jurisdiction over about a square mile (2.9 km2) of the city centre.
The Home Secretary, a senior minister of the British government,
controlled the Metropolitan Police, whereas the City Police were
responsible to the Corporation of London. Beat constables walked
regular, timed routes.[12]
Eleven deaths in or near Whitechapel
between 1888 and 1891 were gathered into a single file, referred to in
the police docket as the Whitechapel murders.[13][14] Much of the
original material has been stolen, lost, or destroyed.[13]
Victims and investigation
Emma Elizabeth Smith
Main article: Emma Elizabeth Smith
Map of about a dozen interconnecting London streets
Map
of the Spitalfields rookery, where the victims lived. Emma Elizabeth
Smith was attacked near the junction of Osborn Street and Brick Lane
(red circle). She lived in a common lodging-house at 18 George Street
(later named Lolesworth Street), one block west of where she was
attacked.[15]
On Tuesday 3 April 1888, following the Easter Monday
bank holiday, 45-year-old prostitute Emma Elizabeth Smith was assaulted
and robbed at the junction of Osborn Street and Brick Lane, Whitechapel,
in the early hours of the morning. Although injured, she survived the
attack and managed to walk back to her lodging house at 18 George
Street, Spitalfields. She told the deputy keeper, Mary Russell, that she
had been attacked by two or three men, one of them a teenager. Russell
took Smith to the London Hospital, where a medical examination revealed
that a blunt object had been inserted into her vagina, rupturing her
peritoneum. She developed peritonitis and died at 9:00 a.m. the
following day.[16]
The inquest was conducted on 7 April by the
coroner for East Middlesex, Wynne Edwin Baxter, who also conducted
inquests on six of the later victims.[17] The local inspector of the
Metropolitan Police, Edmund Reid of H Division Whitechapel, investigated
the attack but the culprits were never caught.[18] Walter Dew, a
detective constable stationed with H Division, later wrote that he
believed Smith to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper,[19] but his
colleagues suspected her murder was the work of a criminal gang.[20]
Smith claimed that she was attacked by two or three men, but either
refused to or could not describe them beyond stating one was a
teenager.[21] East End prostitutes were often managed by gangs, and
Smith could have been attacked by her pimps as a punishment for
disobeying them, or as an act of intimidation.[22] She may not have
identified her attackers because she feared reprisal. Her murder is
considered unlikely to be connected with the later killings.[13][23]
Martha Tabram
Main article: Martha Tabram
Mortuary photograph of Tabram: a well-fed middle-aged woman
Martha Tabram, 39, lived in a lodging-house at 19 George Street.[24]
On
Tuesday 7 August, following a Monday bank holiday, prostitute Martha
Tabram was murdered at about 2:30 am. Her body was found at George Yard
Buildings, George Yard, Whitechapel, shortly before 5:00 a.m. She had
been stabbed 39 times about her neck, torso and genitals with a short
blade. With one possible exception, all her wounds had been inflicted by
a right-handed individual.[25]
On the basis of statements from a
fellow prostitute, and PC Thomas Barrett who was patrolling nearby,
Inspector Reid put soldiers at the Tower of London and Wellington
Barracks on an identification parade, but without positive results.[26]
Police did not connect Tabram's murder with the earlier murder of Emma
Smith, but they did connect her death with later murders.[27]
Most
experts do not connect Tabram's murder with the others attributed to
the Ripper, because she had been repeatedly stabbed, whereas later
victims typically suffered slash wounds and abdominal mutilations.
However, a connection cannot be ruled out.[28]
Mary Ann Nichols
Main article: Mary Ann Nichols
Mortuary photograph of Nichols: a middle-aged woman with short, mousey hair and a prominent, narrow nose
Mary Ann Nichols, 43, lived in a lodging-house at 18 Thrawl Street.[29]
On
Friday 31 August, Mary Ann Nichols was murdered in Buck's Row (since
renamed Durward Street), a back street in Whitechapel. Her body was
discovered by cart driver Charles Cross at 3:45 am on the ground in
front of a gated stable entrance. Her throat had been slit twice from
left to right and her abdomen was mutilated by a deep jagged wound.
Several shallower incisions across the abdomen, and three or four
similar cuts on the right side were caused by the same knife used
violently and downwards.[30] As the murder occurred in the territory of
the J or Bethnal Green Division of the Metropolitan Police, it was at
first investigated by the local detectives. On the same day, James Monro
resigned as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
over differences with Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir
Charles Warren.[31]
Sketch of a whiskered Inspector Abberline
Inspector Frederick Abberline led the police investigation.
Initial
investigations into the murder had little success, although elements of
the press linked it to the two previous murders and suggested the
killing might have been perpetrated by a gang, as in the case of
Smith.[32] The Star newspaper suggested instead that a single killer was
responsible and other newspapers took up their storyline.[33][34]
Suspicions of a serial killer at large in London led to the secondment
of Detective Inspectors Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore and Walter
Andrews from the Central Office at Scotland Yard.[35] On the available
evidence, Coroner Baxter concluded that Nichols was murdered at just
after 3 am where she was found. In his summing up, he dismissed the
possibility that her murder was connected with those of Smith and
Tabram,
Annie Chapman
Main article: Annie Chapman
Mortuary photograph of Chapman: a middle-aged woman with short, curly hair
Annie Chapman, 47, lived in a lodging-house at 35 Dorset Street.[38]
The
mutilated body of the fourth woman, Annie Chapman, was discovered at
about 6:00 am on Saturday 8 September on the ground near a doorway in
the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. Chapman had left her
lodgings at 2 am on the day she was murdered, with the intention of
getting money from a client to pay her rent.[39] Her throat was cut from
left to right. She had been disembowelled, and her intestines had been
thrown out of her abdomen over each of her shoulders. The morgue
examination revealed that part of her uterus was missing. The
pathologist, George Bagster Phillips, was of the opinion that the
murderer must have possessed anatomical knowledge to have sliced out the
reproductive organs in a single movement with a blade about 6–8 inches
(15–20 cm) long.[40] However, the idea that the murderer possessed
surgical skill was dismissed by other experts.[41] As the bodies were
not examined extensively at the scene, it has also been suggested that
the organs were actually removed by mortuary staff, who took advantage
of bodies that had already been opened to extract organs that they could
sell as surgical specimens.[42]
On 10 September, the police
arrested a notorious local called John Pizer, dubbed "Leather Apron",
who had a reputation for terrorising local prostitutes. His alibis for
the two most recent murders were corroborated, and he was released
without charge.[43] At the inquest one of the witnesses, Mrs Elizabeth
Long, testified that she had seen Chapman talking to a man at about 5:30
am just beyond the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, where Chapman was
later found. Baxter inferred that the man Mrs Long had seen was the
murderer. Mrs Long described him as over forty, a little taller than
Chapman, of dark complexion, and of foreign, "shabby-genteel"
appearance.[44] He was wearing a brown deer-stalker hat and a dark
overcoat.[44] Another witness, carpenter Albert Cadosch, had entered the
neighbouring yard at 27 Hanbury Street at about the same time, and
heard voices in the yard followed by the sound of something or someone
falling against the fence.[45]
Lusk has a moustache and wears a
bowler hat, topcoat, and leather gloves. He holds a cane in the right
hand, and a cigar in the left.
George Lusk, President of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
In
his memoirs, Walter Dew recorded that the killings caused widespread
panic in London.[46] A mob attacked the Commercial Road police station,
suspecting that the murderer was being held there.[47] Samuel Montagu,
the Member of Parliament for Whitechapel, offered a reward of £100
(roughly £12,000 as of 2024) after rumours that the attacks were Jewish
ritual killings led to anti-Semitic demonstrations.[48] Local residents
founded the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee under the chairmanship of
George Lusk and offered a reward for the apprehension of the
killer—something the Metropolitan Police (under instruction from the
Home Office) refused to do because such a move could lead to false or
misleading information.[49] The Committee employed two private
detectives to investigate the case.[50]
Robert Anderson was
appointed head of the CID on 1 September, but he went on sick leave to
Switzerland on the 7th. Superintendent Thomas Arnold, who was in charge
of H (Whitechapel) Division, went on leave on 2 September.[51]
Anderson's absence left overall direction of the enquiries confused, and
led Chief Commissioner Sir Charles Warren to appoint Chief Inspector
Donald Swanson to co-ordinate the investigation from Scotland Yard.[52] A
German hairdresser named Charles Ludwig was taken into custody on 18
September on suspicion of the murders, but he was released less than two
weeks later when a double murder demonstrated that the real culprit was
still at large.[48][53]
Double event: Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes
Main articles: Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes
Mortuary photograph of Stride: a woman with angular features and a wide mouth
Elizabeth Stride, 44, lived in a lodging-house at 32 Flower and Dean Street.[54]
On
Sunday 30 September, the body of prostitute Elizabeth Stride was
discovered at about 1 am in Dutfield's Yard, inside the gateway of 40
Berner Street (since renamed Henriques Street), Whitechapel. She was
lying in a pool of blood with her throat cut from left to right. She had
been killed just minutes before, and her body was otherwise
unmutilated. It is possible that the murderer was disturbed before he
could commit any mutilation of the body by someone entering the yard,
perhaps Louis Diemschutz, who discovered the body.[55] However, some
commentators on the case conclude that Stride's murder was unconnected
to the others[56] on the basis that the body was unmutilated, that it
was the only murder to occur south of Whitechapel Road,[57] and that the
blade used might have been shorter and of a different design.[55] Most
experts, however, consider the similarities in the case distinctive
enough to connect Stride's murder with at least two of the earlier ones,
as well as that of Catherine Eddowes on the same night.[58]
Mortuary photograph of Eddowes. Her lower face is severely mutilated
Catherine Eddowes, 46, lived with partner John Kelly in a lodging-house at 55 Flower and Dean Street.[59]
At
1:45 am, Catherine Eddowes's mutilated body was found by PC Edward
Watkins at the south-west corner of Mitre Square, in the City of London,
about 12 minutes walk from Berner Street.[60] She had been killed less
than 10 minutes earlier by a slash to the throat from left to right with
a sharp, pointed knife at least 6 inches (15 cm) long.[61] Her face and
abdomen were mutilated, and her intestines were drawn out over the
right shoulder with a detached length between her torso and left arm.
Her left kidney and most of her uterus were removed. The Eddowes inquest
was opened on 4 October by Samuel F. Langham, coroner for the City of
London.[62] The examining pathologist, Dr Frederick Gordon Brown,
believed the perpetrator "had considerable knowledge of the position of
the organs" and from the position of the wounds on the body he could
tell that the murderer had knelt to the right of the body, and worked
alone.[63] However, the first doctor at the scene, local surgeon Dr
George William Sequeira, disputed that the killer possessed anatomical
skill or sought particular organs.[64] His view was shared by City
medical officer William Sedgwick Saunders, who was also present at the
autopsy.[65] Because of this murder's location, the City of London
Police under Detective Inspector James McWilliam were brought into the
enquiry.[66]
At 3 am, a blood-stained fragment of Eddowes's apron
was found lying in the passage of the doorway leading to 108 to 119
Goulston Street, Whitechapel, about a third of a mile (500 m) from the
murder scene. There was chalk writing on the wall of the doorway, which
read either "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for
nothing"[67][68] or "The Juwes are not the men who will be blamed for
nothing."[69] At 5 am, Commissioner Warren attended the scene and
ordered the words erased for fear that they would spark anti-Semitic
riots.[70] Goulston Street was on a direct route from Mitre Square to
Flower and Dean Street, where both Stride and Eddowes lived.[71]
The
Middlesex coroner, Wynne Baxter, believed that Stride had been attacked
with a swift, sudden action.[72] She was still holding a packet of
cachous (breath-freshening sweets) in her left hand when she was
discovered,[73] indicating that she had not had time to defend
herself.[74] A grocer, Matthew Packer, implied to private detectives
employed by the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee that he had sold some
grapes to Stride and the murderer; however, he had told police that he
had shut his shop without seeing anything suspicious.[75] At the
inquest, the pathologists stated emphatically that Stride had not held,
swallowed or consumed grapes.[76] They described her stomach contents as
"cheese, potatoes and farinaceous powder [flour or milled grain]".[77]
Nevertheless, Packer's story appeared in the press.[78] Packer's
description of the man did not match the statements by other witnesses
who may have seen Stride with a man shortly before her murder, but all
but two of the descriptions differed.[79] Joseph Lawende passed through
Mitre Square with two other men shortly before Eddowes was murdered
there, and may have seen her with a man of about 30 years old, who was
shabbily dressed, wore a peaked cap, and had a fair moustache.[80] Chief
Inspector Swanson noted that Lawende's description was a near match to
another provided by one of the witnesses who may have seen Stride with
her murderer.[81] However, Lawende stated that he would not be able to
identify the man again, and the two other men with Lawende were unable
to give descriptions.[82]
Criticism of the Metropolitan Police
and the Home Secretary, Henry Matthews, continued to mount as little
progress was made with the investigation.[83] The City Police and the
Lord Mayor of London offered a reward of £500 (roughly £59,000 as of
2024) for information leading to the capture of the villain.[84] The use
of bloodhounds to track the killer in the event of another attack was
considered and a trial was held in London but the idea was abandoned
because the trail of scents was confused in the busy city, the dogs were
inexperienced in an urban environment, and the owner Edwin Brough of
Wyndyate near Scarborough (now Scalby Manor) was concerned that the dogs
would be poisoned by criminals if their role in crime detection became
known.[85]
On 27 September, the Central News Agency received a
letter, dubbed the "Dear Boss" letter, in which the writer, who signed
himself "Jack the Ripper", claimed to have committed the murders.[86] On
1 October, a postcard, dubbed the "Saucy Jacky" postcard, and also
signed "Jack the Ripper", was received by the agency. It claimed
responsibility for the most recent murders on 30 September, and
described the murders of the two women as the "double event", a
designation which has endured.[87]
On Tuesday 2 October, an
unidentified female torso was found in the basement of New Scotland
Yard, which was under construction. It was linked to the Whitechapel
murders by the press, but it was not included in the Whitechapel murders
file, and any connection between the two is now considered
unlikely.[88] The case became known as the Whitehall Mystery.[88] On the
same day, the psychic Robert James Lees visited Scotland Yard and
offered to track down the murderer using paranormal powers; the police
turned him away and "called [him] a fool and a lunatic".[89]
The
head of the CID, Anderson, eventually returned from leave on 6 October
and took charge of the investigation for Scotland Yard. On 16 October,
George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee received another
letter, known as the "From Hell" letter, claiming to be from the killer.
The handwriting and style were unlike that of the "Dear Boss" letter
and "Saucy Jacky" postcard. The letter arrived with a small box
containing half of a human kidney preserved in alcohol. The letter's
writer claimed that he had extracted it from the body of Eddowes and
that he had "fried and ate" the missing half.[90] Opinion on whether the
kidney and the letter were genuine was and is divided.[91] By the end
of October, the police had interviewed more than 2,000 people,
investigated "upwards of 300", and detained 80.[92]
Mary Jane Kelly
Main article: Mary Jane Kelly
Kelly's eviscerated body lying on a bed. Her face is mutilated.
The body of Mary Jane Kelly, 25, photographed at the scene of her murder
On
Friday 9 November, prostitute Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in the
single room where she lived at 13 Miller's Court, behind 26 Dorset
Street, Spitalfields.[93] One of the earlier victims, Chapman, had lived
in Dorset Street, and another, Eddowes, was reported to have
occasionally slept rough there.[94] Kelly's severely mutilated body was
discovered shortly after 10:45 am lying on the bed. The first doctor at
the scene, Dr George Bagster Phillips, believed that Kelly was killed by
a slash to the throat.[95] After her death, her abdominal cavity was
sliced open and all her viscera removed and spread around the room. Her
breasts had been cut off, her face mutilated beyond recognition, and her
thighs partially cut through to the bone, with some of the muscles
removed.[96] Unlike the other victims, she was undressed and wore only a
light chemise. Her clothes were folded neatly on a chair, with the
exception of some found burnt in the grate. Abberline thought the
clothes had been burned by the murderer to provide light, as the room
was otherwise only dimly lit by a single candle.[97] Kelly's murder was
the most savage, probably because the murderer had more time to commit
his atrocities in a private room rather than in the street.[98] Her
state of undress and folded clothes have led to suggestions that she
undressed herself before lying down on the bed, which would indicate
that she was killed by someone she knew, by someone she believed to be a
client, or when she was asleep or intoxicated.[99]
The coroner
for North East Middlesex, Dr Roderick Macdonald, MP,[100] presided over
the inquest into Kelly's death at Shoreditch Town Hall on 12
November.[101] Amid scenes of great emotion, an "enormous crowd" of
mourners attended Mary Kelly's funeral on 19 November.[102] The streets
became gridlocked and the cortège struggled to travel from Shoreditch
mortuary to the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Leytonstone, where she was
laid to rest.[102]
On 8 November, Charles Warren resigned as
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police after the Home Secretary
informed him that he could not make public statements without Home
Office approval.[103] James Monro, who had resigned a few months earlier
over differences with Warren, was appointed as his replacement in
December.[104] On 10 November, the police surgeon Thomas Bond wrote to
Robert Anderson, head of the London CID, detailing the similarities
between the five murders of Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes and Kelly,
"no doubt committed by the same hand".[105] On the same day, the
Cabinet resolved to offer a pardon to any accomplice who came forward
with information that led to the conviction of the actual murderer.[106]
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner reported that the Whitechapel
murderer remained unidentified despite 143 extra plain-clothes policemen
deployed in Whitechapel in November and December.[107]
Rose Mylett
On
Thursday 20 December 1888, a patrolling constable found the strangled
body of 26-year-old prostitute Rose Mylett in Clarke's Yard, off Poplar
High Street.[108] Mylett (born Catherine Milett and known as Drunken
Lizzie Davis[109] and Fair Alice Downey[110]) had lodged at 18 George
Street, as had Emma Smith.[111]
Four doctors who examined
Mylett's body thought she had been murdered, but Robert Anderson thought
she had accidentally hanged herself on the collar of her dress while in
a drunken stupor.[112] At Anderson's request Dr Bond examined Mylett's
body, and he agreed with Anderson.[113] Commissioner Monro also
suspected it was a suicide or natural death as there were no signs of a
struggle.[114] The coroner, Wynne Baxter, told the inquest jury that
"there is no evidence to show that death was the result of
violence".[115] Nevertheless, the jury returned a verdict of "wilful
murder against some person or persons unknown" and the case was added to
the Whitechapel file.[116]
Alice McKenzie
Mortuary photograph of McKenzie: a middle-aged woman with thick lips
Alice McKenzie, 40, lived in a lodging-house at 52 Gn Street.[117]
Alice
McKenzie was possibly a prostitute,[118] and was murdered at about
12:40 am on Wednesday 17 July 1889 in Castle Alley, Whitechapel. Like
most of the previous murders, her left carotid artery was severed from
left to right and there were wounds on her abdomen. However, her wounds
were not as deep as in previous murders, and a shorter blade was used.
Commissioner Monro[119] and one of the pathologists examining the body,
Bond, believed this to be a Ripper murder, though another of the
pathologists, Phillips, and Robert Anderson disagreed,[120] as did
Inspector Abberline.[121] Later writers are also divided, and either
suggest that McKenzie was a Ripper victim,[122] or that the unknown
murderer tried to make it look like a Ripper killing to deflect
suspicion from himself.[123] At the inquest, Coroner Baxter acknowledged
both possibilities, and concluded: "There is great similarity between
this and the other class of cases, which have happened in this
neighbourhood, and if the same person has not committed this crime, it
is clearly an imitation of the other cases."[124]
Pinchin Street torso
Contemporary illustration of the discovery of the Pinchin Street torso
A
woman's torso was found at 5:15 a.m. on Tuesday 10 September 1889 under
a railway arch in Pinchin Street, Whitechapel.[125] Extensive bruising
about the victim's back, hip, and arm indicated that she had been
severely beaten shortly before her death, which had occurred
approximately one day prior to the discovery of her torso. The victim's
abdomen was also extensively mutilated in a manner reminiscent of the
Ripper, although her genitals had not been wounded.[126] The dismembered
sections of the body are believed to have been transported to the
railway arch, hidden under an old chemise.[127] The age of the victim
was estimated at 30–40 years.[128] Despite a search of the area, no
other sections of her body were ever found, and neither the victim nor
the culprit were ever identified.[126]
Chief Inspector Swanson
and Commissioner Monro noted that the presence of blood within the torso
indicated that death was not from haemorrhage or cutting of the
throat.[129] The pathologists, however, noted that the general
bloodlessness of the tissues and vessels indicated that haemorrhage was
the cause of death.[130] Newspaper speculation that the body belonged to
Lydia Hart, who had disappeared, was refuted after she was found
recovering in hospital after "a bit of a spree".[131] Another claim that
the victim was a missing girl called Emily Barker was also refuted, as
the torso was from an older and taller woman.[131]
Swanson did
not consider this a Ripper case, and instead suggested a link to the
Thames Torso Murders in Rainham and Chelsea, as well as the "Whitehall
Mystery".[132] Monro agreed with Swanson's assessment.[133] These three
murders and the Pinchin Street case are suggested to be the work of a
serial killer, nicknamed the "Torso killer", who could either be the
same person as "Jack the Ripper" or a separate killer of uncertain
connection.[134] Links between these and three further murders—the
"Battersea Mystery" of 1873 and 1874, in which two women were found
dismembered, and the 1884 "Tottenham Court Road Mystery"—have also been
postulated.[135][136] Experts on the murders—colloquially known as
"Ripperologists"—such as Stewart Evans, Keith Skinner, Martin Fido, and
Donald Rumbelow, discount any connection between the torso and Ripper
killings on the basis of their different modi operandi.[137]
Monro
was replaced as Commissioner by Sir Edward Bradford on 21 June 1890,
after a disagreement with the Home Secretary Henry Matthews over police
pensions.[138]
Frances Coles
Mortuary photograph of Frances Coles
Frances Coles lived in a lodging-house in White's Row.[139]
The
last of the murders in the Whitechapel file was committed on Friday 13
February 1891 when prostitute Frances Coles was murdered under a railway
arch in Swallow Gardens, Whitechapel. Her body was found at 2:15 am,
only moments after the attack, by PC Ernest Thompson, who later stated
that he heard retreating footsteps in the distance.[140] As contemporary
police practices dictated, Thompson remained at the scene.[141]
Coles
was lying beneath a passageway under a railway arch between Chamber
Street and Royal Mint Street. She was still alive, but died before
medical help could arrive.[142] Minor wounds on the back of her head
suggest that she was thrown violently to the ground before her throat
was cut at least twice, from left to right and then back again.[143]
Otherwise there were no mutilations to the body, leading some to believe
Thompson had disturbed her assailant.[144] Superintendent Arnold and
Inspector Reid arrived soon afterwards from the nearby Leman Street
police station, and Chief Inspectors Donald Swanson and Henry Moore, who
had been involved in the previous murder investigations, arrived by 5
am.[145]
A man named James Sadler, who had earlier been seen with
Coles, was arrested by the police and charged with her murder. A
high-profile investigation by Swanson and Moore into Sadler's past
history and his whereabouts at the time of the previous Whitechapel
murders indicates that the police may have suspected him to be the
Ripper.[146] However, Sadler was released on 3 March for lack of
evidence.[146]
Legacy
February 1889 National Police Gazette illustration referencing the Whitechapel murders
The
murderer or murderers were never identified and the cases remain
unsolved. Sensational reportage and the mystery surrounding the identity
of the killer or killers fed the development of the character "Jack the
Ripper", who was blamed for all or most of the murders.[48] Hundreds of
books and articles discuss the Whitechapel murders, and they feature in
novels, short stories, comic books, television shows, and films of
multiple genres.[147]
The poor of the East End had long been
ignored by affluent society, but the nature of the Whitechapel murders
and of the victims' impoverished lifestyles drew national attention to
their living conditions.[148] The murders galvanised public opinion
against the overcrowded, unsanitary slums of the East End, and led to
demands for reform.[149][150] On 24 September 1888, George Bernard Shaw
commented sarcastically on the media's sudden concern with social
justice in a letter to The Star newspaper:[151]
Whilst we
conventional Social Democrats were wasting our time on education,
agitation and organisation, some independent genius has taken the matter
in hand, and by simply murdering and disembowelling ... women,
converted the proprietary press to an inept sort of communism.
