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mick davis
Unregistered guest
Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 3:10 am:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I remember reading years ago that a large number of documents were missing from the police files when they were finally opened or investigated. Is this true and if so is there a list somewhere of what is still missing and is there anything that could provide 'new' leads /
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Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg

Post Number: 611
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 2:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi, Mick

You are exactly right that a number of the police files, including the suspects files, have disappeared. A rundown of the missing files appears in The Jack the Ripper A to Z by Begg et al. as well as in The Jack the Ripper Sourcebook aka The Jack the Ripper Companion by Evans and Skinner.

There exists a mystery about what happened to the files, whether the missing material is due to pilfering of the official files or a clean-out by the Met. In an interview I conducted with Stewart P. Evans a few years ago for Ripper Notes, Stewart appeared to put some of the blame on police bureaucratic procedures for putting emphasis on current cases at the expense of "dead" cases which might have led to the disposal of some of the files.

To make up for the missing material, Ripperologists, for example, usually rely on press reports to fill in for missing inquest testimony. There is also the useful book The Ripper File by Elwyn Jones and John Lloyd (Arthur Barker Ltd., 1975) which has interesting information on some of the now missing files. The information on these files was compiled by the authors who saw them before they went missing. In a review of this book here on the Casebook, it notes, "Based on the BBC documentary of the same name. The book is important not for the commentary by fictional detectives Barlow and Watt, but for its extensive citing of police records and witness testimony. A priceless research tool for serious students of the case."

Best regards

Chris George
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Lisa Turner
Unregistered guest
Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 8:02 am:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The Metropolitan Police has announced plans to sell off up to 100 of its old buildings over the next 10 - 15 years. The plan being to locate police 'desks' and other presence more centrally in crime hotspots.

One can only hope that in the process of some dusty old archives being turned out that another Donald Rumbelow exists among the ranks somewhere and something wonderful is not lost to a skip!

Lisa

For info : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3512587.stm
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Monty
Chief Inspector
Username: Monty

Post Number: 775
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 4:33 am:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Lisa.....everyone ,

I know Ive asked you Lisa so I guess you can ignore this but...

...I know these stations have not been named yet but if some Ripper related sites are to be closed would it be worth enquiring about any archives ?

Monty
:-)

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