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Before all of today's crime solving methods and technology how were crimes like murders and others solved if there were no eye witnesses?
It seems to me that had someone committed a murder in 1850 they could easily get away with it if there was no eye witness. I mean,did they understand and know how to collect finger prints back then? If the murder's blood and other DNA was left at the scene what good could law enforcement make of it back then for solving the murder?
Until the 1820's, the Bloody Code was in operation in Great Britain. It made a capital crime out of not only murder or treason, but featured a total of 222 offenses which could get you hanged. It included such crimes as damaging Westminster Bridge, being in the company of a gypsy for more than one month, begging without a license, general poaching and impersonating someone else for purposes of collecting a pension.
The executions were gruesome and attracted huge crowds, but only about ten percent of those convicted to die actually wound up dead at the hands of the state. The choice was provided...execution or transportation to a penal colony. So if you didn't feel like hanging because you impersonated a pensioner, you opted for Australia or one of the sugar colonies.
I've no way of knowing how reliable the convictions were, that would have to be studied on a case by case basis. I don't think forensics were needed to establish that someone had been in company of a gypsy for a month, so I guess such cases relied on witnesses.
Before all of today's crime solving methods and technology how were crimes like murders and others solved if there were no eye witnesses?
It seems to me that had someone committed a murder in 1850 they could easily get away with it if there was no eye witness. I mean,did they understand and know how to collect finger prints back then? If the murder's blood and other DNA was left at the scene what good could law enforcement make of it back then for solving the murder?
Eye witnesses are not necessarily reliable. You can ask 10 people who saw the same event, and you'll get 10 versions.
They solved crimes by detective work. They called it footwork. They worked the crime scene, collected evidence, interviewed witnesses, gathered facts and data, took tips from the public. Same as now. They just didn't have the high tech part to seal he deal. You can't run DNA if you don't have a suspect in the first place.
To be sure, more criminals got away, and more innocent people were convicted, I'm sure, than now. Jack the Ripper was never caught, but it's likely he would've been caught if he had done those deeds these days. But not much different than if he had committed his murders a few decades ago. OTOH, the Boston Strangler was caught w/o techie backup. He was caught using footwork, culminating in a confession after arrest (although there are those who dispute he was the real strangler).
You ever watch old Sherlock Holmes movies? How about Detective Sam Spade movies? (Maltese Falcon) Old detective tv shows, like Dragnet? The movie The Boston Strangler with Tony Curtis? You'll see, in a dramatized way, how detectives worked crimes.
Remember, too, that many cities and towns were less populated than now. When there aren't many people, there usu. aren't many crimes. And when there's murder, people in the town often knew who the likely culprit was, or it was a family affair. Those big murders by strangers tended to happen in big cities, like London and New York.
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“Data! Data! Data!” he cried impatiently. “I can’t make bricks without clay.”
The used firearms identification, examination of wounds and clothing, analyzed soil samples and stomach contents, measured hoof prints, etc.
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