Acts
of Parliament, such as the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 and
the Public Health Amendment Act 1890, set minimum standards for
accommodation in an effort to transform degenerated urban areas.[152]
The worst of the slums were demolished in the two decades following the
Whitechapel murders.[153]
Abberline retired in 1892 and Matthews
lost his position as Home Secretary in the 1892 general election. Arnold
retired the following year, and Swanson and Anderson retired after
1900. No document in the Whitechapel murders file dates after 1896.[154]
See also
icon Law portal
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List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
List of murderers by number of victims
List of serial killers before 1900
References
Citations
Greenwood,
James (1883), In Strange Company, London, p. 158, quoted in Begg, Jack
the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 21, 45
Daily Mail, 16 July 1901, quoted in Werner (ed.), pp. 62, 179
Pall Mall Gazette, 4 November 1889, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 225 and Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 516
"Jack
the Ripper: Why Does a Serial Killer Who Disembowelled Women Deserve a
Museum?". The Telegraph. 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8
March 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
Honeycombe, The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870–1970, p. 54
Werner (ed.), pp. 42–44, 118–122, 141–170
Rumbelow, Complete Jack The Ripper p. 14
Rumbelow, Jack the Ripper: The Complete Casebook p. 30
White, Jerry (2007), London in the Nineteenth Century, London: Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-0-224-06272-5, pp. 323–332
Marriott, p. 207
Lloyd, pp. 51–52
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 14
"The
Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper" Archived 4 February 2010 at the
Wayback Machine, Metropolitan Police, retrieved 1 May 2009
Cook, pp. 33–34; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 3
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 47; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 4; Fido, p. 15; Rumbelow, p. 30
Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 27–29; Cook, pp. 34–35;
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 47–50; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 4–7
Whitehead and Rivett, p. 18
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 47–50
Dew,
Walter (1938), I Caught Crippen, London: Blackie and Son, p. 92, quoted
in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 29
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 29
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 28; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 4–7
Marriott, pp. 5–7
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 29–31; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 47–50; Marriott, pp. 5–7
Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 11; Whitehead and Rivett, p. 19
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 51–52
Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 51–53; Evans and Rumbelow,
pp. 51–55; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 8–18; Marriott, pp. 9–14
In
an interview reported in the Pall Mall Gazette, 24 March 1903,
Inspector Frederick Abberline referred to "George-yard,
Whitechapel-road, where the first murder was committed" (quoted in Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 56). Walter Dew wrote in
his memoirs, that "there can be no doubt that the August Bank Holiday
murder ... was the handiwork of the Ripper" (I Caught Crippen, p. 97,
quoted in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 56). In his
memoirs, Assistant Commissioner Robert Anderson said the second murder
occurred on 31 August (quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 632).
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 515; Marriott, p. 13
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 85–85; Evans and Rumbelow, p. 61; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 24
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 60–61; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 35; Rumbelow, pp. 24–27
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 64
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 98; Cook, pp. 25–28; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 62–63
Cook, pp. 25–28; Woods and Baddeley, pp. 21–22
"Another Terrible Murder in Whitechapel". The Waterford News. 9 November 1888. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 676, 678
Marriott, pp. 21–22
Marriott, pp. 22–23
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 66–73; Whitehead and Rivett, pp. 33–34
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 66–70
Cook, p. 221; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 71–72; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 67–68, 87; Marriott, pp. 26–29; Rumbelow, p. 42
Fido, p. 35; Marriott, pp. 77–79
Marriott, pp. 77–79
Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 157; Cook, pp. 65–66; Evans
and Skinner (2000), p. 29; Marriott, pp. 59–75; Rumbelow, pp. 49–50
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 153; Cook, p. 163; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 98; Marriott, pp. 59–75
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 153; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 100; Marriott, pp. 59–75
Connell, pp. 15–16; Cook, p. 90
Connell, pp. 19–21; Rumbelow, pp. 67–68
Davenport-Hines
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 159–160; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 111–119, 265–290
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 186
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 65
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 205; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 84–85
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 86
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 46, 168–170; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 96–98; Rumbelow, pp. 69–70
Cook, p. 157; Woods and Baddeley, p. 86
See
for example Stewart, William (1939), Jack the Ripper: A New Theory,
Quality Press, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 418
Marriott, pp. 81–125
e.g.
Melville Macnaghten quoted by Cook, p. 151; Evans and Skinner (2000),
pp. 584–587 and Rumbelow, p. 140; Thomas Bond (British physician) quoted
in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 360–362 and Rumbelow, pp. 145–147
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 46, 189; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 114–116; Marriott, p. 81
Inquest testimony of surveyor Frederick William Foster, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 201–202; Marriott, p. 138
Examining pathologist Dr Frederick Gordon Brown quoted in Fido, pp. 70–73 and Marriott, pp. 130–131
Marriott, pp. 132–144; Whitehead and Rivett, p. 68
Examining
pathologist Dr Frederick Gordon Brown quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p.
128; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 207; and Marriott, pp. 132–133,
141–143
Sequeira's inquest testimony quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 128; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 208; and Marriott, p. 144
Saunders's inquest testimony quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 208
Cook, pp. 45–47; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 178–181
Constable Alfred Long's inquest testimony, quoted in Marriott, pp. 148–149 and Rumbelow, p. 61
Letter
from Charles Warren to Godfrey Lushington, Permanent Under-Secretary of
State for the Home Department, 6 November 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C,
quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 183–184
Detective Constable
Daniel Halse's inquest testimony, 11 October 1888, quoted in Evans and
Skinner (2000), pp. 214–215 and Marriott, pp. 150–151
Letter from
Charles Warren to the Home Office Undersecretary of State, 6 November
1888, quoted in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 197;
Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 183–184 and Marriott, p. 159
Inquest testimony of surveyor Frederick William Foster, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 201–202
Rumbelow, p. 76
Testimony of Dr Blackwell, the first surgeon at the scene, quoted by Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 163 and Rumbelow, p. 71
Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 175; Rumbelow, p. 76
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 186–187; Cook, pp. 166–167; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 106–108; Rumbelow, p. 76
Begg, pp. 186–187; Cook, p. 167; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 164; Rumbelow, p. 76
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 104; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 158; Rumbelow, p. 72
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 106–108; Rumbelow, p. 76
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 176–184
Reported in The Times, 2 October 1888
Inspector
Donald Swanson's report to the Home Office, 19 October 1888, HO
144/221/A49301C, quoted in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive
History, p. 193
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp.
193–194; Chief Inspector Swanson's report, 6 November 1888, HO
144/221/A49301C, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 24–25; Fido,
pp. 45, 77
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 201–203; Fido, pp. 80–81
Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 202; Evans and Rumbelow, p.
141; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 179, 225; Fido, p. 77
Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 291–299; Fido, p. 134
Cook, pp. 76–77; Woods and Baddeley, pp. 48–49
Evans and Skinner (2001), p. 30; Rumbelow, p. 118
Evans and Rumblelow, pp. 142–144; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 239
Lees's diary quoted in Woods and Baddeley, p. 66
Quoted
in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 167; Evans and Skinner (2001), p. 63; Chief
Inspector Swanson's report, 6 November 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C, quoted
in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 185–188 and Rumbelow, p. 118
Cook, pp. 144–149; Evans and Skinner (2001), pp. 54–71; Fido, pp. 78–80; Rumbelow, p. 121
Inspector
Donald Swanson's report to the Home Office, 19 October 1888, HO
144/221/A49301C, quoted in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive
History, p. 205; Evans and Rumbelow, p. 113; Evans and Skinner (2000),
p. 125
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 231; Evans and Rumbelow, p. 177
Daily Telegraph, 10 November 1888, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 339
Dr Phillips's inquest testimony, 12 November 1888, quoted in Marriott, p. 176
Police
surgeon Thomas Bond's report, MEPO 3/3153 ff. 10–18, quoted in Begg,
Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 242–243; Evans and Skinner
(2000), pp. 345–347 and Marriott, pp. 170–171
Inspector Abberline's inquest testimony, 12 November 1888, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 375–376 and Marriott, p. 177
Daily Telegraph, 10 November 1888, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 338; Marriott, p. 179; Whitehead and Rivett, p. 86
Marriott, pp. 167–180
Marriott, p. 172
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 175, 189; Fido, p. 95; Rumbelow, pp. 94 ff.
East London Advertiser, 21 November 1888, quoted in Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 247
Evans
and Rumbelow, p. 174; Telegram from Prime Minister Lord Salisbury to
Queen Victoria, 11 November 1888, Royal Archives VIC/A67/20, quoted in
Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 357; Fido, p. 137; Whitehead and Rivett, p.
90
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 196
Letter from Thomas Bond to Robert
Anderson, 10 November 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C, quoted in Evans and
Skinner (2000), pp. 360–362 and Rumbelow, pp. 145–147
Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 347–349
Letter to the Home Office of 18 July 1889 and Commissioner's Report for 1888, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 204
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 245–246; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 422–447
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 314
Ryder,
Stephen P. "Rose Mylett (1862-1888) a.k.a. Catherine Millett or
Mellett, 'Drunken Lizzie' Davis, 'Fair Alice' Downey". Casebook: Jack
the Ripper. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
Daily Chronicle, 26 December
1888, quoted in Beadle, William (2009), Jack the Ripper: Unmasked,
London: John Blake, ISBN 978-1-84454-688-6, p. 209
Robert Anderson to James Monro, 11 January 1889, MEPO 3/143 ff. E–J, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 434–436
Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 433; Fido, pp. 102–103
Report by James Monro, 23 December 1888, HO 144/221/A49301H ff. 7–14, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 423–425
Quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 433
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 245–246
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 205–209; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 448–468
Rumbelow, p. 129
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 207–208; Evans and Skinner (2001), p. 137
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 208–209; Marriott, pp. 182–183
Interview in Cassell's Saturday Journal, 28 May 1892, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 225
Marriott, p. 195
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 209
Coroner Baxter's summing up, 14 August 1888, quoted in Marriott, p. 193
Eddleston, p. 129
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 316
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 210; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 480–515
Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 489–510
Report
to the Home Office by Swanson, 10 September 1889, MEPO 3/140 ff.
136–40, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 480–482; Report to the
Home Office by Monro, 11 September 1889, HO 144/221/A49301K ff. 1–8,
quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 492–494
Report of Dr Charles
A. Hebbert, 16 September 1889, MEPO 3/140 ff. 146–7, quoted in Evans
and Skinner (2000), pp. 496–497; inquest testimony of George Bagster
Phillips, 24 September 1889, quoted in Evans and Skinner (2000), pp.
509–510
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 213
Report to the Home Office by
Swanson, 10 September 1889, MEPO 3/140 ff. 136–40, quoted in Evans and
Rumbelow, pp. 210–213 and Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 480–482
Report
to the Home Office by Monro, 11 September 1889, HO 144/221/A49301K ff.
1–8, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 213 and Evans and Skinner (2000),
pp. 492–494
Gordon, R. Michael (2002), The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0-7864-1348-5
Spicer, Gerard. "The Thames Torso Murders of 1887–89". Casebook: Jack the Ripper. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
Trow,
M.J. (2011). The Thames Torso Murders. Barnsley, UK: Wharncliffe Books.
ISBN 978-1-84884-430-8. the Thames torso murderer has gripped readers
and historians ever since he committed his crimes in the 1870s and 1880s
Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 480; Fido, p. 104; Rumbelow, p. 132
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 217
Fido, p. 113; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 551–557
Ryder,
Stephen P. "Frances Coles a.k.a. Frances Coleman, Frances Hawkins,
'Carroty Nell'". Casebook: Jack the Ripper. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 317
Cook, pp. 53–55; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 218–219; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 551
Examining pathologist Dr Phillips, and Dr F. J. Oxley, first doctor at the scene, quoted in Marriott, p. 198
Cook, p. 237; Marriott, p. 198
Fido, pp. 104–105
Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 220–222; Evans and Skinner (2000), pp. 551–568
Jenkins, John Philip. "Jack the Ripper". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, pp. 1–2
Cook, pp. 139–141; Werner (ed.), pp. 236–237
"The Whitechapel Murders". Western Mail. 17 November 1888. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
Ryder,
Stephen P. (editor) (2006), Public Reactions to Jack the Ripper:
Letters to the Editor August – December 1888, Chestertown, MD: Inklings
Press, ISBN 0-9759129-7-6; Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive
History, pp. 1–2; Woods and Baddeley, pp. 144–145
Werner (ed.), pp. 236–237
Werner
(ed.), pp. 177–179; See also: "The Fossan (Keate and Tonge) estate",
Survey of London: volume 27: Spitalfields and Mile End New Town (1957),
pp. 245–251, retrieved 18 January 2010
Evans and Rumbelow, p. 223; Evans and Skinner (2000), p. 655
Bibliography
Begg, Paul (2003). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History. London: Pearson Education. ISBN 0-582-50631-X
Begg, Paul (2006). Jack the Ripper: The Facts. Anova Books. ISBN 1-86105-687-7
Connell,
Nicholas (2005). Walter Dew: The Man Who Caught Crippen. Stroud,
Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-3803-7
Cook, Andrew (2009). Jack the Ripper. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84868-327-3
Davenport-Hines,
Richard (2004). "Jack the Ripper (fl. 1888)", Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography. Oxford University Press. Subscription required for
online version.
Evans, Stewart P.; Rumbelow, Donald (2006). Jack the
Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton
Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-4228-2
Evans, Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith
(2000). The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated
Encyclopedia. London: Constable and Robinson. ISBN 1-84119-225-2
Evans,
Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith (2001). Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell.
Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2549-3
Fido, Martin (1987). The Crimes, Death and Detection of Jack the Ripper. Vermont: Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-0-297-79136-2
Gordon,
R. Michael (2000). Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel
Suspects. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-786-40898-6
Lloyd, Georgina (1986). One Was Not Enough: True Stories of Multiple Murderers. Toronto: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-17605-6
Marriott, Trevor (2005). Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation. London: John Blake. ISBN 1-84454-103-7
Rumbelow, Donald (2004). The Complete Jack the Ripper: Fully Revised and Updated. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-017395-1
Waddell, Bill (1993). The Black Museum: New Scotland Yard. London: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-90332-5
Werner, Alex (editor) (2008). Jack the Ripper and the East End. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0-7011-8247-2
Whitehead, Mark; Rivett, Miriam (2006). Jack the Ripper. Harpenden, Hertfordshire: Pocket Essentials. ISBN 978-1-904048-69-5
Whittington-Egan, Richard (2013). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Casebook. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-445-61768-8
Woods,
Paul; Baddeley, Gavin (2009). Saucy Jack: The Elusive Ripper. Hersham,
Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3410-5
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Murder (disambiguation).
"Murderer" redirects here. For other uses, see Murderer (disambiguation).
"Double murder" redirects here. For the film, see Double Murder.
Jereboam O. Beauchamp killing Solomon P. Sharp, an example of a murder.
Criminal law
Elements
Actus reus Mens rea Causation Concurrence
Scope of criminal liability
Accessory Accomplice Complicity Corporate Principal Vicarious
Severity of offense
Felony (or Indictable offense) Infraction (also called violation) Misdemeanor (or Summary offense)
Inchoate offenses
Attempt Conspiracy Incitement Solicitation
Offense against the person
Assassination Assault Battery Child abuse Criminal negligence
Defamation Domestic violence False imprisonment Frameup Harassment Home
invasion Homicide Human trafficking Intimidation Kidnapping Menacing
Manslaughter (corporate) Mayhem Murder
felony Negligent homicide Robbery Stalking Torture
Sexual offenses
Adultery Bigamy Child sexual abuse Cybersex trafficking Fornication
Homosexuality Incest Indecent exposure Masturbation Obscenity
Prostitution Rape Sex trafficking Sexual assault Sexual slavery
Voyeurism
Crimes against property
Arson Arms
trafficking Blackmail Bribery Burglary Embezzlement Extortion False
pretenses Forgery Fraud Gambling Intellectual property violation Larceny
Looting Payola Pickpocketing Possessing stolen property Robbery
Smuggling Tax evasion Theft Trespass to land Vandalism, Mischief
Crimes against justice
Compounding Malfeasance in office Miscarriage of justice Misprision Obstruction Perjury Perverting the course of justice
Crimes against the public
Apostasy Begging Censorship violation Dueling Genocide Hostage-taking
Illegal consumption (such as prohibition of drugs, alcohol, and smoking)
Miscegenation Piracy Regicide Terrorism Usurpation War crimes
Crimes against animals
Cruelty to animals Poaching Wildlife smuggling Bestiality
Crimes against the state
Lèse-majesté Treason Espionage Secession Sedition Subversion
Defenses to liability
Actual innocence Automatism Consent Defense of property Diminished
responsibility Duress Entrapment Ignorantia juris non excusat Infancy
Insanity Justification Mistake (of law) Necessity Provocation
Self-defense
Other common-law areas
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Manslaughter
In English law Voluntary manslaughter Negligent homicide Vehicular homicide
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Note: Varies by jurisdiction
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Murder
is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid
excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a
specific jurisdiction.[1][2][3] This state of mind may, depending upon
the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful
homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the
absence of malice,[note 1] such as in the case of voluntary
manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished
capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing
that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.
Most
societies consider murder to be an extremely serious crime, and thus
believe that a person convicted of murder should receive harsh
punishments for the purposes of retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation,
or incapacitation. In most countries, a person convicted of murder
generally receives a long-term prison sentence, a life sentence, or
capital punishment.[4]
Etymology
The modern English word
"murder" descends from the Proto-Indo-European *mŕ̥-trom which meant
"killing", a noun derived from *mer- "to die".[5]
Proto-Germanic,
in fact, had two nouns derived from this word, later merging into the
modern English noun: *murþrą "death, killing, murder" (directly from
Proto-Indo-European*mŕ̥-trom), whence Old English morðor "secret or
unlawful killing of a person, murder; mortal sin, crime; punishment,
torment, misery";[6] and *murþrijô "murderer; homicide" (from the verb
*murþrijaną "to murder"), giving Old English myrþra "homicide, murder;
murderer". There was a third word for "murder" in Proto-Germanic,
continuing Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tós "dead" (compare Latin mors),
giving Proto-Germanic *murþą "death, killing, murder" and Old English
morþ "death, crime, murder" (compare German Mord).
The -d- first
attested in Middle English mordre, mourdre, murder, murdre could have
been influenced by Old French murdre, itself derived from the Germanic
noun via Frankish *murþra (compare Old High German murdreo, murdiro),
though the same sound development can be seen with burden (from
burthen). The alternative murther (attested up to the 19th century)
springs directly from the Old English forms. Middle English mordre is a
verb from Anglo-Saxon myrðrian from Proto-Germanic *murþrijaną, or,
according to the Oxford English Dictionary, from the noun.[7]
Use of the term
In
many countries, out of concern for being accused of defamation,[8]
journalists are generally careful not to identify a suspect as a
murderer until the suspect is convicted of murder in a court of law.
After arrest, for example, journalists may instead write that the person
was "arrested on suspicion of murder",[9] or, after a prosecutor files
charges, as an "accused murderer".[10]
Opponents of abortion
consider abortion a form of murder.[11][12] In some countries, a fetus
is a legal person who can be murdered, and killing a pregnant woman is
considered a double homicide.[13][14]
Definition
The
eighteenth-century English jurist William Blackstone (citing Edward
Coke), in his Commentaries on the Laws of England set out the common law
definition of murder, which by this definition occurs
when a
person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kills any reasonable
creature in being and under the king's peace, with malice aforethought,
either express or implied.[15]
At common law, murder was normally punishable by death.[16]
The elements of common law murder are:
unlawful
killing
through criminal act or omission
of a human
by another human
intentional killing
with malice aforethought.[17]
Unlawful – This distinguishes murder from killings that are done within
the boundaries of law, such as capital punishment, justified
self-defense, or the killing of enemy combatants by lawful combatants as
well as causing collateral damage to non-combatants during a war.[18]
Killing – At common law life ended with cardiopulmonary arrest[17] –
the total and irreversible cessation of blood circulation and
respiration.[17] With advances in medical technology courts have adopted
irreversible cessation of all brain function as marking the end of
life.[17]
Criminal act or omission – Killing can be committed by an act or an omission.[19]
Of a human – This element presents the issue of when life begins. At
common law, a fetus was not a human being.[20] Life began when the fetus
passed through the vagina and took its first breath.[17]
By
another human – In early common law, suicide was considered murder.[17]
The requirement that the person killed be someone other than the
perpetrator excluded suicide from the definition of murder.
With
malice aforethought – Originally malice aforethought carried its
everyday meaning – a deliberate and premeditated (prior intent) killing
of another motivated by ill will. Murder necessarily required that an
appreciable time pass between the formation and execution of the intent
to kill. The courts broadened the scope of murder by eliminating the
requirement of actual premeditation and deliberation as well as true
malice. All that was required for malice aforethought to exist is that
the perpetrator act with one of the four states of mind that constitutes
"malice".
In contrast with manslaughter, murder requires the
mental element known as malice aforethought. Mitigating factors that
weigh against a finding of intent to kill, such as "loss of control" or
"diminished responsibility", may result in the reduction of a murder
charge to voluntary manslaughter.[16]
The four states of mind recognised as constituting "malice" are:[21]
Intent to kill,
Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm short of death,
Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life
(sometimes described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"), or
Intent to commit a dangerous felony (the "felony murder" doctrine).
Under
state of mind (iii), an "abandoned and malignant heart", the killing
must result from the defendant's conduct involving a reckless
indifference to human life and a conscious disregard of an unreasonable
risk of death or serious bodily injury. In Australian jurisdictions, the
unreasonable risk must amount to a foreseen probability of death (or
grievous bodily harm in most states), as opposed to possibility.[22]
Under
state of mind (iv), the felony-murder doctrine, the felony committed
must be an inherently dangerous felony, such as burglary, arson, rape,
robbery or kidnapping. Importantly, the underlying felony cannot be a
lesser included offense such as assault, otherwise all criminal
homicides would be murder as all are felonies.
In Spanish
criminal law,[23] asesinato (literally 'assassination'): takes place
when any of these requirements concur: Treachery (the use of means to
avoid risk for the aggressor or to ensure that the crime goes
unpunished), price or reward (financial gain) or viciousness
(deliberately increasing the pain of the victim). After the last reform
of the Spanish Criminal Code, in force since July 1, 2015, another
circumstance that turns homicide (homicidio) into assassination is the
desire to facilitate the commission of another crime or to prevent it
from being discovered.[24]
As with most legal terms, the precise
definition of murder varies between jurisdictions and is usually
codified in some form of legislation. Even when the legal distinction
between murder and manslaughter is clear, it is not unknown for a jury
to find a murder defendant guilty of the lesser offense. The jury might
sympathize with the defendant (e.g. in a crime of passion, or in the
case of a bullied victim who kills their tormentor), and the jury may
wish to protect the defendant from a sentence of life imprisonment or
execution.
Degrees
"Murder in the second degree" and "Premeditated
murder" redirect here. For the album, see Murder in the Second Degree.
For the film, see Premeditated Murder.
Some jurisdictions divide
murder by degrees. The distinction between first- and second-degree
murder exists, for example, in Canadian murder law and U.S. murder law.
Some US states maintain the offense of capital murder.
