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Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime, policing and the inner city

Edexcel GCSE History · 1HI0/10 November 2020, Question 2(b)

1HI0/10November 2020Question 2(b)4 marks

Study Source A.

Source AFrom a report in the East London Observer newspaper, June 1888. The newspaper published a weekly account of trials held in the local court.
Throwing stones at a Police Constable John Canavan, aged 20, was charged with being drunk and disorderly and also assaulting a policeman. On Sunday night, Canavan, who was drunk, was with some others and they were singing a rude song. When the Police Constable tried to arrest Canavan for being drunk and disorderly, Canavan hit the Police Constable and pulled himself free from the constable’s grip. Canavan and seventeen others then proceeded to throw stones at the constable, who was on his own. The men ran away when another Police Constable arrived but Canavan was caught. He was found guilty of all the charges and was sentenced to pay a fine of a week’s wages or do a month’s hard labour in prison.

How could you follow up Source A to find out more about the difficulties of policing the Whitechapel area, c1870–c1900?

In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use.

Answer frameComplete the table below.

  1. Detail in Source A that I would follow up
  2. Question I would ask
  3. What type of source I could use
  4. How this might help answer my question

More questions on this topic

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  1. 1HI0/10June 2023Question 2(a)8 marks

    Study Sources A and B in the Sources Booklet.

    Source AFrom an account published in the Daily News newspaper, 5 October 1888. The reporter was taken around Whitechapel by Inspector West, chief of H Division police.
    Inspector West and I turned into the side streets. I could see there are clearly opportunities for violent crime. A passageway opened up into a yard, all in darkness. At night, it looks almost specially planned for criminal acts. Anyone going down Spital Street after midnight could see how throat cutting and violent crime would be made easy by the darkness of the area. Once the few shops and pubs shut, the area becomes very dark. The police inspector said, ‘How could I possibly see anything going on a short distance away?’ There are 70,000 people living in Whitechapel. A police sergeant said that, in his district, 6,000 people were staying in lodging houses and many of them would be criminals. He said that, with this population, even a normal amount of lighting and police patrolling in the area would still not be effective.
    Source B
    Source B: An illustration in a book about London by B Jerrold and G Doré, published in 1872. It shows a street in Whitechapel. Jerrold and Doré visited many areas of London and in some dangerous areas they were protected by policemen.

    An illustration in a book about London by B Jerrold and G Doré, published in 1872. It shows a street in Whitechapel. Jerrold and Doré visited many areas of London and in some dangerous areas they were protected by policemen.

    How useful are Sources A and B for an enquiry into how the conditions in Whitechapel affected policing?

    Explain your answer, using Sources A and B and your knowledge of the historical context.

  2. 1HI0/10June 2023Question 2(b)4 marks

    Study Source A.

    Source AFrom an account published in the Daily News newspaper, 5 October 1888. The reporter was taken around Whitechapel by Inspector West, chief of H Division police.
    Inspector West and I turned into the side streets. I could see there are clearly opportunities for violent crime. A passageway opened up into a yard, all in darkness. At night, it looks almost specially planned for criminal acts. Anyone going down Spital Street after midnight could see how throat cutting and violent crime would be made easy by the darkness of the area. Once the few shops and pubs shut, the area becomes very dark. The police inspector said, ‘How could I possibly see anything going on a short distance away?’ There are 70,000 people living in Whitechapel. A police sergeant said that, in his district, 6,000 people were staying in lodging houses and many of them would be criminals. He said that, with this population, even a normal amount of lighting and police patrolling in the area would still not be effective.

    How could you follow up Source A to find out more about how the conditions in Whitechapel affected policing?

    In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use.

    Answer frameComplete the table below.

    1. Detail in Source A that I would follow up
    2. Question I would ask
    3. What type of source I could use
    4. How this might help answer my question
  3. 1HI0/10November 2020Question 2(a)8 marks

    Study Sources A and B in the Sources Booklet.

    Source AFrom a report in the East London Observer newspaper, June 1888. The newspaper published a weekly account of trials held in the local court.
    Throwing stones at a Police Constable John Canavan, aged 20, was charged with being drunk and disorderly and also assaulting a policeman. On Sunday night, Canavan, who was drunk, was with some others and they were singing a rude song. When the Police Constable tried to arrest Canavan for being drunk and disorderly, Canavan hit the Police Constable and pulled himself free from the constable’s grip. Canavan and seventeen others then proceeded to throw stones at the constable, who was on his own. The men ran away when another Police Constable arrived but Canavan was caught. He was found guilty of all the charges and was sentenced to pay a fine of a week’s wages or do a month’s hard labour in prison.
    Source B
    Source B: A cartoon published in Punch magazine, 1888. The cartoon had a caption at the bottom giving details of the conversation between the two criminals in the drawing. The criminals agreed that the police were a ‘Fine body of men’ but they also agreed that, luckily for the two of them, there were very few policemen in Whitechapel. WHITECHAPEL, 1888.

    A cartoon published in Punch magazine, 1888. The cartoon had a caption at the bottom giving details of the conversation between the two criminals in the drawing. The criminals agreed that the police were a ‘Fine body of men’ but they also agreed that, luckily for the two of them, there were very few policemen in Whitechapel. WHITECHAPEL, 1888.

    How useful are Sources A and B for an enquiry into the difficulties of policing the Whitechapel area, c1870–c1900?

    Explain your answer, using Sources A and B and your knowledge of the historical context.