On January 2, 1981, a routine patrol in the Sheffield area was looking not for a serial killer but for a low-level offender. However, this chance meeting put an end to it one of the biggest manhuntsexpensive and criticized in the history of West Yorkshire Police. Peter William Sutcliffean ordinary-looking truck driver, was eventually revealed to be the “Yorkshire Ripper.” responsible for thirteen brutal murders.
His arrest was not the result of a criminal investigation, but rather a result of a traffic irregularity. The agents Sergeant. Robert Ring And PC Robert Hydes They stopped a brown Rover with fake number plates in Broomhill.
Upon inspecting the vehicle, officers discovered that Sutcliffe was accompanied by a woman. After allowing the suspicious “go to the toilet” behind a bush – an oversight that could have been fatal – Sutcliffe took the opportunity to get rid of a knife and a hammer. It wasn’t until the next day when Sgt. Ring He returned to the crime scene and found the weaponsthat the prisoner’s true identity was revealed under the pressure of interrogation.
Authoritarians don’t like that
The practice of professional and critical journalism is a mainstay of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe that they are the owners of the truth.
The Trail of Blood (1975-1980)
For five years Sutcliffe kept the north of England in suspense. Be Procedure He was systematically brutal: he attacked his victims from behind with a hammer and mutilated them with knives or screwdrivers.
The end result of his cruelty was devastating:
Social panic transformed the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Manchester. Informal curfews were imposed on women and the slogan “Take back the night” “Take back the night” became a feminist rallying cry in the face of the police’s apparent inability to protect citizens.
The collapse of the research system
The handling of the Sutcliffe case is now being studied in police academies as an example of this Neglect and cognitive bias. West Yorkshire Police were misguided from the famous one “Wearside Jack cards“, a series of letters and a tape recording sent by a prankster pretending to be the murderer.
Although linguistic research suggested that the accent on the tape did not match that of the local suspects, Detective Inspector George Oldfield became obsessed with this false lead, allowing Sutcliffe, who was questioned up to nine times during the investigation, to remain free.
The legacy of a historical process
In May 1981, Sutcliffe was sentenced to life imprisonment. During the trial, he attempted to claim “diminished responsibility” by claiming he had “heard”Voices of God” who ordered him to clean the streets. However, the jury rejected the paranoid schizophrenia theory and considered him a conscious predator.
Justice has stopped waiting: the cassation has clarified the loan case and the oral court has confirmed that the procedure is moving forward
45 years after that arrest in Sheffield, the figure of Sutcliffe (who died in prison in 2020) remains a grim reminder of the failures. His capture forced a major reform of the UK’s criminal data management, giving way to computerized systems that prevent crime today be a murderer “forget” after nine interrogations.
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