The most
common division is between first- and second-degree murder. Generally,
second-degree murder is common law murder, and first-degree is an
aggravated form. The aggravating factors of first-degree murder depend
on the jurisdiction, but may include a specific intent to kill,
premeditation, or deliberation. In some, murders committed by acts such
as strangulation, poisoning, or lying in wait are also treated as
first-degree murder.[25] A few states in the U.S. further distinguish
third-degree murder, but they differ significantly in which kinds of
murders they classify as second-degree versus third-degree. For example,
Minnesota defines third-degree murder as depraved-heart murder, whereas
Florida defines third-degree murder as felony murder (except when the
underlying felony is specifically listed in the definition of
first-degree murder).[26][27]
Some jurisdictions also distinguish
premeditated murder. This is the crime of wrongfully and intentionally
causing the death of another human being (also known as murder) after
rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to
either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or
apprehension.[28] State laws in the United States vary as to definitions
of "premeditation". In some states, premeditation may be construed as
taking place mere seconds before the murder. Premeditated murder is one
of the most serious forms of homicide, and is punished more severely
than manslaughter or other types of homicide, often with a life sentence
without the possibility of parole, or in some countries, the death
penalty. In the U.S., federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1111(a)) criminalizes
premeditated murder, felony murder and second-degree murder committed
under situations where federal jurisdiction applies.[29] In Canada, the
criminal code classifies murder as either first- or second-degree. The
former type of murder is often called premeditated murder, although
premeditation is not the only way murder can be classified as
first-degree. In the Netherlands, the traditional strict distinction
between premeditated intentional killing (classed as murder, moord) and
non-premeditated intentional killing (manslaughter, doodslag) is
maintained; when differentiating between murder and manslaughter, the
only relevant factor is the existence or not of premeditation (rather
than the existence or not of mitigating or aggravated factors).
Manslaughter (non-premeditated intentional killing) with aggravating
factors is punished more severely, but it is not classified as murder,
because murder is an offense which always requires premeditation.[30]
Common law
According
to Blackstone, English common law identified murder as a public
wrong.[31] According to common law, murder is considered to be malum in
se, that is, an act which is evil within itself. An act such as murder
is wrong or evil by its very nature, and it is the very nature of the
act which does not require any specific detailing or definition in the
law to consider murder a crime.[32]
Some jurisdictions still take
a common law view of murder. In such jurisdictions, what is considered
to be murder is defined by precedent case law or previous decisions of
the courts of law. However, although the common law is by nature
flexible and adaptable, in the interests both of certainty and of
securing convictions, most common law jurisdictions have codified their
criminal law and now have statutory definitions of murder.
Exclusions
General
Although laws vary by country, there are circumstances of exclusion that are common in many legal systems.
The killing of enemy combatants who have not surrendered, when
committed by lawful combatants in accordance with lawful orders in war,
is generally not considered murder. Illicit killings within a war may
constitute murder or homicidal war crimes; see Laws of war.
Self-defense: acting in self-defense or in defense of another person is
generally accepted as legal justification for killing a person in
situations that would otherwise have been murder. However, a
self-defense killing might be considered manslaughter if the killer
established control of the situation before the killing took place, such
as imperfect self-defense. In the case of self-defense, it is called a
"justifiable homicide".[33]
Unlawful killings without malice or intent are considered manslaughter.
In many common law countries, provocation is a partial defense to a
charge of murder which acts by converting what would otherwise have been
murder into manslaughter (this is voluntary manslaughter, which is more
severe than involuntary manslaughter).
Accidental killings are
considered homicides. Depending on the circumstances, these may or may
not be considered criminal offenses; they are often considered
manslaughter.
Suicide does not constitute murder in most
societies. Assisting a suicide, however, may be considered murder in
some circumstances.
Specific to certain countries
Capital punishment: some countries practice the death penalty. Capital
punishment may be ordered by a legitimate court of law as the result of a
conviction in a criminal trial with due process for a serious crime.
All member states of the Council of Europe are prohibited from using the
death penalty.
Euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide: the
administration of lethal drugs by a doctor to a terminally ill patient,
if the intention is solely to alleviate pain, in many jurisdictions it
is seen as a special case (see the doctrine of double effect and the
case of Dr John Bodkin Adams).[34]
Killing to prevent the theft
of one's property may be legal under certain circumstances, depending on
the jurisdiction.[35][36] In 2013, a jury in south Texas acquitted a
man who killed a sex worker who attempted to run away with his
money.[37]
Killing an intruder who is found by an owner to be in
the owner's home (having entered unlawfully): legal in most US states
(see Castle doctrine).[38]
Killing to prevent specific forms of
aggravated rape or sexual assault – killing of attacker by the potential
victim or by witnesses to the scene; legal in parts of the US and in
various other countries.[39]
In some countries, the killing for
what are considered reasons connected to family honor, usually involving
killing due to sexual, religious or caste reasons (known as honor
killing), committed frequently by a husband, father or male relative of
the victim, is not considered murder; it may not be considered a
criminal act or it may be considered a criminal offense other than
murder.[40][41] International law, including the Istanbul Convention
(the first legally binding convention against domestic violence and
violence against women) prohibits these types of killings (see Article
42 – Unacceptable justifications for crimes, including crimes committed
in the name of so-called honor).[42]
In the United States, in
most states and in federal jurisdiction, a killing by a police officer
is excluded from prosecution if the officer reasonably believes they are
being threatened with deadly force by the victim. This may include such
actions by the victim as reaching into a glove compartment or pocket
for license and registration, if the officer reasonably believes that
the victim might be reaching for
Victim
All
jurisdictions require that the victim be a natural person; that is, a
human being who was still alive before being murdered. In other words,
under the law one cannot murder a corpse, a corporation, a non-human
animal, or any other non-human organism such as a plant or bacterium.
California's
murder statute, penal code section 187, expressly mentioned a fetus as
being capable of being killed, and was interpreted by the Supreme Court
of California in 1994 as not requiring any proof of the viability of the
fetus as a prerequisite to a murder conviction.[44] This holding has
two implications. Firstly, a defendant in California can be convicted of
murder for killing a fetus which the mother herself could have
terminated without committing a crime.[44] And secondly, as stated by
Justice Stanley Mosk in his dissent, because women carrying nonviable
fetuses may not be visibly pregnant, it may be possible for a defendant
to be convicted of intentionally murdering a person they did not know
existed.[44]
Mitigating circumstances
Some countries allow
conditions that "affect the balance of the mind" to be regarded as
mitigating circumstances. This means that a person may be found guilty
of "manslaughter" on the basis of "diminished responsibility" rather
than being found guilty of murder, if it can be proved that the killer
was suffering from a condition that affected their judgment at the time.
Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and medication side-effects
are examples of conditions that may be taken into account when assessing
responsibility.
Insanity
Main articles: Insanity defense and M'Naghten rules
Mental
disorder may apply to a wide range of disorders including psychosis
caused by schizophrenia and dementia, and excuse the person from the
need to undergo the stress of a trial as to liability. Usually,
sociopathy and other personality disorders are not legally considered
insanity. In some jurisdictions, following the pre-trial hearing to
determine the extent of the disorder, the defense of "not guilty by
reason of insanity" may be used to get a not guilty verdict.[45] This
defense has two elements:
That the defendant had a serious mental illness, disease, or defect
That the defendant's mental condition, at the time of the killing,
rendered the perpetrator unable to determine right from wrong, or that
what they were doing was wrong
Under New York law, for example:
§ 40.15 Mental disease or defect. In any prosecution for an offense, it
is an affirmative defence that when the defendant engaged in the
proscribed conduct, he lacked criminal responsibility by reason of
mental disease or defect. Such lack of criminal responsibility means
that at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or
defect, he lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate either: 1.
The nature and consequences of such conduct; or 2. That such conduct was
wrong.
— N.Y. Penal Law, § 40.15[46]
Under the French Penal Code:
Article 122-1
A person is not criminally liable who, when the act was committed, was
suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which
destroyed his discernment or his ability to control his actions.
A person who, at the time he acted, was suffering from a psychological
or neuropsychological disorder which reduced his discernment or impeded
his ability to control his actions, remains punishable; however, the
court shall take this into account when it decides the penalty and
determines its regime.
— Penal Code §122-1 found at Legifrance web site
Those
who successfully argue a defense based on a mental disorder are usually
referred to mandatory clinical treatment until they are certified safe
to be released back into the community, rather than prison.[47]
Postpartum depression
Postpartum
depression (also known as post-natal depression) is recognized in some
countries as a mitigating factor in cases of infanticide. According to
Susan Friedman, "Two dozen nations have infanticide laws that decrease
the penalty for mothers who kill their children of up to one year of
age. The United States does not have such a law, but mentally ill
mothers may plead not guilty by reason of insanity."[48] In the law of
the Republic of Ireland, infanticide was made a separate crime from
murder in 1949, applicable for the mother of a baby under one year old
where "the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having
fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by
reason of the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the
child".[49] Since independence, death sentences for murder in such cases
had always been commuted;[50] the new act was intended "to eliminate
all the terrible ritual of the black cap and the solemn words of the
judge pronouncing sentence of death in those cases ... where it is clear
to the Court and to everybody, except perhaps the unfortunate accused,
that the sentence will never be carried out."[51] In Russia, murder of a
newborn child by the mother has been a separate crime since 1996.[52]
Unintentional
For
a killing to be considered murder in nine out of fifty states in the
US, there normally needs to be an element of intent. A defendant may
argue that they took precautions not to kill, that the death could not
have been anticipated, or was unavoidable. As a general rule,
manslaughter[53] constitutes reckless killing, but manslaughter also
includes criminally negligent (i.e. grossly negligent) homicide.[54]
Unintentional killing that results from an involuntary action generally
cannot constitute murder.[55] After examining the evidence, a judge or
jury (depending on the jurisdiction) would determine whether the killing
was intentional or unintentional.
Diminished capacity
In
jurisdictions using the Uniform Penal Code, such as California,
diminished capacity may be a defense. For example, Dan White used this
defense[56] to obtain a manslaughter conviction, instead of murder, in
the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
Afterward, California amended its penal code to provide "As a matter of
public policy there shall be no defense of diminished capacity,
diminished responsibility, or irresistible impulse in a criminal
action...."[57]
Aggravating circumstances
Murder with
specified aggravating circumstances is often punished more harshly.
Depending on the jurisdiction, such circumstances may include:
Premeditation
Poisoning
Lying in wait
Murder of a child
Murder committed during sexual assault
Murder committed during kidnapping[58]
Multiple murders committed within one criminal transaction or in different transactions as part of one broader scheme
Murder of a police officer,[59][60] judge, firefighter or witness to a crime[61]
Murder of a pregnant woman[62]
Crime committed for pay or other reward, such as contract killing[63]
Exceptional brutality or cruelty, torture murder
Murder committed by an offender previously convicted of murder
Methods which are dangerous to the public[64] e.g. explosion, arson, shooting in a crowd etc.[65]
Murder for a political cause[59][66]
Murder committed in order to conceal another crime or facilitate its commission.[67]
Murder committed in order to obtain material gain, for example to obtain an inheritance[68]
Hate crimes, which occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of
their perceived membership in a certain social group.
Treachery (e.g. Heimtücke in German law)
In
the United States and Canada, these murders are referred to as
first-degree or aggravated murders.[69] Under English criminal law,
murder always carries a mandatory life sentence, but is not classified
into degrees. Penalties for murder committed under aggravating
circumstances are often higher under English law than the 15-year
minimum non-parole period that otherwise serves as a starting point for a
murder committed by an adult.
Felony murder rule
Main article: Felony murder rule
A
legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions broadens the crime of
murder: when an offender kills in the commission of a dangerous crime,
(regardless of intent), he or she is guilty of murder. The felony murder
rule is often justified by its supporters as a means of preventing
dangerous felonies,[70] but the case of Ryan Holle[71] shows it can be
used very widely.
The felony-murder reflects the versari in re
illicita: the offender is objectively responsible for the event of the
unintentional crime;[72] in fact the figure of the civil law systems
corresponding to felony murder is the preterintentional homicide (art.
222-7 French penal code,[73][74][75] art. 584 Italian penal code,[76]
art. 227 German penal code[77] etc.). Felony murder contrasts with the
principle of guilt, for which in England it was, at least formally,
abolished in 1957, in Canada it was quashed by the Supreme Court, while
in the USA it continues to survive.[78][79][80]
Year-and-a-day rule
Main article: Year and a day rule
In
some common law jurisdictions, a defendant accused of murder is not
guilty if the victim survives for longer than one year and one day after
the attack.[81] This reflects the likelihood that if the victim dies,
other factors will have contributed to the cause of death, breaking the
chain of causation; and also means that the responsible person does not
have a charge of murder "hanging over their head indefinitely".[82]
Subject to any statute of limitations, the accused could still be
charged with an offense reflecting the seriousness of the initial
assault.
With advances in modern medicine, most countries have
abandoned a fixed time period and test causation on the facts of the
case. This is known as "delayed death" and cases where this was applied
or was attempted to be applied go back to at least 1966.[83]
In
England and Wales, the "year-and-a-day rule" was abolished by the Law
Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996. However, if death occurs three
years or more after the original attack then prosecution can take place
only with the attorney-general's approval.
In the United States,
many jurisdictions have abolished the rule as well.[84][85] Abolition of
the rule has been accomplished by enactment of statutory criminal
codes, which had the effect of displacing the common-law definitions of
crimes and corresponding defenses. In 2001 the Supreme Court of the
United States held that retroactive application of a state supreme court
decision abolishing the year-and-a-day rule did not violate the Ex Post
Facto Clause of Article I of the United States Constitution.[86]
The
potential effect of fully abolishing the rule can be seen in the case
of 74-year-old William Barnes, charged with the murder of a Philadelphia
police officer Walter T. Barclay Jr., who he had shot nearly 41 years
previously. Barnes had served 16 years in prison for attempting to
murder Barkley, but when the policeman died on August 19, 2007, this was
alleged to be from complications of the wounds suffered from the
shooting – and Barnes was charged with his murder. He was acquitted on
May 24, 2010.[87]
Contributing factors
According to Peter Morrall, the motivations for murder fit into the following 4 categories:[88]
Lust: The murderer seeks to kill rivals to obtain objects of their sexual desire
Love: The murderer seeks to "mercy kill" a loved one with a major deformity or an incurable illness.
Loathing: The murderer seeks to kill a loathed person (such as an abusive parent) or members of a loathed group or culture.
Loot: The murderer seeks some form of financial gain.
Morall
takes a biological view of offending when he insists the risk factors
that may increase the chance that somebody will commit a murder
include:[88]
Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, is correlated with competitive and assertive behaviour.
Reduction in serotonin increases likelihood of impulsive hostile behaviour.
Alteration in the breakdown of glucose appears to affect mood and behaviour.
Hyperglycemia and Hypoglycemia can both lead to aggression.
Consumption of alcohol can lead to reduced self control.
Environmental pollutants circulating in the body are linked to heightened aggression.
Malnutrition from eating too much junk food can provoke aggressive behaviour and even murder.
Certain
personality disorders are associated with an increased homicide rate,
most notably narcissistic, anti-social, and histrionic personality
disorders and those associated with psychopathology.[89]
Several
studies have shown that there is a correlation between murder rates and
poverty.[90][91][92][93] A 2000 study showed that regions of the state
of São Paulo in Brazil with lower income also had higher rates of
murder.[93]
Religious attitudes
Abrahamic context
A group of Thugs strangling a traveller on a highway in the early 19th century
In
the Abrahamic religions, the first ever murder was committed by Cain
against his brother Abel out of jealousy.[94] In the past, certain types
of homicide were lawful and justified. Georg Oesterdiekhoff wrote:
Evans-Pritchard says about the Nuer from Sudan: "Homicide is not
forbidden, and Nuer do not think it wrong to kill a man in fair fight.
On the contrary, a man who slays another in combat is admired for his
courage and skill." (Evans-Pritchard 1956: 195) This statement is true
for most African tribes, for pre-modern Europeans, for Indigenous
Australians, and for Native Americans, according to ethnographic reports
from all over the world. ... Homicides rise to incredible numbers among
headhunter cultures such as the Papua. When a boy is born, the father
has to kill a man. He needs a name for his child and can receive it only
by a man, he himself has murdered. When a man wants to marry, he must
kill a man. When a man dies, his family again has to kill a man.[95]
In
many such societies the redress was not via a legal system, but by
blood revenge, although there might also be a form of payment that could
be made instead—such as the weregild which in early Germanic society
could be paid to the victim's family in lieu of their right of revenge.
One
of the oldest-known prohibitions against murder appears in the Sumerian
Code of Ur-Nammu written sometime between 2100 and 2050 BC. The code
states, "If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed."
Judaism and Christianity
The
prohibition against murder is one of the Ten Commandments given by God
to Moses in Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21, which are part of the
scripture for both Jews and Christians.
In Islam
In Islam according to the Qur'an, one of the greatest sins is to kill a human being who has committed no fault.[96]
"Do not take a ˹human˺ life—made sacred by Allah—except with ˹legal˺ right." [Quran 17:33]
"That
is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a
life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will
be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will
be as if they saved all of humanity." [Quran 5:32]
"˹They are˺
those who do not invoke any other god besides Allah, nor take a ˹human˺
life—made sacred by Allah—except with ˹legal˺ right,1 nor commit
fornication. And whoever does ˹any of˺ this will face the penalty."
[Quran 25:68]
Historical attitudes
The term assassin derives
from Hashshashin,[97] a militant Ismaili Shi'ite sect, active from the
8th to 14th centuries. This mystic secret society killed members of the
Abbasid, Fatimid, Seljuq and Crusader elite for political and religious
reasons.[98] The Thuggee cult that plagued India was devoted to Kali,
the goddess of death and destruction.[99][100] According to some
estimates the Thuggees murdered 1 million people between 1740 and
1840.[101] The Aztecs believed that without regular offerings of blood
the sun god Huitzilopochtli would withdraw his support for them and
destroy the world as they knew it.[102] According to Ross Hassig, author
of Aztec Warfare, "between 10,000 and 80,400 persons" were sacrificed
in the 1487 re-consecration of the Great Pyramid of
Tenochtitlan.[103][104] Japanese samurai had the right to strike with
their sword at anyone of a lower class who compromised their
honour.[105]
Slavery
Southern slave codes did make willful
killing of a slave illegal in most cases.[106] For example, the 1860
Mississippi case of Oliver v. State charged the defendant with murdering
his own slave.[107] In 1811, the wealthy white planter Arthur Hodge was
hanged for murdering several of his slaves on his plantation in the
Virgin Islands.[108]
Honor killings in Corsica
In Corsica,
vendetta was a social code that required Corsicans to kill anyone who
wronged their family honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300
murders were perpetrated in Corsica.[109]
Incidence
See also: List of countries by intentional homicide rate
International murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants, 2011
0–1
1–2
2–5
5–10
10–20
>20
The
World Health Organization reported in October 2002 that a person is
murdered every 60 seconds.[110] An estimated 520,000 people were
murdered in 2000 around the globe. Another study estimated the worldwide
murder rate at 456,300 in 2010 with a 35% increase since 1990.[111]
Two-fifths of them were young people between the ages of 10 and 29 who
were killed by other young people.[112] Because murder is the least
likely crime to go unreported, statistics of murder are seen as a
bellwether of overall crime rates.[113]
Historical variation
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants, 2009
According
to scholar Pieter Spierenburg homicide rates per 100,000 in Europe have
fallen over the centuries, from 35 per 100,000 in medieval times, to 20
in 1500 AD, 5 in 1700, to below two per 100,000 in 1900.[114]
In
the United States, murder rates have been higher and have fluctuated.
They fell below 2 per 100,000 by 1900, rose during the first half of the
century, dropped in the years following World War II, and bottomed out
at 4.0 in 1957 before rising again.[115] The rate stayed in 9 to 10
range most of the period from 1972 to 1994, before falling to 5 in
present times.[114] The increase since 1957 would have been even greater
if not for the significant improvements in medical techniques and
emergency response times, which mean that more and more attempted
homicide victims survive. According to one estimate, if the lethality
levels of criminal assaults of 1964 still applied in 1993, the country
would have seen the murder rate of around 26 per 100,000, almost triple
the actually observed rate of 9.5 per 100,000.[116]
The historical
homicide rate in Stockholm since 1400 AD. The murder rate was very high
in the Middle Ages. The rate has declined greatly: from 45/100,000 to a
low of 0.6 in the 1950s. The last decades have seen the homicide rate
rise slowly.
A similar, but less pronounced pattern has been seen
in major European countries as well. The murder rate in the United
Kingdom fell to 1 per 100,000 by the beginning of the 20th century and
as low as 0.62 per 100,000 in 1960, and was at 1.28 per 100,000 as of
2009. The murder rate in France (excluding Corsica) bottomed out after
World War II at less than 0.4 per 100,000, quadrupling to 1.6 per
100,000 since then.[117]
The specific factors driving these
dynamics in murder rates are complex and not universally agreed upon.
Much of the raise in the U.S. murder rate during the first half of the
20th century is generally thought to be attributed to gang violence
associated with Prohibition. Since most murders are committed by young
males, the near simultaneous low in the murder rates of major developed
countries circa 1960 can be attributed to low birth rates during the
Great Depression and World War II. Causes of further moves are more
controversial. Some of the more exotic factors claimed to affect murder
rates include the availability of abortion[118] and the likelihood of
chronic exposure to lead during childhood (due to the use of leaded
paint in houses and tetraethyllead as a gasoline additive in internal
combustion engines).[119]
Rates by country
Murder rates vary
greatly among countries and societies around the world. In the Western
world, murder rates in most countries have declined significantly during
the 20th century and are now between 1 and 4 cases per 100,000 people
per year. Latin America and the Caribbean, the region with the highest
murder rate in the world,[120] experienced more than 2.5 million murders
between 2000 and 2017.[121]
UNODC: Per 100,000 population (2011)
Murder
rates in jurisdictions such as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Iceland,
Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Germany are among the lowest in the world,
around 0.3–1 cases per 100,000 people per year; the rate of the United
States is among the highest of developed countries, around 4.5 in
2014,[122] with rates in larger cities sometimes over 40 per
100,000.[123] The top ten highest murder rates are in Honduras (91.6 per
100,000), El Salvador, Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Belize, Jamaica, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Zambia. (UNODC,
2011 – full table here).
The following absolute murder counts
per-country are not comparable because they are not adjusted by each
country's total population. Nonetheless, they are included here for
reference, with 2010 used as the base year (they may or may not include
justifiable homicide, depending on the jurisdiction). There were 52,260
murders in Brazil, consecutively elevating the record set in 2009.[124]
Over half a million people were shot to death in Brazil between 1979 and
2003.[125] 33,335 murder cases were registered across India,[126]
approximately 17,000 murders in Colombia (the murder rate was 38 per
100,000 people, in 2008 murders went down to 15,000),[127] approximately
16,000 murders in South Africa,[128] approximately 15,000 murders in
the United States,[129] approximately 26,000 murders in Mexico,[130]
about 8,000 murders committed in Russia,[131] approximately 13,000
murders in Venezuela,[132] approximately 4,000 murders in El
Salvador,[133] approximately 1,400 murders in Jamaica,[134]
approximately 550 murders in Canada[135] and approximately 470 murders
in Trinidad and Tobago.[134] Pakistan reported 12,580 murders.[136]
United States
The
Lake Bodom murders in Espoo, Finland is the most famous unsolved
homicide case in Finnish criminal history.[137] The tent is investigated
immediately after the murders in 1960.
The scene of a murder in Rio de Janeiro. More than 800,000 people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2004.[138]
In
the United States, 666,160 people were killed between 1960 and
1996.[139] Approximately 90% of murders in the US are committed by
males.[140] Between 1976 and 2005, 23.5% of all murder victims and 64.8%
of victims murdered by intimate partners were female.[141] For women in
the US, homicide is the leading cause of death in the workplace.[142]
In
the US, murder is the leading cause of death for African American males
aged 15 to 34. Between 1976 and 2008, African Americans were victims of
329,825 homicides.[143][144] In 2006, Federal Bureau of Investigation's
Supplementary Homicide Report indicated that nearly half of the 14,990
murder victims that year were Black (7421).[145] In the year 2007, there
were 3,221 black victims and 3,587 white victims of non-negligent
homicides. While 2,905 of the black victims were killed by a black
offender, 2,918 of the white victims were killed by white offenders.
There were 566 white victims of black offenders and 245 black victims of
white offenders.[146] The "white" category in the Uniform Crime Reports
(UCR) includes non-black Hispanics.[147] Murder demographics are
affected by the improvement of trauma care, which has resulted in
reduced lethality of violent assaults – thus the murder rate may not
necessarily indicate the overall level of social violence.[116]
Workplace homicide, which tripled during the 1980s, is the fastest growing category of murder in America.[142][148][149]
Development
of murder rates over time in different countries is often used by both
supporters and opponents of capital punishment and control. Using
properly filtered data, it is possible to make the case for or against
either of these issues. For example, one could look at murder rates in
the United States from 1950 to 2000,[150] and notice that those rates
went up sharply shortly after a moratorium on death sentences was
effectively imposed in the late 1960s. This fact has been used to argue
that capital punishment serves as a deterrent and, as such, it is
morally justified. Capital punishment opponents frequently counter that
the United States has much higher murder rates than Canada and most
European Union countries, although all those countries have abolished
the death penalty. Overall, the global pattern is too complex, and on
average, the influence of both these factors may not be significant and
could be more social, economic, and cultural.
Despite the immense
improvements in forensics in the past few decades, the fraction of
murders solved has decreased in the United States, from 90% in 1960 to
61% in 2007.[151] Solved murder rates in major U.S. cities varied in
2007 from 36% in Boston, Massachusetts to 76% in San Jose,
California.[152] Major factors affecting the arrest rate include witness
cooperation[151] and the number of people assigned to investigate the
case.[152]
Investigation
The success rate of criminal
investigations into murders (the clearance rate) tends to be relatively
high for murder compared to other crimes, due to its seriousness. In the
United States, the clearance rate was 62.6% in 2004.[citation needed]
See also
Related lists
Lists of murders
List of types of killing
Axe murder
List of unsolved deaths
Related topics
Child murder
Culpable homicide
Depraved-heart murder
Double murder
Letting die
Mass murder
Misdemeanor murder
Murder conviction without a body
Seven laws of Noah
Stigmatized property
Thrill killing
Capital murder
Assassination, the murder of a prominent person, such as a head of state or head of government.
Laws by country
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
Cuba
Denmark
England and Wales
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong
India
Israel
Italy
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Norway
Peru
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
Notes
This is "malice" in a technical legal sense, not the more usual English sense denoting an emotional state. See malice (law).
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Bibliography
Lord Mustill on the Common Law concerning murder
Sir Edward Coke Co. Inst., Pt. III, ch.7, p. 50
External links
Look up murder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murder.
Introduction and Updated Information on the Seville Statement on Violence
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The All-Time Worst People in History
Ranker Community
Ranker Community
Updated April 16, 2024
4.8M views
Ranked By
3.1M
VOTES
361.9K
VOTERS
Voting Rules
Horrible,
real (not fictional) people who have committed historical crimes. No
celebrities (actors, TV personalities, musicians, athletes) or
politicians you disagree with.
The absolute worst people in history,
ranked by the wisdom of the crowd. Who are the worst people in history?
This list includes mass-murdering dictators, psychopathic serial
killers, sociopathic religious leaders, insane politicians, deceptive
political commentators, infamous historical figures, and bad people make
our eyes and ears bleed. Who are the worst people of all time? This
human scum has incited genocide, executed ethnic cleansing, enslaved
entire races of people, practiced cannibalism, orchestrated arbitrary
homicide, and brainwashed people who trusted them. In short, these are
some of the most evil people in history.
Anyone can vote on this
list of vile villains and evil lunatics, making it an accurate,
real-time ranking of the world's worst people ever. Call out history's
most terrible people, and see how your picks stack up against everyone
else's. Which names do you expect to see related to the top 10 most
hated people or even the meanest person in the world?
Most divisive: 'Kalaignar' Karunanithy
Over 361.9K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The All-Time Worst People in History
Ranked by
region
age
search list
Adolf Hitler
1
151,223 VOTES
Agree or Disagree?
Adolf Hitler
Dec. at 56 (1889-1945)
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
2
8,026 VOTES
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Age: 60
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
3
7,275 VOTES
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Dec. at 39 (1966-2006)
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Mohamed Atta
4
5,337 VOTES
Mohamed Atta
Dec. at 33 (1968-2001)
Abubakar Shekau
5
4,021 VOTES
Abubakar Shekau
Uday Hussein
6
3,855 VOTES
Uday Hussein
Dec. at 39 (1964-2003)
Ayman al-Zawahiri
7
5,317 VOTES
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Age: 72
Abu Ali Al-anbari
8
2,424 VOTES
Abu Ali Al-anbari
Mullah Omar
9
3,916 VOTES
Mullah Omar
Age: 65
Josef Fritzl
10
1,620 VOTES
Josef Fritzl
Age: 89
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Dennis Rader - BTK
11
4,511 VOTES
Dennis Rader - BTK
Age: 79
Daniel Camargo Barbosa
12
1,667 VOTES
Daniel Camargo Barbosa
Dec. at 64 (1930-1994)
Abu Khattab Al-kurdi
13
2,026 VOTES
Abu Khattab Al-kurdi
Jihadi John
14
5,556 VOTES
Jihadi John
Abu Omar Al-baghdadi
15
2,056 VOTES
Abu Omar Al-baghdadi
Jeffrey Epstein
16
1,492 VOTES
Jeffrey Epstein
Age: 71
Mu'awiyeh Ibn Abu Sufyan
17
2,208 VOTES
Mu'awiyeh Ibn Abu Sufyan
Dec. at 78 (602-680)
Gary Ridgway - The Green River Killer
18
3,499 VOTES
Gary Ridgway - The Green River Killer
Age: 75
Abu Muslim Al-turkmani
19
1,381 VOTES
Abu Muslim Al-turkmani
Elias Abuelazam
20
1,403 VOTES
Elias Abuelazam
Age: 47
See what is ranked #1
11 Times People Disregarded Orders And Changed History
Abu Anas al-Shami
21
1,416 VOTES
Abu Anas al-Shami
Dec. at 35 (1969-2004)
Richard Ramirez - The Night Stalker
22
4,866 VOTES
Richard Ramirez - The Night Stalker
Dec. at 53 (1960-2013)
David Berkowitz
23
1,687 VOTES
David Berkowitz
Age: 70
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour
24
1,238 VOTES
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour
Age: 44
Ed Gein
25
4,162 VOTES
Ed Gein
Dec. at 77 (1906-1984)
Jack the Ripper
26
8,997 VOTES
Jack the Ripper
Zodiac Killer
27
7,401 VOTES
Zodiac Killer
Osama Bin Laden
28
106,680 VOTES
Osama Bin Laden
Dec. at 54 (1957-2011)
Abu Omar al-Kurdi
29
1,266 VOTES
Abu Omar al-Kurdi
Rudolf Höss
30
4,944 VOTES
Rudolf Höss
Dec. at 46 (1900-1947)
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Serial killer
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is now widely accepted by most law enforcement that the threshold for
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to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2023)
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An 1829 illustration of Irish serial killer William Burke murdering Margery Campbell
A
serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders
three or more people,[1] with the killings taking place over a
significant period of time between them.[1][2] The serial killers'
psychological gratification is the motivation for the killings, and many
serial murders involve sexual contact with the victims at different
points during the murder process.[3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger,
thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention seeking, and killings may
be executed as such.[4] The victims tend to have things in common such
as, demographic profile, appearance, gender or race.[5] The FBI will
focus on a particular patterns that the serial killers follow throughout
their murders.[6] They will then use on the patterns they find for key
clues into finding the killer along with their motives.[7] Although a
serial killer is a distinct classification that differs from that of a
mass murderer, spree killer, or contract killer, there are overlaps
between them.
Etymology and definition
The English term and
concept of serial killer are commonly attributed to former Federal
Bureau of Investigation special agent Robert Ressler, who used the term
serial homicide in 1974 in a lecture at Police Staff College,in
Bramshill, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom.[8] Author Ann Rule
postulates in her 2004 book Kiss Me, Kill Me, that the English-language
credit for coining the term goes to Los Angeles Police Department
detective Pierce Brooks, who created the Violent Criminal Apprehension
Program (ViCAP) system in 1985.[9]
The German term and concept
were coined by criminologist Ernst Gennat, who described Peter Kürten as
a Serienmörder ('serial-murderer') in his article "Die Düsseldorfer
Sexualverbrechen" (1930).[10] In his book, Serial Killers: The Method
and Madness of Monsters (2004), criminal justice historian Peter Vronsky
notes that while Ressler might have coined the English term "serial
homicide" within the law in 1974, the terms serial murder and serial
murderer appear in John Brophy's book The Meaning of Murder (1966).[11]
The Washington, D.C., newspaper Evening Star, in a 1967 review of the
book:[12]
There is the mass murderer, or what he [Brophy] calls
the "serial" killer, who may be actuated by greed, such as insurance, or
retention or growth of power, like the Medicis of Renaissance Italy, or
Landru, the "bluebeard" of the World War I period, who murdered
numerous wives after taking their money.
Vronsky states that the
term serial killing first entered into broader American popular usage
when published in The New York Times in early 1981, to describe Atlanta
serial killer Wayne Williams. Subsequently, throughout the 1980s, the
term was used again in the pages of The New York Times, one of the major
national news publications of the United States, on 233 occasions. By
the end of the 1990s, the use of the term had increased to 2,514
instances in the paper.[13]
When defining serial killers,
researchers generally use "three or more murders" as the baseline,[1]
considering it sufficient to provide a pattern without being overly
restrictive.[14] Independent of the number of murders, they need to have
been committed at different times, and are usually committed in
different places.[15] The lack of a cooling-off period (a significant
break between the murders) marks the difference between a spree killer
and a serial killer. The category has, however, been found to be of no
real value to law enforcement, because of definitional problems relating
to the concept of a "cooling-off period".[16] Cases of extended bouts
of sequential killings over periods of weeks or months with no apparent
"cooling off period" or "return to normality" have caused some experts
to suggest a hybrid category of "spree-serial killer".[11]
In
Controversial Issues in Criminology, Fuller and Hickey write that "[t]he
element of time involved between murderous acts is primary in the
differentiation of serial, mass, and spree murderers", later elaborating
that spree killers "will engage in the killing acts for days or weeks"
while the "methods of murder and types of victims vary". Andrew Cunanan
is given as an example of spree killing, while Charles Whitman is
mentioned in connection with mass murder, and Jeffrey Dahmer with serial
killing.[17]
The FBI defines serial killing as "a series of two
or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always,
by one offender acting alone".[18] In 2005, the FBI hosted a
multi-disciplinary symposium in San Antonio, Texas, which brought
together 135 experts on serial murder from a variety of fields and
specialties with the goal of identifying the commonalities of knowledge
regarding serial murder. The group also settled on a definition of
serial murder which FBI investigators widely accept as their standard:
"The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in
separate events".[16]
History
Further information: List of serial killers before 1900
Juhani
Aataminpoika, a Finnish serial killer also known as "Kerpeikkari"
(which means 'executioner'), was one of the most active serial killers
of the 19th century, killing as many as 12 people in 1849 within five
weeks before being caught.[19]
A phantom brandishing a knife floats through a slum street
The
'Nemesis of Neglect': Jack the Ripper depicted as a phantom stalking
Whitechapel, and as an embodiment of social neglect, in a Punch cartoon
of 1888
Historical criminologists suggest that there have been serial
killers throughout history.[20] Some sources suggest that legends such
as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers.[21]
In Africa, there have been periodic outbreaks of murder by leopard
men.[22]
Liu Pengli of China, nephew of the Han Emperor Jing, was
made Prince of Jidong in the sixth year of the middle period of Jing's
reign (144 BC). According to the Chinese historian Sima Qian, he would
"go out on marauding expeditions with 20 or 30 slaves or with young men
who were in hiding from the law, murdering people and seizing their
belongings for sheer sport". Although many of his subjects knew about
these murders, it was not until the 29th year of his reign that the son
of one of his victims finally sent a report to the emperor. Eventually,
it was discovered that he had murdered at least 100 people. The
officials of the court requested that Liu Pengli be executed; however,
the emperor could not bear to have his own nephew killed, so Liu Pengli
was made a commoner and banished.[23]
In the 9th century (year
257 of the Islamic Calendar), "a strangler from Baghdad was apprehended.
He had murdered a number of women and buried them in the house where he
was living."[24]
In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men
in Europe and a former companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais,
was alleged to have sexually assaulted and killed peasant children,
mainly boys, whom he had abducted from the surrounding villages and had
taken to his castle.[25] It is estimated that his victims numbered
between 140 and 800.[26]
Between 1564 and 1589, German farmer
Peter Stumpp killed 14 children, including his own son. He also murdered
two pregnant women and had an incestuous relationship with his
daughter. Stumpp claimed to have been granted the ability to turn into a
werewolf by the Devil. As punishment for his crimes, Stumpp was put on a
torture wheel and executed. His head was later severed and put on a
pole next to the figure of a wolf to scare other people away from
claiming themselves werewolves too.[27]
The Hungarian aristocrat
Elizabeth Báthory, born into one of the wealthiest families in
Transylvania, allegedly tortured and killed as many as 650 girls and
young women before her arrest in 1610.[28]
Members of the Thuggee
cult in India may have murdered a million people between 1740 and
1840.[29] Thug Behram, a member of the cult, may have murdered as many
as 931 victims.[30]
In his 1886 book, Psychopathia Sexualis,
psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing noted a case of a serial murderer
in the 1870s, a Frenchman named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual
obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people.[31]
The
unidentified killer Jack the Ripper, who has been called the first
modern serial killer,[32] killed at least five women, and possibly more,
in London in 1888. He was the subject of a massive manhunt and
investigation by the Metropolitan Police, during which many modern
criminal investigation techniques were pioneered. A large team of
policemen conducted house-to-house inquiries, forensic material was
collected and suspects were identified and traced.[33] Police surgeon
Thomas Bond assembled one of the earliest character profiles of the
offender.[34]
The Ripper murders also marked an important
watershed in the treatment of crime by journalists.[35] While not the
first serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper's case was the first to
create a worldwide media frenzy.[35] The dramatic murders of financially
destitute women in the midst of the wealth of London focused the
media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage
worldwide. Jack the Ripper has also been called the most infamous serial
killer of all time, and his legend has spawned hundreds of theories on
his real identity and many works of fiction.[36]
H. H. Holmes was
a serial killer in the United States, responsible for the death of at
least nine victims in the early 1890s. The case gained notoriety and
wide publicity through possibly sensationalized accounts in William
Randolph Hearst's newspapers. At the same time in France, Joseph Vacher
became known as "The French Ripper" after killing and mutilating 11
women and children. He was executed in 1898 after confessing to his
crimes.[37][38]
The majority of documented serial killers in the 20th century were active in the United States.[39][40]
Late 20th century
Elmer
Wayne Henley (left) and David Owen Brooks (right), accomplices to
serial killer Dean Corll, who murdered at least 28 teenage boys between
1970 and 1973
The serial killing phenomenon in the United States was
especially prominent from 1970 to 2000, which has been described as the
"golden age of serial murder".[41] The cause of the spike in serial
killings has been attributed to urbanization, which put people in close
proximity and offered anonymity.[citation needed]
The number of
active serial killers in the country peaked in 1989 and has been
steadily trending downward since, coinciding with an overall decrease in
crime in the United States since that time. The decline in serial
killers has no known single cause but is attributed to a number of
factors. Mike Aamodt, emeritus professor at Radford University in
Virginia, attributes the decline in number of serial killings to less
frequent use of parole, improved forensic technology, and people
behaving more cautiously.[42] Causes for the general reduction in
violent crime following the 1990s include increased incarceration in the
United States, the end of the crack epidemic in the United States, and
decreased lead exposure in early childhood.[43][44][45]
Characteristics
Some commonly found characteristics of serial killers include the following:
They may exhibit varying degrees of mental illness or psychopathy, which may contribute to their homicidal behavior.[46]
For
example, someone who is mentally ill may have psychotic breaks that
cause them to believe they are another person or are compelled to murder
by other entities.[47]
Psychopathic behavior that is consistent with
traits common to some serial killers include sensation seeking, a lack
of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, the need for control, and predatory
behavior.[16] Psychopaths can seem 'normal' and often quite charming, a
state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley called the "mask
of sanity".[48]
They were often abused—emotionally, physically, or sexually—by a family member.[5]
Serial
killers may be more likely to engage in fetishism, partialism or
necrophilia, which are paraphilias that involve a strong tendency to
experience the object of erotic interest almost as if it were a physical
representation of the symbolized body. Individuals engage in
paraphilias which are organized along a continuum; participating in
varying levels of fantasy perhaps by focusing on body parts
(partialism), symbolic objects which serve as physical extensions of the
body (fetishism), or the anatomical physicality of the human body;
specifically regarding its inner parts and sexual organs (one example
being necrophilia).[49]
A disproportionate number exhibit one, two,
or all three of the Macdonald triad[dubious – discuss] of predictors of
future violent behavior:
Many are fascinated with fire setting.[5]
They
are involved in sadistic activity; especially in children who have not
reached sexual maturity, this activity may take the form of torturing
animals.[5]
More than 60 percent, or simply a large proportion, wet their beds beyond the age of 12.[5][50]
They
were frequently bullied or socially isolated as children.[5] For
example, Henry Lee Lucas was ridiculed as a child and later cited the
mass rejection by his peers as a cause for his hatred of everyone.
Kenneth Bianchi was teased as a child because he urinated in his pants,
suffered twitching, and as a teenager was ignored by his peers.[5]
Some were involved in petty crimes, such as fraud, theft, vandalism, or similar offenses.[51]
Often,
they have trouble staying employed and tend to work in menial jobs. The
FBI, however, states, "Serial murderers often seem normal; have
families and/or a steady job."[16] Other sources state they often come
from unstable families.[5]
Studies have suggested that serial killers
who got caught generally have an average or low-average IQ, although
they are often described, and perceived, as possessing IQs in the
above-average range.[5][16][52] A sample of 202 IQs of serial killers
who got caught had a median IQ of 89.[53] Some organized serial killers
who got caught have a slightly higher IQ score averaging a little bit
over 99, to where disorganized killers average just under 93 in theirs.
The average IQ of serial killers who got caught is 94.7.[54]
There
are exceptions to these criteria, however. For example, Harold Shipman
was a successful professional (a General Practitioner working for the
NHS). He was considered a pillar of the local community; he even won a
professional award for a children's asthma clinic and was interviewed by
Granada Television's World in Action on ITV.[55] Dennis Nilsen was an
ex-soldier turned civil servant and trade unionist who had no previous
criminal record when arrested. Neither was known to have exhibited many
of the tell-tale signs.[56] Vlado Taneski, a crime reporter, was a
career journalist who was caught after a series of articles he wrote
gave clues that he had murdered people.[57] Russell Williams was a
successful and respected career Royal Canadian Air Force Colonel who was
convicted of murdering two women, along with fetish burglaries and
rapes.[58]
Mug shot of serial killer, cannibal and necrophile Ottis Toole
Juana
Barraza, also known as the Old Lady Killer, was a professional
wrestler. From the years of 1998 to 2006 she committed over 12 murders,
all of which were of older women. She would rob them after knocking on
their door pretending to be a government worker. This stems from hatred
and resentment from her mother.[59]
Development
German serial killer Fritz Haarmann with police detectives, November 1924
Many
serial killers have faced similar problems in their childhood
development.[60] Hickey's Trauma Control Model explains how early
childhood trauma can set the child up for deviant behavior in adulthood;
the child's environment (either their parents or society) is the
dominant factor determining whether or not the child's behavior
escalates into homicidal activity.[61]
Family, or lack thereof,
is the most prominent part of a child's development because it is what
the child can identify with on a regular basis.[62] "The serial killer
is no different from any other individual who is instigated to seek
approval from parents, sexual partners, or others."[63] This need for
approval is what influences children to attempt to develop social
relationships with their family and peers. "The quality of their
attachments to parents and other members of the family is critical to
how these children relate to and value other members of society."[64]
Wilson
and Seaman (1990) conducted a study on incarcerated serial killers, and
what they concluded was the most influential factor that contributed to
their homicidal activity.[65] Almost all of the serial killers in the
study had experienced some sort of environmental problems during their
childhood, such as a broken home caused by divorce, or a lack of a
parental figure to discipline the child. Nearly half of the serial
killers had experienced some type of physical or sexual abuse, and more
of them had experienced emotional neglect.[64]
When a parent has a
drug or alcohol problem, the attention in the household is on the
parents rather than the child. This neglect of the child leads to the
lowering of their self-esteem and helps develop a fantasy world in which
they are in control. Hickey's Trauma Control Model supports how
parental neglect can facilitate deviant behavior, especially if the
child sees substance abuse in action.[66] This then leads to disposition
(the inability to attach), which can further lead to homicidal
behavior, unless the child finds a way to develop substantial
relationships and fight the label they receive. If a child receives no
support from anyone, then they are unlikely to recover from the
traumatic event in a positive way. As stated by E. E. Maccoby, "the
family has continued to be seen as a major—perhaps the major—arena for
socialization".[67]
Chromosomal makeup
There have been studies
looking into the possibility that an abnormality with one's chromosomes
could be the trigger for serial killers.[68] Two serial killers, Bobby
Joe Long and Richard Speck, came to attention for reported chromosomal
abnormalities. Long had an extra X chromosome.[69] Speck was erroneously
reported to have an extra Y chromosome; in fact, his karyotype was
performed twice and was normal each time.[70] While attempts have been
made to link the XYY karyotype to violence, including serial murder,
research has consistently found little or no association between violent
criminal behaviour and an extra Y chromosome.[71]
Fantasy
Children
who do not have the power to control the mistreatment they suffer
sometimes create a new reality to which they can escape. This new
reality becomes their fantasy that they have total control of and
becomes part of their daily existence. In this fantasy world, their
emotional development is guided and maintained. According to Garrison
(1996), "the child becomes sociopathic because the normal development of
the concepts of right and wrong and empathy towards others is retarded
because the child's emotional and social development occurs within his
self-centered fantasies. A person can do no wrong in his own world and
the pain of others is of no consequence when the purpose of the fantasy
world is to satisfy the needs of one person" (Garrison, 1996).
Boundaries between fantasy and reality are lost and fantasies turn to
dominance, control, sexual conquest, and violence, eventually leading to
murder. Fantasy can lead to the first step in the process of a
dissociative state, which, in the words of Stephen Giannangelo, "allows
the serial killer to leave the stream of consciousness for what is, to
him, a better place".[72]
Criminologist Jose Sanchez reports,
"the young criminal you see today is more detached from his victim, more
ready to hurt or kill. The lack of empathy for their victims among
young criminals is just one symptom of a problem that afflicts the whole
society."[62] Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Gangster (2001), explains
how potential criminals are labeled by society, which can then lead to
their offspring also developing in the same way through the cycle of
violence. The ability for serial killers to appreciate the mental life
of others is severely compromised, presumably leading to their
dehumanization of others.[73]
This process may be considered an
expression of the intersubjectivity associated with a cognitive deficit
regarding the capability to make sharp distinctions between other people
and inanimate objects. For these individuals, objects can appear to
possess animistic or humanistic power while people are perceived as
objects.[73] Before he was executed, serial killer Ted Bundy stated
media violence and pornography had stimulated and increased his need to
commit homicide, although this statement was made during last-ditch
efforts to appeal his death sentence.[64] There are exceptions to the
typical fantasy patterns of serial killers, as in the case of Dennis
Rader, who was a loving family man and the leader of his
church.[citation needed]
Organized, disorganized, and mixed
Ted Bundy in custody, Florida, United States, July 1978 (State Archives of Florida)
In
the 1970s and '80s, FBI profilers instigated a simple division of
serial killers into "organized" and "disorganized"; that is, those who
plan their crimes, and those who act on impulse.[74]
The FBI's
Crime Classification Manual now places serial killers into three
categories: organized, disorganized, and mixed (i.e., offenders who
exhibit organized and disorganized characteristics).[75][76] Some
killers descend from organized to disorganized as their killings
continue,[77] as in the case of psychological decompensation or
overconfidence due to having evaded capture, or vice versa, as when a
previously disorganized killer identifies one or more specific aspects
of the act of killing as their source of gratification and develops a
modus operandi that focuses on them.[citation needed]
Organized
serial killers often plan their crimes methodically, usually abducting
victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another.
They often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of
sympathy. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to go
voluntarily with a stranger. These killers maintain a high degree of
control over the crime scene and usually have a solid knowledge of
forensic science that enables them to cover their tracks, such as
burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a river. They
follow their crimes in the news media carefully and often take pride in
their actions as if it were all a grand project.[78]
Often,
organized killers have social and other interpersonal skills sufficient
to enable them to develop both personal and romantic relationships,
friends and lovers and sometimes even attract and maintain a spouse and
sustain a family including children. Among serial killers, those of this
type are in the event of their capture most likely to be described by
acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. Ted Bundy and John
Wayne Gacy are examples of organized serial killers.[78] In general, the
IQs of organized serial killers tend to be normal range, with a mean of
98.7.[79]
Disorganized serial killers are usually far more
impulsive, often committing their murders with a random available
at the time, and usually do not attempt to hide the body. They are
likely to be unemployed, a loner, or both, with very few friends. They
often turn out to have a history of mental illness, and their modus
operandi (M.O.) or lack thereof is often marked by excessive violence
and sometimes necrophilia or sexual violence.[80] Disorganized serial
killers have been found to have a lower mean IQ than organized serial
killers, at 89.4. Mixed serial killers, with both organized and
disorganized traits, have an average IQ of 100.9, but a low sample
size.[79]
Medical professionals
Main article: Angel of mercy (criminology)
Some
people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend
to be attracted to medical professions or acquiring such a job.[81]
These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of
death"[82] or angels of mercy. Medical professionals will kill their
patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that
they are "easing" the patient's pain, or simply "because they can".[83]
Perhaps the most prolific of these was the British doctor Harold
Shipman. Another such killer was nurse Jane Toppan, who admitted during
her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death.[84] She would
administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in
bed with them and hold them close to her body as they died.[84]
Another
medical professional serial killer is Genene Jones. It is believed she
killed 11 to 46 infants and children while working at Bexar County
Medical Center Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, United States.[85] She is
currently serving a 99-year sentence for the murder of Chelsea
McClellan and the attempted murder of Rolando Santos,[85] and became
eligible for parole in 2017 due to a law in Texas at the time of her
sentencing to reduce prison overcrowding.[85] A similar case occurred in
Britain in 1991, where nurse Beverley Allitt killed four children at
the hospital where she worked, attempted to kill three more, and injured
a further six over the course of two months.
A 21st-century
example is Canadian nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who murdered elderly
patients in the nursing homes where she worked. William George Davis is
another hospital nurse who was sentenced to death in Texas for the
murdering of four patients.[86]
Female
Highway sex worker Aileen Wuornos killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990.
Female
serial killers are rare compared to their male counterparts.[87]
Sources suggest that female serial killers represented less than one in
every six known serial murderers in the United States between 1800 and
2004 (64 females from a total of 416 known offenders), or that around
15% of U.S. serial killers have been women, with a collective number of
victims between 427 and 612.[88] The authors of Lethal Ladies, Amanda L.
Farrell, Robert D. Keppel, and Victoria B. Titterington, state that
"the Justice Department indicated 36 female serial killers have been
active over the course of the last century."[89] According to The
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, there is evidence that
16% of all serial killers are women.[90]
Michael D. Kelleher and
C. L. Kelleher created several categories to describe female serial
killers. They used the classifications of black widow, angel of death,
sexual predator, revenge, profit or crime, team killer, question of
sanity, unexplained, and unsolved. In using these categories, they
observed that most women fell into the categories of the black widow or
team killer.[91] Although motivations for female serial killers can
include attention seeking, addiction, or the result of
psychopathological behavioral factors,[92] female serial killers are
commonly categorized as murdering men for material gain, usually being
emotionally close to their victims,[87] and generally needing to have a
relationship with the victim,[91] hence the traditional cultural image
of the "black widow".
The methods that female serial killers use
for murder are frequently covert or low-profile, such as murder by
poison (the preferred choice for killing).[93] Other methods used by
female serial killers include shootings (used by 20%), suffocation
(16%), stabbing (11%), and drowning (5%).[92] They commit killings in
specific places, such as their home or a health-care facility, or at
different locations within the same city or state.[94] A notable
exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers is
Aileen Wuornos,[95] who killed outdoors instead of at home, used instead of poison, and killed strangers instead of friends or
family.[96] One "analysis of 86 female serial killers from the United
States found that the victims tended to be spouses, children or the
elderly".[91] Other studies indicate that since 1975, increasingly
strangers are marginally the most preferred victim of female serial
killers,[97] or that only 26% of female serial killers kill for material
gain only.[98] Sources state that each killer will have her own
proclivities, needs and triggers.[99][91] A review of the published
literature on female serial murder stated that "sexual or sadistic
motives are believed to be extremely rare in female serial murderers,
and psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been
consistently reported in these women."[91]
A study by Eric W.
Hickey (2010) of 64 female serial killers in the United States indicated
that sexual activity was one of several motives in 10% of the cases,
enjoyment in 11% and control in 14% and that 51% of all U.S. female
serial killers murdered at least one woman and 31% murdered at least one
child.[100] In other cases, women have been involved as an accomplice
with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing team.[99][91] A
2015 study published in The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry &
Psychology found that the most common motive for female serial killers
was for financial gain and almost 40% of them had experienced some sort
of mental illness.[101]
Peter Vronsky in Female Serial Killers
(2007) maintains that female serial killers today often kill for the
same reason males do: as a means of expressing rage and control. He
suggests that sometimes the theft of the victims' property by the female
"black widow" type serial killer appears to be for material gain, but
really is akin to a male serial killer's collecting of totems
(souvenirs) from the victim as a way of exerting continued control over
the victim and reliving it.[102] By contrast, Hickey states that
although popular perception sees "black widow" female serial killers as
something of the Victorian past, in his statistical study of female
serial killer cases reported in the United States since 1826,
approximately 75% occurred since 1950.[103]
Elizabeth Báthory is
sometimes cited as the most prolific female serial killer in all of
history. Formally countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (Báthory Erzsébet
in Hungarian, August 7, 1560 – August 21, 1614), she was a countess from
the renowned Báthory family. Before her husband's death, Elizabeth took
great pleasure in torturing the staff, by jamming pins under the
servant's fingernails or stripping servants and throwing them into the
snow.[104] After her husband's death, she and four collaborators were
accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with
one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though the number for
which they were convicted was 80. Elizabeth herself was neither tried
nor convicted. In 1610, however, she was imprisoned in the Csejte
Castle, where she remained bricked in a set of rooms until her death
four years later.[105]
A 2010 article by Perri and Lichtenwald
addressed some of the misconceptions concerning female criminality.[106]
In the article, Perri and Lichtenwald analyze the current research
regarding female psychopathy, including case studies of female
psychopathic killers featuring Münchausen syndrome by proxy, cesarean
section homicide, fraud detection homicide, female kill teams, and a
female serial killer.[106]
Juvenile
Juvenile serial killers
are rare. There are three main categories that juvenile serial killers
can fit into: primary, maturing, and secondary killers. There have been
studies done to compare and contrast these three groups and to discover
similarities and differences between them.[107] Although these types of
serial killers are less common, oftentimes adult serial killers may make
their debut at an early age and it can be an opportunity for
researchers to study what factors brought about the behavior. While
juvenile serial killers are rare, the youngest felon on death row is a
juvenile serial killer named Harvey Miguel Robinson who was 17 at the
time of his crimes and 18 at the time of his arrest.[108][109]
Ethnicity and demographics in the United States
The
racial demographics regarding serial killers are often subject to
debate. In the United States, the majority of reported and investigated
serial killers are white males, from a lower-to-middle-class background,
usually in their late 20s to early 30s.[5][16] However, there are
African American, Asian, and Hispanic (of any race) serial killers as
well, and, according to the FBI, based on percentages of the U.S.
population, whites are not more likely than other races to be serial
killers.[16] Criminal profiler Pat Brown says serial killers are usually
reported as white because serial killers usually target victims of
their own race, and argues the media typically focuses on "All-American"
white and pretty female victims who were the targets of white male
offenders; that crimes among minority offenders in urban communities,
where crime rates are higher, are under-investigated; and that minority
serial killers likely exist at the same ratios as white serial killers
for the population. She believes that the myth that serial killers are
always white might have become "truth" in some research fields due to
the over-reporting of white serial killers in the media.[110]
According
to some sources, the percentage of serial killers who are African
American is estimated to be between 13% and 22%.[111][112] Another study
has shown that 16% of serial killers are African American, what author
Maurice Godwin describes as a "sizeable portion".[113] A 2014
Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database annual statistics report indicated
that for the decades 1900–2010, the percentage of white serial killers
was 52.1% while the percentage of African American serial killers was
40.3%.[79]
In a 2005 article, Anthony Walsh, professor of
criminal justice at Boise State University, argued a review of post-WWII
serial killings in the U.S. finds that the prevalence of non-white
serial killers has typically been drastically underestimated in both
professional research literature and the mass media. As a paradigmatic
case of this media double standard, Walsh cites news reporting on white
killer Gary M. Heidnik and African American killer Harrison Graham. Both
men were residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; both imprisoned,
tortured, and killed several women; and both were arrested only months
apart in 1987. "Heidnik received widespread national attention, became
the subject of books and television shows, and served as a model for the
fictitious Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs", writes Walsh, while
"Graham received virtually no media attention outside of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, despite having been convicted of four more murders than
Heidnik".[114]
Outside the United States
In one study of
serial homicide in South Africa, many patterns were similar to
established patterns in the U.S., with some exceptions: no offenders
were female, offenders were lower educated than in the U.S., and both
victims and offenders were predominantly black.[115]
There are
many more serial killers outside of the United States. Most notably is
Jack the Ripper, a serial killer from the United Kingdom who was active
in the autumn of 1888. He killed 5 women but it is believed that he
killed more than that.[116]
One notable non-American serial
killer is Pedro Lopez, a serial killer from South America. He killed a
minimum of 110 young girls between 1969 and 1980. However, he claims
that the number is over 300. He was released from a mental facility in
1998 and his whereabouts are still unknown. He is commonly nicknamed the
Monster of the Andes.
Another notable non-American serial is
Luis Garavito who was a serial killer in Colombia. Garavito would kill
and torture boys using various disguises. He murdered around 140 boys
ranging in ages from 8 to 16. He would dump his victims' bodies in mass
graves.[117]
Motives
According to psychiatric reports,
Michael Maria Penttilä, the so-called "serial strangler" reportedly
admired the primordial, violent manhood of her teenage years.[118]
The
motives of serial killers are generally placed into four categories:
visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, and power or control; however,
the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among
these categories.[119]
Visionary
Visionary serial killers
suffer from psychotic breaks with reality,[120] sometimes believing they
are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as the
Devil or God.[121] The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated"
and "God mandated".[47]
Herbert Mullin believed the American
casualties in the Vietnam War were preventing California from
experiencing the Big One. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his
father instructed him via telepathy to raise the number of "human
sacrifices to nature" to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would
plunge California into the ocean.[122] David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam")
may also be an example of a visionary serial killer, having claimed a
demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog and instructed him
to commit murder.[123] Berkowitz later described those claims as a hoax,
as originally concluded by psychiatrist David Abrahamsen.[124]
Mission-oriented
Mission-oriented
killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of certain
types of people perceived as undesirable, such as the homeless, ex-cons,
homosexuals, drug users, prostitutes, or people of different ethnicity
or religion; however, they are generally not psychotic.[125] Some see
themselves as attempting to change society, often to cure a societal
ill.[126]
An example of a mission-oriented killer would be Joseph
Paul Franklin, an American white supremacist who exclusively targeted
Jewish, biracial, and African American individuals for the purpose of
inciting a "race war".[127][128]
Saeed Hanaei was a serial killer
convicted of murdering at least sixteen women in his native Iran, many
of whom were sex workers. He reported his goal was to cleanse his city
of "moral corruption" and that his mission was sanctioned by God.[129]
Hedonistic
This
type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure and
satisfaction from killing, seeing people as expendable means to this
goal. Forensic psychologists have identified three subtypes of the
hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill", and "comfort".[130]
Lust
Paul Durousseau raped and murdered at least seven young women.
Sex
is the primary motive of lust killers, whether or not the victims are
dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings.[131] Their
sexual gratification depends on the amount of torture and mutilation
they perform on their victims. The sexual serial murderer has a
psychological need to have absolute control, dominance, and power over
their victims, and the infliction of torture, pain, and ultimately death
is used in an attempt to fulfill their need.[132] They usually use that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or
hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between
killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases,
sometimes both.[133]
Kenneth Bianchi, one of the "Hillside
Stranglers", murdered women and girls of different ages, races, and
appearance because his sexual urges required different types of
stimulation and increasing intensity.[134] Jeffrey Dahmer searched for
his perfect fantasy lover—beautiful, submissive and eternal. As his
desire increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol, and exotic sex.
His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the
dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved, and by
his attempts to create a "living zombie" under his control (by pouring
acid into a hole drilled into the victim's skull).[135]
Dahmer
once said, "Lust played a big part of it. Control and lust. Once it
happened the first time, it just seemed like it had control of my life
from there on in. The killing was just a means to an end. That was the
least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried
to create living zombies with acid and the drill." He further elaborated
on this, also saying, "I wanted to see if it was possible to
make—again, it sounds really gross—uh, zombies, people that would not
have a will of their own, but would follow my instructions without
resistance. So after that, I started using the drilling technique."[136]
He experimented with cannibalism to "ensure his victims would always be
a part of him".[137]
Thrill
Main article: Thrill killing
Further information: Serial offender hunting patterns
The
primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or terror in their
victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer.[131]
They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hunting and killing victims.
Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually, the attack is not
prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually, the victims are
strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of
time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time
and become more successful at killing as they refine their murder
methods. Many attempt to commit the perfect crime and believe they will
not be caught.[138]
Robert Hansen took his victims to a secluded
area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them.[139] In
one of his letters to San Francisco Bay Area newspapers in San
Francisco, California, the Zodiac Killer wrote "[killing] gives me the
most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off
with a girl".[140] Carl Watts was described by a surviving victim as
"excited and hyper and clappin' and just making noises like he was
excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack.[141]
Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were
among the ways Watts killed.[142]
Comfort (profit)
Material
gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort
killers.[143] Usually, the victims are family members and close
acquaintances.[131] After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait
for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by
family or authorities to subside. They often use poison, most notably
arsenic, to kill their victims. Female serial killers are often comfort
killers, although not all comfort killers are female.[144]
Dorothea
Puente killed her tenants for their Social Security checks and buried
them in the backyard of her home.[145] H. H. Holmes killed for insurance
and business profits.[146] Puente and Holmes had previous records of
crimes such as theft, fraud, non-payment of debts, embezzlement and
others of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a
parole violation, having been on parole for a previous fraud
conviction.[147]
Contract killers ("hitmen") may exhibit serial
killers traits, but are generally not classified as such because of
third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional
incentives.[148][149][150] Nevertheless, there are occasionally
individuals that are labeled as both a hitman and a serial killer.[151]
Power/control
A policeman discovering the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of Jack the Ripper's victims
The
main objective for this type of serial killer is to gain and exert
power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes abused as children,
leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults.
Many power- or control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims,
but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by
lust (as it would be with a lust murder) but as simply another form of
dominating the victim.[152] Ted Bundy is an example of a
power/control-oriented serial killer. He traveled around the United
States seeking women to control.[153]
Media influences
Many
serial killers claim that a violent culture influenced them to commit
murders. During his final interview, Ted Bundy stated that hardcore
pornography was responsible for his actions. Others idolise figures for
their deeds or perceived vigilante justice, such as Peter Kürten, who
idolized Jack the Ripper, or John Wayne Gacy and Ed Kemper, who both
idolized the actor John Wayne.[5]
Killers who have a strong
desire for fame or to be renowned for their actions desire media
attention as a way of validating and spreading their crimes; fear is
also a component here, as some serial killers enjoy causing fear. An
example is Dennis Rader, who sought attention from the press during his
murder spree.[154]
In popular culture
Many movies, books, and
documentaries have been created, detailing serial killers' lives and
crimes. For example, the biographical films Ted Bundy (2002) and
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile focuses on serial killer Ted
Bundy's personal life in college, leading up to his execution, and
Dahmer (2002) tells the story of Jeffrey Dahmer. A Netflix series on the
life of Jeffrey Dahmer and his victims was released in 2022.
Serial
killers are also portrayed in fictional media, oftentimes as having
substantial intelligence and looking for difficult targets, despite the
contradiction with the psychological profile of serial killers.[155]
Theories
Biological and sociological
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Theories for why certain people commit serial
murder have been advanced. Some theorists believe the reasons are
biological, suggesting serial killers are born, not made, and that their
violent behavior is a result of abnormal brain activity. Holmes believe
that "until a reliable sample can be obtained and tested, there is no
scientific statement that can be made concerning the exact role of
biology as a determining factor of a serial killer personality."[156]
The
"Fractured Identity Syndrome" (FIS) is a merging of Charles Cooley's
"looking glass self" and Erving Goffman's "virtual" and "actual social
identity" theories. The FIS suggests a social event, or series of
events, during one's childhood results in a fracturing of the
personality of the serial killer. The term "fracture" is defined as a
small breakage of the personality which is often not visible to the
outside world and is only felt by the killer.[157]
"Social
Process Theory" has also been suggested as an explanation for serial
murder. Social process theory states that offenders may turn to crime
due to peer pressure, family and friends. Criminal behavior is a process
of interaction with social institutions, in which everyone has the
potential for criminal behavior.[158] A lack of family structure and
identity could also be a cause leading to serial murder traits. A child
used as a scapegoat will be deprived of their capacity to feel guilt.
Displaced anger could result in animal torture, as identified in the
Macdonald triad, and a further lack of basic identity.[159]
Military
A
dishonorably discharged Marine, Charles Ng participated in the
kidnapping, sadistic torture, rape, and murder of numerous victims.
The
"military theory" has been proposed as an explanation for why serial
murderers kill, as some serial murderers have served in the military or
related fields. According to Castle and Hensley, 7% of the serial
killers studied had military experience.[160] This figure may be a
proportional under-representation when compared to the number of
military veterans in a nation's total population. For example, according
to the United States census for the year 2000, military veterans
comprised 12.7% of the U.S. population;[161] in England, it was
estimated in 2007 that military veterans comprised 9.1% of the
population.[162] Though by contrast, about 2.5% of the population of
Canada in 2006 consisted of military veterans.[163][164]
There
are two theories that can be used to study the correlation between
serial killing and military training: Applied learning theory states
that serial killing can be learned. The military is training for higher
kill rates from servicemen while training the soldiers to be
desensitized to taking a human life.[165] Social learning theory can be
used when soldiers get praised and accommodated for killing. They learn
or believe that they learn, that it is acceptable to kill because they
were praised for it in the military. Serial killers want accreditation
for the work that they have done.[166]
In both military and
serial killing, the offender or the soldier may become desensitized to
killing as well as compartmentalized; the soldiers do not see enemy
personnel as "human" and neither do serial killers see their victims as
humans.[167] The theories do not imply that military institutions make a
deliberate effort to produce serial killers; to the contrary, all
military personnel are trained to recognize when, where, and against
whom it is appropriate to use deadly force, which starts with the basic
Law of Land Warfare, taught during the initial training phase, and may
include more stringent policies for military personnel in law
enforcement or security.[168]
Investigation
FBI: Issues and practices
In
2008, the FBI published a handbook titled Serial Murder which was the
product of a symposium held in 2005 to bring together the many issues
surrounding serial murder, including its investigation.[169]
Identification
Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, who was an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
According
to the FBI, identifying one, or multiple, murders as being the work of a
serial killer is the first challenge an investigation faces, especially
if the victim(s) come from a marginalized or high-risk population and
is normally linked through forensic or behavioral evidence.[169] Should
the cases cross multiple jurisdictions, the law enforcement system in
the United States is fragmented and thus not configured to detect
multiple similar murders across a large geographic area.[170] Ted Bundy
was particularly famous for such geographic exploitations. He used his
knowledge about the lack of communication between multiple jurisdictions
to avoid arrest and detection.[171] The FBI suggests utilizing
databases and increasing interdepartmental communication. Keppel
suggests holding multi-jurisdictional conferences regularly to compare
cases giving departments a greater chance to detect linked cases and
overcome linkage blindness.[172]
One such collaboration, the
Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project[173] was proposed at the
2012 FDIAI Annual Conference.[174] Utilizing Radford's Serial Killer
Database as a starting point, the new collaboration,[175] hosted by FGCU
Justice Studies, has invited and is working in conjunction with other
universities to maintain and expand the scope of the database to also
include spree and mass murders. Utilizing over 170 data points,
multiple-murderer methodology and victimology; researchers and Law
Enforcement Agencies can build case studies and statistical profiles to
further research the Who, What, Why and How of these types of crimes.
Leadership
Leadership,
or administration, should play a small or virtually non-existent role
in the actual investigation past assigning knowledgeable or experienced
homicide investigators to lead positions. The administration's role is
not to run the investigation but to establish and reaffirm the primary
goal of catching the serial killer, as well as provide support for the
investigators. The FBI (2008) suggests completing Memorandums of
Understanding to facilitate support and commitment of resources from
different jurisdictions to an investigation.[169] Egger takes this one
step further and suggests completing mutual aid pacts, which are written
agreements to provide support to each other in a time of need, with
surrounding jurisdictions. Doing this in advance would save time and
resources that could be used on the investigation.[170]
Organization
Albert De Salvo, who claimed to be the "Boston Strangler", after being caught in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1967
The
structural organization of an investigation is key to its success, as
demonstrated by the investigation of Gary Ridgway, the Green River
Killer. Once a serial murder case was established, a task force was
created to track down and arrest the offender. Over the course of the
investigation, for various reasons, the task force's organization was
radically changed and reorganized multiple times – at one point
including more than 50 full-time personnel, and at another, only a
single investigator. Eventually, what led to the end of the
investigation was a conference of 25 detectives organized to share ideas
to solve the case.[176]
The FBI handbook provides a description
of how a task force should be organized but offers no additional options
on how to structure the investigation. While it appears advantageous to
have a full-time staff assigned to a serial murder investigation, it
can become prohibitively expensive. For example, the Green River Task
Force cost upwards of $2 million per year,[176] and as was witnessed
with the Green River Killer investigation, other strategies can prevail
where a task force fails.
A common strategy, already employed by
many departments for other reasons, is the conference, in which
departments get together and focus on a specific set of topics.[177]
With serial murders, the focus is typically on unsolved cases, with
evidence thought to be related to the case at hand.
Similar to a
conference is an information clearing-house in which a jurisdiction with
a suspected serial murder case collects all of its evidence and
actively seeks data that may be related from other jurisdictions.[177]
By collecting all of the related information into one place, they
provide a central point in which it can be organized and easily accessed
by other jurisdictions working toward the goal of arresting an offender
and ending the murders.
A task force provides for a flexible,
organized, framework for jurisdictions depending on the needs of the
investigation. Unfortunately due to the need to commit resources
(manpower, money, equipment, etc.) for long periods of time it can be an
unsustainable option.[177][169][172]
In the case of the
investigation of Aileen Wournos, the Marion County Sheriff coordinated
multiple agencies without any written or formal agreement.[170] While
not a specific strategy for a serial murder investigation, this is
certainly a best practice in so far as the agencies were able to work
easily together toward a common goal.
Finally, once a serial
murder investigation has been identified, the use of an FBI Rapid
Response Team can assist both experienced and inexperienced
jurisdictions in setting up a task force. This is completed by
organizing and delegating jobs, by compiling and analyzing clues, and by
establishing communication between the parties involved.[170]
Resource augmentation
During
the course of a serial murder investigation, it may become necessary to
call in additional resources; the FBI defines this as Resource
Augmentation. Within the structure of a task force, the addition of a
resource should be thought of as either long-term or short-term. If the
task force's framework is expanded to include the new resource, then it
should be permanent and not removed. For short-term needs, such as
setting up roadblocks or canvassing a neighborhood, additional resources
should be called in on a short-term basis. The decision of whether
resources are needed short or long term should be left to the lead
investigator and facilitated by the administration.[169]
The
confusion and counter productiveness created by changing the structure
of a task force mid investigation is illustrated by the way the Green
River Task Force's staffing and structure was changed multiple times
throughout the investigation. This made an already complicated situation
more difficult, resulting in the delay or loss of information, which
allowed Ridgway to continue killing.[176] The FBI model does not take
into account that permanently expanding a task force, or investigative
structure, may not be possible due to cost or personnel availability.
Egger (1998) offers several alternative strategies including; using
investigative consultants, or experienced staff to augment an
investigative team. Not all departments have investigators experienced
in serial murder and by temporarily bringing in consultants, they can
educate a department to a level of competence then step out. This would
reduce the initially established framework of the investigation team and
save the department the cost of retaining the consultants until the
conclusion of the investigation.[170]
Communication
The FBI
handbook (2008) and Keppel (1989) both stress communication as
paramount. The difference is that the FBI handbook concentrates
primarily on communication within a task force, while Keppel makes
getting information out to and allowing information to be passed back
from patrol officers a priority.[169][172] The FBI handbook suggests
having daily e-mail or in-person briefings for all staff involved in the
investigation and providing periodic summary briefings to patrol
officers and managers. Looking back on a majority of serial murderer
arrests, most are exercised by patrol officers in the course of their
everyday duties and unrelated to the ongoing serial murder
investigation.[170][172]
Keppel provides examples of Larry Eyler,
who was arrested during a traffic stop for a parking violation, and Ted
Bundy, who was arrested during a traffic stop for operating a stolen
vehicle.[172] In each case, it was uniformed officers, not directly
involved in the investigation, who knew what to look for and took the
direct action that stopped the killer. By providing up-to-date (as
opposed to periodic) briefings and information to officers on the street
the chances of catching a serial killer, or finding solid leads, are
increased.
Data management
A serial murder investigation
generates staggering amounts of data, all of which needs to be reviewed
and analyzed. A standardized method of documenting and distributing
information must be established and investigators must be allowed time
to complete reports while investigating leads and at the end of a shift
(FBI 2008).[169] When the mechanism for data management is insufficient,
leads are not only lost or buried but the investigation can be hindered
and new information can become difficult to obtain or become
corrupted.[176]
During the Green River Killer investigation,
reporters would often find and interview possible victims or witnesses
ahead of investigators. The understaffed investigation was unable to
keep up the information flow, which prevented them from promptly
responding to leads. To make matters worse, investigators believed that
the journalists, untrained in interviewing victims or witnesses of
crimes, would corrupt the information and result in unreliable
leads.[176]
Memorabilia
Notorious and infamous serial killers
number in the thousands[178] and a subculture revolves around their
legacies. That subculture includes the collection, sale, and display of
serial killer memorabilia, dubbed "murderabilia" by Andrew Kahan, one of
the best-known opponents of collectors of serial killer remnants. Kahan
is the director of the Mayor's Crime Victims Office in Houston. He is
backed by the families of murder victims and "Son of Sam laws" existing
in some states that prevent murderers from profiting from the publicity
generated by their crimes.[179]
Such memorabilia includes the
paintings, writings, and poems of these killers.[180] Recently,
marketing has capitalized even more upon interest in serial killers with
the rise of various merchandise such as trading cards, action figures,
and books. Some serial killers attain celebrity status in the way they
acquire fans and may have previous personal possessions auctioned off on
websites like eBay. A few examples of this are Ed Gein's 150-pound
stolen gravestone and Bobby Joe Long's sunglasses.[181]
See also
List of serial killers by country
List of serial killers by number of victims
List of songs about or referencing serial killers
Serial crime
Serial rapist
Footnotes
an offender can be anyone.
Holmes
& Holmes 1998, Serial murder is the killing of three or more people
over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off
period between the murders The baseline number of three victims appears
to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the
field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the
definition.
Petherick 2005, p. 190 Three killings seem to be
required in the most popular definition of serial killing since they are
enough to provide a pattern within the killings without being overly
restrictive.
Flowers 2012, p. 195 in general, most experts on serial
murder require that a minimum of three murders be committed at different
times and usually different places for a person to qualify as a serial
killer.
Schechter 2012, p. 73 Most experts seem to agree, however,
that to qualify as a serial killer, an individual has to slay a minimum
of three unrelated victims.
Burkhalter Chmelir 2003, p. 1.
Geberth
1995, p. ? "The base population was 387 serial murderers, who killed
(under various motivations), three or more persons over a period of time
with cooling-off periods between the events. The author identified 232
male serial murderers who violated their victims sexually".
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Rubinstein, W. D. (2004). Genocide: A
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on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
Rule, Ann (2004). Kiss Me, Kill Me: Ann Rule's Crime Files. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416500032.
Schechter,
Harold (2003). The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and
Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballantine Books. ISBN
978-0-345-47200-7. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved
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of Serial Killers. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439138854. Archived
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Schlesinger, Louis B. (2000). Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2236-5.
Schmid,
David (2005). Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American
Culture. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73867-3. Archived
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Sitpond, M. (2000). Addicted to murder: The true story of Dr Harold Shipman. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-0445-1.
Silva,
J. Arturo; Leong, Gregory B.; Ferrari, Michelle M. (2004). "A
neuropsychiatric developmental model of serial homicidal behavior".
Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 22 (6): 787–799. doi:10.1002/bsl.620.
PMID 15568202.
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childhood and adolescent fire-setting: Can it lead to serial murder".
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.
48 (4): 461–476. doi:10.1177/0306624X04265087. PMID 15245657. S2CID
5991918.
Skeem, J. L.; Polaschek, D. L. L.; Patrick, C. J.;
Lilienfeld, S. O. (2011). "Psychopathic Personality: Bridging the Gap
Between Scientific Evidence and Public Policy". Psychological Science in
the Public Interest. 12 (3): 95–162. doi:10.1177/1529100611426706. PMID
26167886. S2CID 8521465. Archived from the original on February 22,
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9781447327639. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved
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Further reading
Borgeson; Kristen Kuehnle
(2010). Serial Offenders: Theory and Practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7637-7730-2. Archived from the original on May
14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Brady, Ian; Colin Wilson
(Introduction); Peter Sotos (Afterword) (2001). The Gates of Janus:
Serial Killing and Its Analysis. Feral House. ISBN 978-0922915736.
Douglas,
John; Mark Olshaker (1997). Journey into Darkness. Pocket Books. ISBN
978-0-671-00394-4. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020.
Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Douglas, John; Mark Olshaker (1997).
Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit. Pocket Books.
ISBN 978-0-671-01375-2. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016.
Retrieved February 27, 2016.
Douglas, John E.; Allen G. Burgess;
Robert K. Ressler; Ann W. Burgess (2006). Crime Classification Manual: A
Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes
(Second ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-7879-8501-1. Archived from the original
on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Haggerty, Kevin D.
(2009). "Crime, Media, Culture: Modern Serial Killer". Crime, Media,
Culture. 5 (2): 1–21. doi:10.1177/1741659009335714. S2CID 11395289.
Holmes,
Ronald M.; Stephen T. Holmes (1998). Contemporary Perspectives on
Serial Murder. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-1421-1. Archived from
the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Holmes,
Ronald M.; Stephen T. Holmes (2000). Murder in America (Second ed.).
Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-2092-2. Archived from the original on May 14,
2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Jensen, Sybil (2014). Top 10 American Serial Killers:Inside The Minds of Psychopaths. Haselton Media Group. ASIN B00KGDUJ2U.
Kiam,
O.M. (2013). The Second One: A Serial Killer's Account of His First Two
Kills. Milford Press. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019.
Retrieved September 11, 2017.
Lane, Brian (2006). The New
Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2nd ed.). Facts on File. ISBN
978-0816061952. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved
February 19, 2018.
Leyton, Elliott (1986). Hunting Humans: The Rise
of the Modern Multiple Murderer. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN
978-0-7710-5025-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved
February 19, 2018.
Lukin, Grigory (2013). Madmen's Manifestos: Chris Dorner, Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh and others. ASIN B00BM5L2HW.
MacDonald,
J. M (1963). "The threat to kill". American Journal of Psychiatry. 120
(2). American Psychiatric Association: 125–130.
doi:10.1176/ajp.120.2.125. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014.
Retrieved May 31, 2011.
Newitz, Annalee (2006). Pretend We're Dead:
Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture. Duke University Press. ISBN
978-0-8223-3745-4. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019.
Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Norris, Joel (1990). Serial Killers: The Growing Menace. Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0-09-971750-8.
Panzram, Carl (2002) [1970]. Gaddis, Thomas E.; Long, James O. (eds.). Killer: A Journal of Murder. Amok Books.
Ramsland,
Katherine (2007). Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why
They Kill. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-99422-8. Archived from the original
on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Ramsland, Katherine;
Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Archived
from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
Ramsland,
Katherine; Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library.
Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
Reavill, Gil (2007). Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home. Gotham. ISBN 978-1-59240-296-0.
Robinson,
Bryan (January 7, 2006). "Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale". ABC
News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 1,
2010.
Rosner, Lisa (2010). The Anatomy Murders. Being the True and
Spectacular History of Edinburgh's Notorious Burke and Hare and of the
Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous
Crimes. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4191-4.
Roy,
Jody M. (2002). Love to Hate: America's Obsession with Hatred and
Violence. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12569-7. Archived
from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
Rushby,
Kevin (2003). Children of Kali: Through India in Search of Bandits, the
Thug Cult, and the British Raj. Walker & Company. ISBN
978-0-8027-1418-3.
Seltzer, Mark (1998). Serial Killers: Death and
Life in America's Wound Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91481-9.
Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
Vronsky, Peter (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Penguin Group/Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-19640-3.
Wilson, Colin (1995). A Plague of Murder. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-85487-249-4.
Yudofsky,
Stuart C. (2005). Fatal Flaws: Navigating Destructive Relationships
with People with Disorders of Personality and Character. American
Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 9781585626588. Archived from the original
on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
External links
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Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metropolitan Police officers.
The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the railway network of Great Britain, as well as certain rapid transit and tram systems.
An example of a UK police vehicle, this one a Norfolk Constabulary Vauxhall Astra, featuring standardised blue and yellow battenburg markings used by all UK police forces.
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Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.[nb 1] Most law enforcement duties are carried out by police constables of a territorial police force.
As of 2021, there were 39 territorial police forces in England, 4 in Wales, one in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland.[1] Each is responsible for most law enforcement and crime reduction in its police area.[nb 2] In terms of national government the territorial police forces of England and Wales are overseen by the Home Office, although they are operationally independent from government. The British Transport Police (BTP), the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP), and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) provide specialist policing services in England, Scotland and Wales. The National Crime Agency (NCA) is primarily tasked with tackling organised crime and has been compared to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.[2][3]
Police constables have certain powers that enable them to execute their duties. Their primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences.[4] In the British model of policing, police officers exercise their police powers with the implicit consent of the public. "Policing by consent" is the phrase used to describe this. It expresses that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.[5][6]
History
Main article: History of law enforcement in the United Kingdom
In the 18th century, law enforcement and policing were organised by local communities based on watchmen and constables; the government was not directly involved in policing. The City of Glasgow Police, the first professional police, was established following an Act of Parliament in 1800.[8] The first centrally organised police force in the world was created in Ireland, then a part of the United Kingdom, following the Peace Preservation Act in 1814 for which Sir Robert Peel was largely responsible.[9]
London had a population of nearly one and a half million people in the early 19th century but was policed by only 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen.[10] The concept of professional policing was taken up by Sir Robert Peel when he became Home Secretary in 1822. Peel's Metropolitan Police Act 1829 established a full-time, professional and centrally-organised police force for the greater London area known as the Metropolitan Police.[11] In March 1839, Sir Edwin Chadwick presented The Royal Commission on Constabulary Forces to Parliament. This report was to evaluate how the burgeoning police force would work with "poor law" as well as to make the case to establish a national force based on the Metropolitan Police. Much of his argument was based around the necessity for protection of the developing capitalism that was growing in England at the time. Chadwick also addressed the concern that building out a powerful police state could lead to a reduction in civil and personal liberties, but argued that the fear of crime made English citizens slaves, and so were less free without aggressive policing.[12] Legislation in the 1830s introduced policing in boroughs and many counties and, in the 1850s, policing was established nationally.
The Peelian principles describe the philosophy that Sir Robert Peel developed to define an ethical police force. The principles traditionally ascribed to Peel state that:[13][14]
Whether the police are effective is not measured on the number of arrests, but on the lack of crime.
Above all else, an effective authority figure knows trust and accountability are paramount. Hence, Peel's most often quoted principle that "The police are the public and the public are the police."
Nine principles of policing were set out in the 'General Instructions' issued to every new police officer in the Metropolitan Police from 1829. The Home Office has suggested this list was more likely to have been authored by Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, the first and joint Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police.[15][16]
The police historian Charles Reith explained in his New Study of Police History (1956) that these principles constituted a philosophy of policing "unique in history and throughout the world because it derived not from fear but almost exclusively from public co-operation with the police, induced by them designedly by behaviour which secures and maintains for them the approval, respect and affection of the public".[15][17] This approach to policing became known as "policing by consent".[16]
Other historians, such as Robert Storch, David Philips and Roger Swift, argue that Peel's Metropolitan Police were built on his experience of the Royal Irish Constabulary.[18] Storch's view is that the English police force is not different to those of other nations and in fact follows a rather typical development as a colonial peacekeeping force. There is extensive documentation of police brutality in the 19th century, including excessive force, racial profiling, and several charges of murder. The controversies that plagued the early years of the police force were much the same as the current complaints against modern policing.[19]
The first women police officers were employed during the First World War. Hull and Southampton were two of the first to towns to employ women police, although Grantham was the first to have a warranted policewoman.[20]
Since the 1940s, police forces in the United Kingdom have been merged and modernised.
Corruption at the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad led to a conviction and resignations in 1977 after the Operation Countryman investigations. A Police Complaints Board was set up to handle allegations of malpractice in response.
Changes took place to tighten police procedures in the 1980s, in response to the Scarman Report, to ensure that evidence and interviews were robust, in the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. In 1989, the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad was disbanded as a series of around 100 criminal cases failed or were subsequently overturned in the West Midlands, after new forensic techniques showed police officers had been tampering with statement evidence to secure convictions, including those of the Birmingham Six.
The Police Complaints Board was replaced by the Police Complaints Authority in 1985, which itself was superseded by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in 2004. On 8 January 2018, the IPCC was replaced by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).[21]
Powers of officers
Territorial police constables
Main article: Powers of the police in the United Kingdom (disambiguation)
Most police officers are members of territorial police forces. A person must make a declaration before taking up office as a constable and having any powers; although this is sometimes still known as the police oath, and the process sometimes referred to as "swearing in", it now takes the form of an "attestation" (in England and Wales and Northern Ireland) or a "declaration" (in Scotland). The process is carried out in the presence of a magistrate, and is usually followed by the issue of a warrant card. This grants the officer all the powers and privileges, duties and responsibilities of a constable in one of the three distinct legal systems - either England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the territorial waters of that country. The limited circumstances where their powers extend across the border are described in the section above.
Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) officer wearing chemical protective equipment and armed with a HK7 personal defence taking part in training
Other constables
Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) boat in Portsmouth Harbour
There are many constables who are not members of territorial police forces. The most notable are members of the three forces referred to as special police forces: the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary. Such officers have the "powers and privileges of a constable" in matters relating to their work.[22][23][24] BTP and MDP officers have additional jurisdiction where requested by a constable of another force, in which case they take on that constable's jurisdiction.[25][26] Upon request from the chief police officer of a police force, members of one of the above three forces can be given the full powers of constables in the police area of the requesting force.[25][27] This was used to supplement police numbers in the areas surrounding the 2005 G8 summit at Gleneagles.
Many acts allow companies or councils to employ constables for a specific purpose. There are ten companies whose employees are sworn in as constables under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847.[28] As a result, they have the full powers of a constable on land owned by the harbour, dock, or port and at any place within one mile of any owned land. There are also forces created by specific legislation, such as the Port of Tilbury Police (Port of London Act 1968), Mersey Tunnels Police (County of Merseyside Act 1989) and the Epping Forest Keepers (Epping Forest Act 1878).
Parks Constables
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police vehicle
Under Article 18 of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation (Greater London Parks and Open Spaces) Act 1967, London Borough Councils are allowed to swear in council officers as constables for "securing the observance of the provisions of all enactments relating to open spaces under their control or management and of bye-laws and regulations made thereunder". Local Authority Parks Constables have all the powers of a constable in relation byelaws regulations and all enactments relating to open spaces, Article 19 of the Act was repealed by section 26(1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Local Acts) and the power of arrest for Parks Constables is now contained in Section 24 of P.A.C.E 1984, further amendments to Article 19 covering coming to the aid and assistance of such a constable or officer were repealed by SOCPA 2005, as this provision is already covered in P.A.C.E 1984 (Legal Counsel 2007,2012). No enforcement agency with a power of arrest or detention can operate outside of the provisions of P.A.C.E 1984; therefore all local powers of arrest and detention were brought into line under section 26(1) P.A.C.E 1984.
Police staff
Police forces employ staff who perform many functions to assist officers and support the smooth running of their police force. They do not hold the office of constable. In England & Wales, the chief police officer of a territorial police force may designate any person who is employed by the police authority maintaining that force, and is under the direction and control of that chief police officer, as one of the following:
Police Community Support Officer and UK Border Force Agent
Police community support officer (PCSO)
Policing support officer.[29]
PCSOs were created by the Police Reform Act 2002,[30] with a range of standard powers, as well as additional powers that can be conferred at the discretion of their chief police officer. Unlike a police constable, a PCSO only has powers when on duty and in uniform, and within the area policed by their respective force.
The policing support officer role was originally as three separate roles in Police Reform Act 2002, each with a specific list of discretionary powers that may be awarded by a chief constable:
Investigating officer,
Detention officer
Escort officer.[31]
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 reformed this and streamlined it to the two roles above, and gave full discretionary powers to Chief Constables, such that they may assign any powers, other than powers reserved for constables only, to any police staff or volunteer.
Until 1991, parking enforcement was primarily conducted by police-employed traffic wardens. Since the passage of the Road Traffic Act 1991, decriminalised parking enforcement has enabled local authorities to take on this role and now very few forces still employ police traffic wardens. These include the Metropolitan Police Service; however, they have combined the role with PCSOs as traffic community support officers.
In Scotland, police custody and security officers have powers similar to those of detention officers and escort officers in England and Wales.[32] Similar powers are available in Northern Ireland.[33]
Accredited persons
Chief police officers of territorial police forces[34] (and the British Transport Police[35]) can also give limited powers[36] to people not employed by the police authority, under Community Safety Accreditation Schemes. A notable example are officers of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, who have been given powers to stop vehicles.[37] This practice has been criticised by the Police Federation who described it as "half-baked".[38]
Members of the armed forces
In Northern Ireland only, members of British Armed Forces have powers to stop people[39] or vehicles,[40] arrest and detain people for three hours[41] and enter buildings to keep the peace[42] or search for people who have been kidnapped.[43] Additionally, commissioned officers may close roads.[44] If necessary, they may use force when exercising these powers as long as it is reasonable.[45]
Under the Customs Management Act 1979, members of the armed forces may detain people if they believe they have committed an offence under the Customs & Excise acts, and may seize goods if they believe they are liable to forfeiture under the same acts.[46]
Service police/military police personnel are not constables under UK law and they do not have any police powers over the general public; however, they have the full range of policing powers that constables possess when dealing with service personnel or civilians subject to service discipline, drawing their powers from the Armed Forces Act 2006. The service police do assist territorial police forces in towns in the UK with nearby military barracks where there are likely to be significant numbers of service personnel off duty. In British Overseas Territories, they are sometimes sworn in as constables to assist and/or act as the police force (e.g. the British Indian Ocean Territory Police which is made up of tri-service police personnel and are known as "Royal Overseas Police Officers"[47]) and anywhere that British Forces are stationed or deployed. Generally, when carrying out this assistance, service policemen/women are unarmed, but have a range of PPE including batons, handcuffs and stab vests.
A Border Force cutter, primarily enforcing customs and immigration laws in UK waters
Other persons
Sworn persons
Prison officers of His Majesty's Prison Service, the Scottish Prison Service, and the Northern Ireland Prison Service have the powers, authority, protection, and privileges of a constable when acting as such.[48]
Employees of the National Crime Agency can be granted[49] the powers of a constable, immigration officer or customs officer.[50]
Border Force and Immigration Enforcement officers hold powers as immigration officers and/or customs officers, with certain powers of arrest, detention and search.
HM Revenue and Customs staff can hold the powers of a customs officer, with widespread powers in relation to customs offences.
In England and Wales, Environment Agency fisheries enforcement officers have the powers, authority, protection, and privileges of a constable and powers in relation to enforcement of fishing regulations.[51] Scottish water bailiffs have similar powers.
Court officers, commonly referred to as "bailiffs" — bailiff in Scotland and enforcement agents in England and Wales — can enforce court orders and, in some cases, have powers of arrest.
Non-sworn persons
National Highways Traffic Officer vehicle
In England, Traffic Officers are employed by National Highways to maintain traffic flow on trunk roads. Traffic Officer have powers to direct traffic and place road signs, close lanes of an active motorway, and stop vehicles if they believe them to be unroadworthy for the road and condition they are driving in.
Some employees of local authorities have powers of entry relating to inspection of businesses under the Sunday Trading Act 1994[52] and powers to give Fixed Penalty Notices for offences such as littering, graffiti or one of the wide-ranging offences in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. Such powers may be granted under local bylaws or acts of parliament. The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme also led to the proliferation of accredited neighbourhood warden schemes (and supporting enforcement functions) employed by several local authorities (and sometimes social housing providers) across England and Wales, such as Nottingham City Council's Community Protection Officers.[53]
Natural England and Animal and Plant Health Agency wildlife inspectors have certain powers of entry and inspection to investigate wildlife offences and licenses relating to wildlife.
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority officers have powers to enforce bylaws and parts of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.[54]
Employees of fire and rescue services have extensive powers in the event of an emergency, and more limited powers in other circumstances, such as fire investigations.
The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) are an unarmed, civilian, security force that protects Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites and persons. They provide access control, patrols and static guarding.
The Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) are part of the Adjutant General's Corps Provost Branch, of the British Army, responsible for maintaining physical and armed security at British Armed Forces locations throughout Great Britain.
Regimental police of the British Army (properly called Regimental Provost Staff) are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) of a regiment or corps that are responsible for regimental discipline and service law enforcement. They belong to the regiment or corps, in which they enforce discipline, rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent. They are not to be confused with service/military police.
Civilian Security Officers (CSO) of the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service whilst on duty hold similar powers to those of a Police Constable, as allowed by the Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1947. A CSO has the powers of arrest under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (PACE).[55]
The Military Provost Staff (MPS) are the British Army's prison service and specialists in custody and detention. They operate the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) (Colchester, Essex), and the seven regional service custody facilities around the country.[56]
In the United Kingdom, every person has limited powers of arrest if they see a crime being committed: at common law in Scotland, and in England and Wales if the crime is indictable[57] – these are called "every person powers", commonly referred to as a "citizen's arrest". In England and Wales, the vast majority of attested constables enjoy full powers of arrest and search as granted by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. For the purposes of this legislation, "constables" is defined to mean all police officers, irrespective of rank. Although police officers have wide-ranging powers, they are still subject to the same laws as members of the public (aside from specific exemptions such as the carrying of firearms and certain road traffic legislation). There are additional legal restrictions placed on police officers such as the prohibitions on industrial action and on taking part in active politics.
Jurisdictions and territories
Every geographic place in the United Kingdom is defined in law as part of certain police area. In England and Wales this is currently defined in section1 of the Police Act 1996. A police area defines the geographic area for which a territorial police force is responsible for policing. This is different to legal jurisdiction (see below). Special police forces (such as the BTP) do not have police areas and ultimately the Chief Constable of a territorial police force is responsible for maintaining law and order throughout his/her police area even if, for example, BTP have a presence at railways stations within the police area. Scotland and Northern Ireland have national police forces (see below).
In England, Police forces are funded by a combination of sources including central government and through the "police precept" tax levied as part of Council Tax which is charged by local governments.[58] The local police force precept can be increased via referendum. Since 2013, police forces in England (and Wales) have been overseen by a directly elected Police and crime commissioner (PCC) who holds the force to account for the public. PCCs do not have operational control of the police force, with operational management of the police force the responsibility of the chief constable in most English police forces, although the equivalent position is referred to as commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police. Administration of police matters is not generally affected by the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Current United Kingdom Territorial Police Forces
Territorial Police Forces of England
Police force Established Police area[59] Police and Crime Commissioner (as of July 2023)
Avon and Somerset Police 1974 Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Somerset Labour
Bedfordshire Police 1966 Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton Conservative
Cambridgeshire Constabulary 1965 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Conservative
City of London Police 1839 City of London No PCC, police responsible to the City of London Corporation
Cleveland Police 1974 Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees Conservative
Cumbria Constabulary 1974 Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Conservative
Derbyshire Constabulary 1967 Derby and Derbyshire Conservative
Devon and Cornwall Police 1967 Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, Plymouth and Torbay Conservative
Dorset Police 1974 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset Conservative
Durham Constabulary 1839 County Durham and Darlington Labour
Essex Police 1840 Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock Conservative
Gloucestershire Constabulary 1839 Gloucestershire (excluding South Gloucestershire) Conservative
Greater Manchester Police 1974 Bolton, Rochdale, Manchester, Stockport, Tameside, Oldham, Wigan, and Trafford No PCC, police responsible to Mayor of Greater Manchester
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary 1839 Portsmouth, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Southampton Conservative
Hertfordshire Constabulary 1841 Hertfordshire Conservative
Humberside Police 1974 North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Kingston upon Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Conservative
Kent Police 1857 Kent and Medway Conservative
Lancashire Constabulary 1839 Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, and Lancashire Conservative
Leicestershire Police 1839 Rutland, Leicester and Leicestershire Conservative
Lincolnshire Police 1856 Lincolnshire (excluding North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire) Conservative
Merseyside Police 1974 Liverpool, St Helens, Wirral, Knowsley, Sefton and Halton Labour
Metropolitan Police 1829 London (excluding City of London) No PCC, police responsible to Mayor of London
Norfolk Constabulary 1839 Norfolk Conservative
Northamptonshire Police 1966 North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Conservative
Northumbria Police 1974 City of Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, South Tyneside, Northumberland and North Tyneside Labour
North Yorkshire Police 1974 North Yorkshire (excluding Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland) and York Conservative
Nottinghamshire Police 1968 Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Conservative
South Yorkshire Police 1974 Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Labour
Staffordshire Police 1968 Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Conservative
Suffolk Constabulary 1967 Suffolk Conservative
Surrey Police 1851 Surrey Conservative
Sussex Police 1968 Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex Conservative
Thames Valley Police 1968 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes and West Berkshire Conservative
Warwickshire Police 1840 Warwickshire Conservative
West Mercia Police 1967 Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Telford and Wrekin Conservative
West Midlands Police 1974 Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall Labour
West Yorkshire Police 1974 Calderdale, City of Bradford, City of Wakefield, Kirklees and Leeds No PCC, police responsible to Mayor of West Yorkshire
Wiltshire Police 1839 Swindon and Wiltshire Conservative
Proposed mergers for England and Wales
In 1981 James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, called for the number of forces to be reduced to nine in England (one for each Region) and one for Wales.[60] A 2004 proposal by the Police Superintendents' Association for the creation of a single national police force, similar to Garda Síochána was objected to by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The government did not accept the proposal at the time.[61]
From 2005 to 2006, the government considered merging several territorial police forces in England and Wales. The review only concerned policing in outside of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Greater London. Likewise, the major non-territorial forces (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Ministry of Defence Police) are responsible to other government departments, and would not have been affected either. The primary argument for merging forces is that forces with 4,000 or more officers would perform better and could save costs.[62] The view was supported by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, who said in September 2005 that the existing structure was "no longer working".[63]
Merger proposals were announced by the Home Secretary in early 2006. They proposed reducing the number of police forces to less than 25, with Wales and several Regions of England having one force each.[64][65][66][67][68][69] The consultation period on this second batch of mergers started on 11 April 2006, and would have finished on 11 August, with a target of April 2008 for the mergers coming into effect.[70]
On 20 June 2006 the then Home Secretary, John Reid, announced that the contested mergers would be delayed for further discussion.[71] The only merger agreed to was with Lancashire Constabulary and Cumbria Constabulary. On 12 July 2006, the Home Office confirmed that all the mergers were to be abandoned, with the entire proposal taken back for consultation.[72]
Wales
Dyfed–Powys Police
Gwent Police
North Wales Police
South Wales Police
Scotland
Main article: Police Scotland
In 2013, the 8 territorial police forces in Scotland were merged into a single Scottish police force, named "The Police Service of Scotland", or colloquially Police Scotland. Merging these forces had been first mooted in 2010, and was supported by the Scottish National Party, Scottish Labour Party and Scottish Conservative Party ahead of the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.[73] After a consultation process,[74][75] the Scottish Government confirmed on 8 September 2011 that a single police service would be created in Scotland.[76] The Scottish Government stated that "reform will safeguard frontline policing in communities by creating designated local senior officers for every council area with a statutory duty to work with councils to shape local services. Establishing a single service aims to ensure more equal access to national and specialist services and expertise such as major investigation teams and firearms teams, whenever and wherever they are needed."[77] The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill was published in January 2012[78] and was approved on 27 June 2012 after scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.[77] The Bill received royal assent as the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. This created a force of approximately 17,000 police officers, the second largest in the United Kingdom after the Metropolitan Police in London.[79][80]
In March 2015, following the transfer of police oversight powers to the Scottish Government,[81] the Justice Secretary announced proposals to further unify policing in Scotland by merging the British Transport Police's operations north of the border with Police Scotland.[82]
Northern Ireland
Main article: Police Service of Northern Ireland
Cross-jurisdiction powers
Territorial police constables have certain powers of arrest in another one of the UK's three legal jurisdictions than they were attested in. There are four main provisions for them to do so – arrest with a warrant, arrest without a warrant for an offence committed in their home jurisdiction whilst in another jurisdiction, arrest without a warrant for an offence committed in another jurisdiction whilst in that jurisdiction, and mutual aid. A fifth power of cross jurisdictional arrest was introduced by section 116 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 which fills a loop hole in arrest powers in certain situations. This power came into force in March 2018.[83] This new power allows a constable from one jurisdiction to arrest without warrant a person suspected of an offence in another jurisdiction whilst in their home jurisdiction. This power is in relation to more serious offences as listed in the act. The Act sets out how long the person can be detained in custody by the 'arresting force' in one jurisdiction until constables from the 'investigating force' in another jurisdiction can travel to re-arrest the person and deal accordingly.[84] Below is a summary of these five powers with a practical example due to the complicated nature of this area of law. Note: this section applies to territorial police constables only, and not to others – except the British Transport Police, who also have certain cross-border powers in addition to their natural powers.
Arrest with warrant
Certain warrants can be executed by constables even though they are outside their jurisdiction: arrest warrants and warrants of committal (all); and a warrant to arrest a witness (England, Wales or Northern Ireland); a warrant for committal, a warrant to imprison (or to apprehend and imprison), and a warrant to arrest a witness (Scotland).[85] A warrant issued in one legal jurisdiction may be executed in either of the other two jurisdictions by a constable from either the jurisdiction where it was issued, or the jurisdiction where it is executed.[85]
When executing a warrant issued in Scotland, the constable executing it shall have the same powers and duties, and the person arrested the same rights, as they would have had if execution had been in Scotland by a constable of a police force in Scotland. When executing a warrant issued in England & Wales or Northern Ireland, a constable may use reasonable force and has specified search powers provided by section 139 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.[86]
Arrest without warrant: offences committed in home jurisdiction
In very simple terms, this power allows constables of one jurisdiction to travel to another jurisdiction and arrest a person they suspect of committing an offence in their home jurisdiction. For example, constables from Cumbria Police investigating an offence of assault that occurred in their police area could travel over the border into Scotland and arrest the suspect without warrant found in Gretna.
If a constable suspects that a person has committed or attempted to commit an offence in their legal jurisdiction, and that person is now in another jurisdiction, the constable may arrest them in that other jurisdiction.[87]
A constable from England & Wales is subject to the same necessity tests for arrest (as under section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984[88]) as they would be in England & Wales, a constable from Scotland may arrest if it would have been lawful to do so in Scotland and a constable from Northern Ireland is subject to the same necessity tests for arrest (as under Article 26 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.[89]) as they would be in Northern Ireland.[87]
A person arrested under the above powers:[87]
in Scotland, shall be taken to the nearest convenient designated police station or to a designated police station in a police area in which the offence is being investigated (England & Wales or Northern Ireland),
in England or Wales, shall be taken to the nearest convenient police station (Scotland) or to a police station within a sheriffdom in which the offence is being investigated (Scotland), to the nearest convenient designated police station (Northern Ireland) or to a designated police station in which the offence is being investigated (Northern Ireland), or
in Northern Ireland, shall be taken either to the nearest convenient designated police station (England & Wales) or to a designated police station in a police area in which the offence is being investigated (England & Wales) or to the nearest convenient police station (Scotland) or to a police station within a sheriffdom in which the offence is being investigated (Scotland).
Arrest without warrant: offences committed in other jurisdictions (known as reciprocal powers of arrest)
In simple terms, this power gives a constable of one jurisdiction whilst in another jurisdiction the same power of arrest as a constable of the jurisdiction they are visiting. As a practical example, if constables from Police Scotland are over the border in Cumbria on enquiries and come across a burglary in progress they can arrest the suspect on suspicion of burglary using the same arrest powers as a constable of England or Wales.
A constable from one legal jurisdiction has, in the other jurisdictions, the same powers of arrest as a constable of that jurisdiction would have.[90]
A constable from England or Wales has:[90]
in Scotland, the same power of arrest as a constable from Scotland
in Northern Ireland, the same power of arrest as a constable from Northern Ireland would have under Article 26 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (necessity test).[91]
A constable from Scotland has:[90]
in England and Wales, the same power of arrest as a constable from England or Wales would have under section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (necessity test).[92]
in Northern Ireland, the same power of arrest as a constable from Northern Ireland would have under Article 26 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (necessity test).[93]
A constable from Northern Ireland has:[90]
in Scotland, the same power of arrest as a constable from Scotland
in England and Wales, the same power of arrest as a constable from England or Wales would have under section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (necessity test).[92]
A British Transport Police public order officer on 'mutual aid', supporting the Metropolitan Police.
When a constable arrests a person in England & Wales, the constable is subject to the requirements of section 28 (informing of arrest),[94] section 30 (taking to a designated police station)[95] and section 32 (search on arrest).[90][96] When a constable arrests a person in Scotland, the arrested person shall have the same rights and the constable the same powers and duties as they would have were the constable a constable of a police force in Scotland.[90] When a constable arrests a person in Northern Ireland, the constable is subject to the requirements of Article 30 (informing of arrest),[97] Article 32 (taking to a designated police station)[98] and Article 34 (search on arrest).[90][99]
Arrest without warrant by a constable in his home jurisdiction for an offence committed in another jurisdiction
This power allows a constable of one jurisdiction to arrest without warrant a person suspected of an offence in another jurisdiction whilst in their home jurisdiction. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 sets out which offences this power of arrest will apply to in each jurisdiction (generally serious offences), and how long the person arrested can be kept in custody, with relevant authorities, by the "arresting force" to allow sufficient time for officers from the "investigating force" in another jurisdiction to travel and re-arrest the detained person for the purposes of their investigation.[84]
This relatively new power came into force in March 2018.[83] Until the introduction of this power, there was an issue whereby a constable in his home jurisdiction could not arrest a person suspected of an offence in another jurisdiction without a warrant.[100]
Other situations (including Mutual Aid)
Police forces often support each other with large-scale operations, such as those that require specialist skills or expertise and those that require policing levels that the host-forces cannot provide. Referred to as mutual aid, constables loaned from one force to another have the powers and privileges of a constable of the host force.[101] Constables from the Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties in Scotland or Northern Ireland have all the powers and privileges of a constable of the host police force.[102] A constable who is taking a person to or from a prison retains all the powers, authority, protection and privileges of his office regardless of his location.[103] Regardless of where they are in the United Kingdom, a constable may arrest under section 41[104] and may stop and search under section 43[105] of the Terrorism Act 2000 on suspicion of terrorism (defined by section 40[106])
Accountability
From 22 November 2012, police authorities outside London were replaced by directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners or Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners. In London, the City of London Police continued to be overseen by City of London Corporation, whilst the Mayor of London has responsibility for the governance of the Metropolitan Police.[107] The mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire also have responsibility for governance.
In Northern Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
In Scotland, Police Scotland is overseen by the Scottish Police Authority.
The British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary had their own police authority established in 2004. These forces operate across the United Kingdom and their responsibility is to the specific activities they were established to police.
His Majesty's Inspectorates of Constabulary
The official bodies responsible for the examination and assessment of police forces to ensure their requirements are met as intended are:
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS): this organisation is responsible to the Home Office for police forces in England and Wales. It also inspects, by invitation, various UK special police forces and elements of the Service (Military) Police. Since 2004, HMICFRS has also had responsibility for examining HM Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Inspection services have been provided on a non-statutory basis for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Since July 2017, it has also become responsible for inspecting Fire & Rescue Services in England.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (commonly known as HMICS): this organisation is responsible to the Scottish Government and examines the Police Service of Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.
As of June 2022, in addition to the London Metropolitan Police, six police forces are in special measures because they are failing. They are Cleveland, Greater Manchester police, Gloucestershire. Staffordshire and Wiltshire forces. London mayor Sadiq Khan said "(...) after 12 years of massive cuts. We've lost 21,000 experienced officers around the country, many of them in London. Because of City Hall funding we've managed to replace many of them, but clearly, with newer, inexperienced officers."[108]
Operations
Female officers in the UK typically wear a bowler cap, as opposed to a peaked cap or custodian helmet.
Ranks
Main article: Police ranks of the United Kingdom
Throughout the United Kingdom, the rank structure of police forces is identical up to the rank of chief superintendent. At higher ranks, structures are distinct within London where the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police have a series of commander and commissioner ranks as their top ranks whereas other UK police forces have assistants, deputies and a chief constable as their top ranks. All commissioners and chief constables are equal in rank.
Police community support officers (PCSOs) were introduced following the passing of the Police Reform Act 2002, although some have criticised these as for being a cheap alternative to fully trained police officers.[109]
Uniform and equipment
Main articles: Police uniforms and equipment in the United Kingdom, Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom, and Police vehicles in the United Kingdom
Uniforms, the issuing of firearms, type of patrol cars, and other equipment, varies by force.
The custodian helmet which is synonymous with the "bobby on the beat" image is frequently worn by male officers in England and Wales (and formerly in Scotland), while the equivalent for female officers is the "bowler" hat. The flat peaked cap is worn by officers on mobile patrol and higher-ranking officers.[110]
A mobile police station in Northern Ireland
Unlike police in most other developed countries, the vast majority of British police officers do not carry firearms on standard patrol; they carry an ASP baton and CS gas or PAVA spray. Officers are becoming increasingly trained in the use of and equipped with the TASER X2 as another tactical option.[111]
Firearms
See also: Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom
Every territorial force has a specialist Firearms Unit,[112] which maintains armed response vehicles to respond to firearms-related emergency calls. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, Belfast International Airport Constabulary, Belfast Harbour Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police are routinely armed.
London's Metropolitan Police firearms unit is the Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19), but every force in the United Kingdom maintains its own armed unit. Metropolitan and City of London Police operate with three officers per armed response vehicle, composed of a driver, a navigator, and an observer who gathers information about the incident and liaises with other units. Other police forces carry two authorised firearms officers instead of three.
Vehicles
The majority of officers on mobile patrol will do so in a marked police vehicle, namely an Incident Response Vehicle (IRV). Officers typically hold a 'response' permit, allowing them to utilise blue lights and sirens to make an emergency response. Some officers may not have undergone the additional training, and as such are only permitted to use emergency equipment when positioned at a scene or to pull over a vehicle. Officers who have undergone additional training to reach 'initial pursuit phase' standard are allowed to pursue vehicles, should they fail to stop. Vans are used as IRVs and, more specifically, to transport arrested suspects in a cage, who are unsuitable to be taken to custody in a car.
Some forces utilise Area Cars in addition to IRVs. Like IRVs, they respond to 999 calls and are manned by officers from response teams. However, officers are trained as 'advanced' drivers – allowing them to drive high-performance vehicles and pursue fleeing vehicles in the tactical phase of a pursuit. Some drivers may also be trained in skills like Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC).
In addition, forces' specialist units utilise a wide variety of vehicles to help perform their role effectively. Roads Policing Units (RPU) utilise performance vehicles to primarily enforce traffic laws and pursue fleeing suspects. Armed Response Vehicles (ARV) are used to transport armed officers and carry . Tactical/operational support units use larger vans, equipped with windscreen cages and/or reinforced glass, to transport officers into public order situations.
Forces also utilise unmarked vehicles for a wide-variety of roles. Covert surveillance vehicles are typically not fitted with any emergency equipment, as it is not necessary. Some forces utilise unmarked response vehicles to aid in proactive work. Similarly, some roads policing vehicles and ARVs are unmarked to help officers identity offences and use pre-emptive tactics to stop a suspect fleeing. Additionally, some forces have dedicated road crime units who use high-performance vehicles to primarily focus on organised criminals using the road committing offences.
Kent Police BMW X5
Kent Police BMW X5
Police Scotland Mercedes Sprinter
Police Scotland Mercedes Sprinter
West Yorkshire Police Peugeot 308
West Yorkshire Police Peugeot 308
British Transport Police Vauxhall Vivaro
British Transport Police Vauxhall Vivaro
Gwent Police Ford Transit Connect
Gwent Police Ford Transit Connect
Initial training
England and Wales
The College of Policing defines six curricula for new police constables, special constables and police community support officers:[113]
Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) or a pre-join Policing degree course for police constables[114]
Initial Learning for the Special Constabulary (IL4SC) for special constables
PCSO National Learning Programme for police community support officers
A number of alternative programmes exist to join police forces, including Police Now and Fast Track programmes to the rank of Inspector and Superintendent for those with substantial management experience in other sectors.
Initial Learning for the Special Constabulary
Derived from the IPLDP and although not linked to a formal qualification as such; IL4SC requires the learning outcomes and National Occupational Standards (NOSs) are met in order to become compliant. This curriculum will bring an officer to the 'point of safe and lawful accompanied patrol'.[115] This course equates to roughly 3.5 weeks of direct learning.
PCSO National Learning Programme
Successfully completion of the PCSO NLP over a period of six months to a year will result in a non-mandatory Certificate in Policing and this equates to 10 weeks of direct learning and consists of six mandatory units. Four of these units also feature within the IPLDP and being a QCF qualification, this can allow for officers wishing to become police officers for 'Recognition of Prior Learning' (RPL) and the transfer of such units to the IPLDP scheme.[113]
Scotland
All initial probationer training in Scotland is undertaken at the Scottish Police College (or SPC) at Tulliallan Castle. Recruits initially spend 12 weeks at the SPC before being posted to their divisions and over the next two years return to the SPC a number of times to complete examinations and fitness tests.[116] Training is composed of four distinct modules undertaken at various locations with some parts being delivered locally and some centrally at the SPC.[117]
Training for Special Constables is delivered locally at seven locations throughout Scotland over a series of evenings and/or weekends. The training is split into two parts, with the first phase being delivered in a classroom environment before being sworn in as a Special Constable and the second phase is delivered after being sworn in. Upon successful completion of both parts of the training programme Special Constables are awarded a certificate of achievement and would be eligible to complete an abbreviated course at the Scottish Police College should they later wish to join the Police Service of Scotland as a regular officer.[118]
Organisation of police forces
As all police forces are autonomous organisations there is much variation in organisation and nomenclature; however, outlined below are the main strands of policing that makes up police forces:
All police forces have teams of officers who are responsible for general beat duties and response to emergency and non-emergency calls from the public. These officers are generally the most visible and will invariably be the first interface a member of the public has with police. In general terms these officers will normally patrol by vehicle (though also on foot or bicycle in urban areas). They will generally patrol a sub-division or whole division of a police force area or in the case of the Metropolitan Police Service, a borough. Nearly all police officers begin their careers in this area of policing, with some moving on to more specialist roles. The Metropolitan Police Service calls this area of policing 'Response Teams', whilst other forces use terms such as 'patrol', 'section' and other variations.
Most local areas or wards in the country have at least one police officer who is involved in trying to build links with the local community and resolve long-term problems. In London, the Metropolitan Police Service addresses this area of policing with Safer Neighbourhood Teams. This entails each political ward in London having a Police Sergeant, two police constables and a few PCSOs who are ring fenced to address problems and build community links in their respective wards. Other police forces have similar systems but can be named 'Area officers', 'Neighbourhood officers', 'Beat Constables' and a number of other variations.
Criminal Investigation Departments (CID) can be found in all police forces. Generally these officers deal with investigations of a more complex, serious nature; however, this again can differ from force to force. Most officers within this area are detectives. Depending on the force in question this area of policing can be further divided into a myriad of other specialist areas such as fraud. Smaller forces tend to have detectives who deal with a wide range of varied investigations whereas detectives in larger forces can have a very specialist remit.
All police forces have specialist departments that deal with certain aspects of policing. Larger forces such as Greater Manchester Police, Strathclyde Police and West Midlands Police have many and varied departments and units such as traffic, firearms, marine, horse, tactical support all named differently depending on the force. Smaller forces such Dyfed Powys Police and Warwickshire Police will have fewer specialists and will rely on cross training, such as firearms officers also being traffic trained officers. The Metropolitan Police, the largest force in the country, has a large number of specialist departments, some of which are unique to the Metropolitan Police due to policing the capital and its national responsibilities. For example, the Diplomatic Protection Group and Counter Terrorism Command.
Fixated Threat Assessment Centre
Main article: Fixated Threat Assessment Centre
In the United Kingdom, the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre is a joint police/mental health unit set up in October 2006 by the Home Office, the Department of Health and Metropolitan Police Service to identify and address those individuals considered to pose a threat to VIPs or the Royal Family. [119] They may then be referred to local health services for further assessment and potential involuntary commitment. In some cases, they may be detained by police under the section 136 powers of the Mental Health Act 1983 prior to referral.
Border Force
Main article: UK Border Force
A Border Force patrol vessel
As part of the wide-ranging review of the Home Office, the then Home Secretary, John Reid, announced in July 2006 that all British immigration officers would be uniformed. On 1 April 2007 the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) was created and commenced operation. However, there were no police officers in the Agency, a matter that attracted considerable criticism when the Agency was established: agency officers have limited powers of arrest. Further powers for designated officers within the Agency, including powers of detention pending the arrival of a police officer, were introduced by the UK Borders Act 2007.[120]
The Government effectively admitted the shortcomings of the Agency by making a number of fundamental changes within a year of its commencement. On 1 April 2008 the BIA became the UK Border Agency following a merger with UKvisas, the port of entry functions of HM Revenue and Customs. The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) "...will bring together the work of the Border and Immigration Agency, UK Visas and parts of HM Revenue and Customs at the border, [and] will work closely with the police and other law enforcement agencies to improve border controls and security."[121]
Within months of this, the Home Secretary revealed (in a 16-page response to a report by Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of UK terrorism legislation) that the Home Office would issue a Green Paper proposing to take forward proposals by the Association of Chief Police Officers (England & Wales) for the establishment of a new 3,000-strong national border police force to work alongside the Agency.[122][123]
Following a major enquiry into the UK Border Agency that exposed significant flaws in the operation of border controls, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced in 2012 that the Border Force, which is responsible for manning all points of entry into the United Kingdom, would be split from the control of the UKBA and become a separate organisation with direct accountability to ministers and a "law-enforcement ethos".[124] Brian Moore, the former Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, was appointed as the first head of the new UKBF.[125]
Overseas police forces in the UK
There are certain instances where police forces of other nations operate in a limited degree in the United Kingdom:
The 'Police aux Frontières' or PAF (French Border Police), a division of the Police Nationale, is permitted to operate in regard to Eurostar rail services through the Channel Tunnel. This includes on Eurostar trains to London, within the international terminal at St Pancras station, at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International railway stations, and at the Cheriton Parc Le Shuttle terminal (alongside French Customs officials). The PAF also operates at Dover Ferry terminals. This arrangement is reciprocated to the British Transport Police, UK Border Force, and UK Customs Officers on Paris-bound trains and within the terminal at Paris Gare du Nord, Coquelles (Le Shuttle), Gare de Lille-Europe, Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid and the Calais, Dunkerque, and Boulogne ferry terminals.[126] The French police officers, who carry firearms while on duty in France, are not permitted to carry their firearms in the London Terminal; the firearms must be left on the train.
Garda Síochána (Irish Police), under an agreement between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, has the right, alongside the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, to carry out inspections of the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria.[127]
In 2006 a small number of officers from the Policja (Polish Police) were seconded to the North Wales Police to assist with the supervision of foreign (largely eastern European) truck traffic largely on European route E22 (the A55 road).[128] The Chief Constable of North Wales has publicly stated (November 2006) that he is considering directly recruiting a small number of officers from Poland to assist with policing the substantial population of Polish people that have migrated to his area since Poland's accession to the EU in 2004.[129]
Military Police of forces present in the UK within the terms of the Visiting Forces Act 1952 are permitted to travel to/from relevant premises in uniform and their (usually distinctive) vehicles will occasionally be seen. Their powers (including the carrying of firearms) are generally limited by that and other legislation to those necessary for the performance of duties related to their own forces and to those possessed by the general public.
Overseas secondments
UK police officers have often served overseas as part of secondments to United Nations Police (UNPOL), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and European Union Police (EUPOL). These are typically training and mentoring posts, but sometimes involve carrying out executive policing duties.[130]
Greater London
British police officers
One of the most common merger proposals is to merge the City of London Police and London operations of the British Transport Police into the Metropolitan Police.
The 2005–06 merger proposals had not included Greater London. This was due to two separate reviews of policing in the capital. The first was a review by the Department of Transport into the future role and function of the British Transport Police. The second was a review by the Attorney-General into national measures for combating fraud (the City of London Police is one of the major organisations for combating economic crime).[131] Both the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, and the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, stated that they would like to see a single police force in London, with the Metropolitan Police also absorbing the functions of the British Transport Police in London.[132] However, the proposal to merge both the BTP and City forces with the Met drew significant criticism from several areas: the House of Commons Transport Select Committee severely criticised the idea of the Metropolitan Police taking over policing of the rail network in a report published on 16 May 2006,[133] while the City of London Corporation and several major financial institutions in the City made public their opposition to the City Police merging with the Met.[134] In a statement on 20 July 2006, the Transport Secretary announced that there would be no structural or operational changes to the British Transport Police, effectively ruling out any merger[135] The interim report by the Attorney General's fraud review recognised the role taken by the City Police as the lead force in London and the South-East for tackling fraud, and made a recommendation that, should a national lead force be required, the City Police, with its expertise, would be an ideal candidate to take this role.[136] This view was confirmed on the publication of the final report, which recommended that the City of London Police's Fraud Squad should be the national lead force in combatting fraud, to "act as a centre of excellence, disseminate best practice, give advice on complex inquiries in other regions, and assist with or direct the most complex of such investigations".[137]
Separate from the proposals raised by the Mayor of London and Metropolitan Police Commissioner was a plan by the government to reform policing in the Royal Parks. Since 1872 this had been the responsibility of the Royal Parks Constabulary. A report by former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Speed provided three options to reform the RPC, and it was decided that it should be merged with the Metropolitan Police.[138] The Met took over responsibility for policing the Royal Parks on 1 April 2004 with the formation of the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit. The full merger and abolition of the Royal Parks Constabulary took place in May 2006.[139]
In May 2016, following his election, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan ordered a review, led by Lord Harris, of London's preparedness in the face of potential terror attacks. Amongst the recommendations, which were published in October 2016, was a revisiting of the idea of merging the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police and British Transport Police. In commenting, both the City Police and BTP cautioned against the proposal.[140]
Funding
New Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service
The police are funded both by central government and by local government.[141] Central government funding is calculated based by a formula, based on several population and socio-economic factors which are used to determine the expected cost of policing the area.[141]
For the 2017/18 fiscal year, the budget for local Police and Crime Commissioners to spend on police is £11 billion, with an extra £1.5 billion allocated to counter-terrorism and other special programmes.[142] The combined funding will reduce from £12.3 billion in 2017/18 to £11.6 billion in 2020/21. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) estimates that officer numbers will fall by around 2%.
According to the National Audit Office, funding was decreased between 2011 and 2016 by 22% in real terms[141] and police officer numbers fell by 20,000 from 2010 to 2017.[143] Funding levels stayed the same in real terms between 2015 and 2018, with a decrease in central government funding made up for by an increase in local government funding.[144] Increased spending in some areas such as counter-terrorism has been offset by decreased spending in other departments.[145] In 2018 further funding cuts will force further cuts in the numbers of police officers.[146] 80% of UK people believe Britain is less safe due to cuts to police funding.[147]
In 2017, a report from the Inspectorate found that most police forces were providing a good service, though it noted that some aspects such as investigations and neighbourhood policing were being compromised by "rationing" and cutbacks.[145] A report from the Inspectorate in March 2018 had similar findings; it reported improvement in neighbourhood policing and highlighted issues with response policing.[148][149] Several current and former chief constables were raising concerns about whether the police can meet foreseeable challenges with current levels of funding.[145][150][151]
Issues
An infographic showing children's opinions of their local police in England and Wales in 2012/13. It shows that 55% of 10-to-15-year-olds had a positive opinion; 41% neutral and 4% negative. Percentage with a positive view of the police declines with age, with older boys being the least likely to have a positive opinion of the police.
Children's opinions of their local police in England and Wales in 2012/13.
Deaths after contact with the police
The police service is sometimes criticised for incidents that result in deaths due to police firearms usage or in police custody, as well as the lack of competence and impartiality in investigations (in England and Wales only) by the Independent Police Complaints Commission after these events.[152] The Economist stated in 2009:
Bad apples ... are seldom brought to justice: no policeman has ever been convicted of murder or manslaughter for a death following police contact, though there have been more than 400 such deaths in the past ten years alone. The IPCC is at best overworked and at worst does not deserve the "I" in its name.
— The Economist[152]
Numbers of deaths in or following police custody[needs update]
Year Nos. of
deaths Notes
2011/12 15 There were two fatal police shootings and 39 people died from apparent suicide following contact with the police.[153]
2012/13 15 Nearly half of those who died had known mental health issue and four of those who died had been restrained by police officers. There were 64 deaths by apparent suicide within 48 hours of release from police custody.[154]
2013/14 11 The number of people recorded as having apparently committed suicide within 48 hours of release from police custody was 68, a ten-year high.[155]
2014/15 17 There was one fatal police shooting and there were 69 apparent suicides following custody.[156]
Controversial shootings
Main article: Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom § Controversial shootings
The policy under which police officers in England and Wales use firearms has resulted in controversy. Notorious examples include the Stephen Waldorf shooting in 1983, the deliberate fatal shootings of James Ashley in 1998, Harry Stanley in 1999, and Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, and the accidental non-fatal shooting of Abdul Kahar in 2006.
Deaths in police custody
Main article: UK deaths in custody
From 1990 to July 2012, 950 deaths occurred in police custody.[157]
In 1997/98, 69 people died in police custody or following contact with the police across England and Wales; 26 resulted from deliberate self-harm.[158]
There are two defined categories of death in custody issued by the Home Office:[159]
Category A: This category also encompasses deaths of those under arrest who are held in temporary police accommodation or have been taken to hospital following arrest. It also includes those who die, following arrest, whilst in a police vehicle.
they have been taken to a police station after being arrested for an offence, or
they are arrested at a police station after attending voluntarily at the station or accompanying a constable to it, and is detained there or is detained elsewhere in the charge of a constable, except that a person who is at a court after being charged is not in police detention for those purposes.
Category B: Where the deceased was otherwise in the hands of the police or death resulted from the actions of a police officer in the purported execution of his duty.
when suspects are being interviewed by the police but have not been detained;
when persons are actively attempting to evade arrest;
when persons are stopped and searched or questioned by the police; and
when persons are in police vehicles (other than whilst in police detention).
Hundreds of people kill themselves within 48 hours of being released from police custody.[160]
Corruption
Main article: Police corruption § United_Kingdom
Civil unrest and misconduct
The coal miners' strike (1984–1985) saw thousands of police from various forces deployed to maintain public order and to prevent intimidation of those continuing to work during a national strike by miners, frequently resulting in violent confrontation.
The Channel 4 Dispatches 2006 documentary Undercover Copper showed police officers watching pornography while on duty, raising questions of standards within UK police forces.[161]
Racism
The Macpherson Report coined the phrase "institutionalised racism" to describe policies and procedures that adversely affect persons from ethnic minority groups after the death of Stephen Lawrence.
In 2003, ten police officers from Greater Manchester Police, North Wales Police and Cheshire Constabulary were forced to resign after a BBC documentary, The Secret Policeman, shown on 21 October, alleged racism among recruits at Bruche Police National Training Centre at Warrington.[162][163] In March 2005 it was reported that minor disciplinary action would be taken against twelve other officers in connection with the programme, but that they would not lose their jobs.[163] In November 2003, allegations were made that some police officers were members of the British National Party.[citation needed]
In June 2015, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said there was "some justification" in claims that the Metropolitan Police Service is "institutionally racist":
I have always said if other people think we are institutionally racist then we are. It is no good me saying we are not and then saying you must believe me, it's nonsense, if they believe that. I think it is a label but in some sense there is a truth there for some people ... You're very much more likely to be stopped and searched if you're a young black man. I can't explain that fully. I can give you reasons but I can't fully explain it. So there is some justification ... I think in some ways society is institutionally racist. We see lack of representation in many fields, of which the police are one.[164][165]
The question of institutional racism arose again as a topic of controversy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The stop and search rate for all demographics rose, but increased more for certain ethnic (and age) groups. In the first lockdown, the rate of stop and search for Black and Asian people (and individuals aged 18-24) rose by 109% or more, for white people it rose by 89%.[166] Before the pandemic, stop and search was already controversial due to disproportionate applications of it.[167] Further, the style of stop and search used was reported to be cynical and unfair, with numerous incidences of officers using erroneous reasons to conduct a stop.[168] Disproportionality was also noted in the deployment of Fixed Penalty Notices.[169] Additionally, during the pandemic, the Metropolitan Police experienced controversy due to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, by then serving Metropolitan Police Officer, Wayne Couzens. This led to a report on practices and culture within the Metropolitan Police by Baroness Louise Casey, who concluded that the Metropolitan Police were institutionally racist.[170] The Angiolini Inquiry into Wayne Couzens also discovered racist messages he had sent to other police officers via WhatsApp.[171]
Privacy
At the beginning of 2005 it was announced that the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) had signed an eight-year £122 m contract to introduce biometric identification technology.[172] PITO are also planning to use CCTV facial recognition systems to identify known suspects; a future link to the proposed National Identity Register has been suggested by some.[173]
Freedom of speech
The police have sometimes been accused of infringing on free speech. In December 2005, author Lynette Burrows was interviewed by police after expressing her opinion on BBC Radio 5 Live that homosexuals should not be allowed to adopt children.[174] The following month, Sir Iqbal Sacranie was investigated by police for stating the Islamic view that homosexuality is a sin.[175]
Photography of police
Main article: Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 § Photographs of police officers in public places
Section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 came into force on 15 February 2009[176] making it an offence to elicit, attempt to elicit, or publish information "...of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" about:[177] a member of His Majesty's Armed Forces; a constable, the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, or Government Communications Headquarters. Any person found guilty faces 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.[177] It is a defence for a person charged with this offence to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.[177] It is not otherwise illegal to photograph or film a police officer in a public place per se.[178][179] Any film or photography recorded whilst a constable is dealing with an incident may be seized as it becomes evidence under section 19 of PACE 1984.
Policing of public protests
Public order policing presents challenges to the approach of policing by consent.[180][181] In April 2009, a total of 145 complaints were made following clashes between police and protesters at the G20 summit.[182] Incidents including the death of 47-year-old Ian Tomlinson,[183] minutes after an alleged assault by a police officer,[184] and a separate alleged assault on a woman by a police officer,[185] has led to criticism of police tactics during protests.[186] In response, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) to review policing tactics,[187] including the practice of kettling.[188] These events sparked a debate in the UK about the relationship between the police, media and public, and the independence of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.[189] In response to the concerns, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Denis O'Connor, published a 150-page report in November 2009 that aimed to restore Britain's consent-based model of policing.[190]
Police undercover conduct
During 2010 and 2011, it emerged that, while engaged in covert infiltration of protest groups, undercover police officers had entered into intimate relationships with a number of people on false pretences and under assumed aliases, in some cases sharing a home, making plans for weddings, or fathering children, only to vanish after some years when their role was complete. In 2015 a public inquiry under a senior judge was announced. In November 2015 the Metropolitan Police published an unreserved apology in which it exonerated and apologised to those women who had been deceived and stated the methodology had constituted abuse and a "gross violation" with severely harmful effects, as part of a settlement of their cases. In 2016 new cases continued to come to light.
Capacity to solve crimes
Recorded crime rose by almost a third in the three years to 2018, but charges or summons dropped by 26%, and arrests also fell. Neighbourhood policing capacity has fallen on average by at least a fifth since 2010. Neighbourhood policing is important in dealing with terrorism and gang crime, especially in communities where the police are distrusted. Yvette Cooper said the police were "performing a remarkable public service in increasingly difficult circumstances", though they were "badly overstretched" and responding with difficulty to increasing challenges like online fraud and online child abuse. Only a very small proportion of online fraud cases are investigated and the police are "woefully under-resourced" for the number of online child sexual abuse investigations they must undertake. Che Donald of the Police Federation of England and Wales said the government should acknowledge the "true cost of policing" or officers would be unable to keep the public safe.[191]
Police sex abuse allegations
In 2016, allegations of serious sexual abuse were made against hundreds of police officers in England and Wales. Several forces in England and Wales received 436 allegations of abuse of power for sexual gain against 436 police officers, including 20 police community support officers and eight staff in the two years to March 2016.[192][193] Mike Cunningham, inspector of constabulary and former chief constable of Staffordshire police said: "It's the most serious form of corruption. It is an exploitation of power where the guardian becomes an abuser. What can be worse than a guardian abusing the trust and confidence of an abused person? There can be no greater violation of public trust".[192]
Brexit
Prior to Brexit there were concerns that the UK may lose access to important cross border databases of criminals, which would make it harder for the police to keep the public safe. Police leaders warned of "a significant loss of operational capacity" if the UK were to leave the EU without an agreement on policing.[194] The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners sent a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid stressing the need for co-operation with European policing and justice organisations after March 2019. The letter stated that 32 measures were used daily including the European Arrest Warrant, the Schengen Information System (SIS) – a database giving alerts about individuals – and the European Criminal Records Information System. The letter stressed the importance and mutual benefit of continued cooperation between the UK and Europe to face mutual threats[194][195]
The loss of access to SIS has led to police officers being unable to see alerts on criminals from EU countries, and vice versa. UK police agencies have replaced these with Interpol, but this comes with additional administrative overhead and reduced powers, and they are unable to know if they are missing any entries that are in SIS but not Interpol systems.[196][197] The loss of access to European Investigation Orders has been especially damaging.[197] However, the UK has retained access to DNA, fingerprint, vehicle and flight data.[198]
Allegations of 'two-tier policing'
During the 2024 United Kingdom riots, MP and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused the police services of two-tier policing after suggesting the riots have been dealt with more harshly than other recent protests. This allegation was later refuted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.[199][200] Conservative former Home Secretary Priti Patel called Farage's comments deeply misleading and "simply not relevant right now". She told Times Radio: "There's a clear difference between effectively blocking streets or roads being closed to burning down libraries, hotels, food banks and attacking places of worship. What we have seen is thuggery, violence, racism."[201]
When asked by a Sky News journalist whether the Metropolitan Police would "end two-tier policing", Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley responded by grabbing the journalist’s microphone and throwing it to the ground.[202][203]
A YouGov poll of 2070 people conducted over 7-8 August 2024 found partisan differences in beliefs in police bias, with voters of Reform UK and the Conservative Party more likely to believe that the police were more lenient towards Muslims, black people, the far left and climate activists. Labour and Liberal Democrat voters were more likely to disagree with this, and more likely to believe the police were more strict with black people.[204]
Mike Neville, a retired Scotland Yard detective chief inspector described the 2024 Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture, as the "ultimate example of two-tier policing", and that if the same disorderly behaviour was replicated at football matches or elsewhere it would be banned. Scotland Yard rejected accusations of two-tier policing at the event. Commander Charmain Brenyah told the Telegraph that officers "make arrests whenever necessary".[205]
After an incident at Manchester Airport in July 2024 in which a police offer was suspended from duty and four men were arrested, Farage accused Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service of two-tier policing for not announcing charges by October. The Home Office refuted these claims, saying it is "right the CPS and the IOPC were able to carry out their investigations independently".[206]
Overseas British Territories and Crown Dependencies Police Forces
The Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories have their own police forces, the majority of which use the British model. Because they are not part of the United Kingdom, they are not answerable to the British Government; instead they are organised by and are responsible to their own governments (an exception to this is the Sovereign Base Areas Police; as the SBAs' existence is solely for the benefit of the British armed forces and do not have full overseas territory status, the SBA Police are responsible to the Ministry of Defence). Because they are based on the British model of policing, these police forces conform to the standards set out by the British government, which includes voluntarily submitting themselves to inspection by the HMIC.[207] Their vehicles share similarities with the vehicles owned by forces based in the UK, such as the use of Battenburg markings.
List of British Overseas Territories Police Forces
The fourteen British Overseas Territories are:[208]
Flag Arms Name Location Force One Force Two Notes Capital
Akrotiri and Dhekelia Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea Sovereign Base Areas Police (SBA Police) Civilian. Separate from - but administered by MOD Episkopi Cantonment
Anguilla Caribbean, North Atlantic Ocean Royal Anguilla Police Force (RAPF) Civilian. Website: The Valley
Bermuda North Atlantic Ocean between the Azores, the Caribbean, Cape Sable Island and Canada Bermuda Police Service (BPS) Airport Security Police (Bermuda) BPS Includes Bermuda Reserve Police Hamilton
British Antarctic Territory Antarctica No official police force, for the territory Rothera (main base)
British Indian Ocean Territory Indian Ocean Ten Royal Overseas Police Officers (ROPOs) (military) Drawn from the three British Armed Forces' service police organisations (Royal Navy Police including Royal Marines Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police) Diego Garcia (base)
British Virgin Islands Caribbean, North Atlantic Ocean Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) Includes special constables and auxiliary constables Road Town
Cayman Islands Caribbean Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Includes a Special Constabulary George Town
Falkland Islands South Atlantic Ocean Royal Falkland Islands Police Joint Service Police & Security Unit (JSPSU) of British Forces Falkland Islands JSPSU are sworn in as Royal Falkland Islands Police reserve constables and thus have civil as well as military policing powers on the islands Stanley
Gibraltar Iberian Peninsula, Continental Europe Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP) Plus His Majesty's Customs (Gibraltar) and Border and Coastguard Agency (Gibraltar) Gibraltar
Montserrat Caribbean, North Atlantic Ocean Royal Montserrat Police Service Plymouth (abandoned due to volcano—de facto capital is Brades)
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands Pacific Ocean Pitcairn Islands Police (two constables, one local & one UK) See Law enforcement in the Pitcairn Islands Adamstown
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,
including: South Atlantic Ocean Jamestown
Saint Helena |
Ascension Island
Tristan da Cunha Royal Saint Helena Police Service
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Atlantic Ocean No [permanent] force King Edward Point
Turks and Caicos Islands Lucayan Archipelago, North Atlantic Ocean Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Formed in 1799 Cockburn Town
List of forces for the Crown Dependencies
Name Flag Arms Location Title of Monarch Forces Notes Capital
Bailiwick of Guernsey
Guernsey
English Channel Duke of Normandy States of Guernsey Police Service Includes three distinct types of special constables Saint Peter Port
(capital of the whole Bailiwick
and of Guernsey also)
Alderney
Saint Anne
Sark
The Seigneurie (de facto;
Sark does not have a capital city)
Bailiwick of Jersey
States of Jersey Police Honorary Police (Jersey) The Honorary Police are unpaid, elected officials of each parish Saint Helier
Isle of Man
Irish Sea Lord of Mann Isle of Man Constabulary
Isle of Man Airport Police (disbanded)
Douglas
Map
British Overseas Territories
United Kingdom
Crown Dependencies
See also
flag United Kingdom portal
Topics
Police uniforms and equipment in the United Kingdom
Police ranks of the United Kingdom
Police aviation in the United Kingdom
Police vehicles in the United Kingdom
Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom
List of police firearms in the United Kingdom
List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories
Bodies
National Policing Improvement Agency
Europol
Forensic Science Service
Interpol
LGC Forensics - Laboratory of the Government Chemist
National Black Police Association
Databases
Police National Computer
Violent and Sex Offender Register
UK National DNA Database
Service Police Crime Bureau
Other articles
List of British police officers killed in the line of duty
List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom
List of United Kingdom uniformed services
Panda car
Police Intelligence
Scotland Yard
Notes
Administration of police matters is not generally affected by the Government of Wales Act 2006.
In England and Wales, these areas rarely follow local government or county boundaries.
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