‘Hunting Evil: Inside the Ipswich serial murders’ by Paul Harrison and David Wilson. 2008.
Now this is not at all like the normal sort of book I would be interested in. Crime stories don’t do anything for me, and I am always puzzled why it gets its own section in book stores. True crime stories are a little more interesting but still don’t do it for me. Yet I felt compelled to buy this book simply because it was in the Sainsburys best sellers list – and it was all about Ipswich. This is the only book I have ever seen all about my hometown and despite its gruesome topic I felt I had little choice but to read what others were saying about it.Cont…
posted by Benjamin Nakizo at 12:47 PM
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The book itself is in two parts. The first gives a chronological narrative of all the key characters involved, complete with some very interesting biographies. The second phase examines what happened in the context of police and social policy.
The book unveils a side to my town that I never knew existed – a shadow world that takes place in the evenings on the very same streets that are used during the day by more respectable members of society. The authors believe that Ipswich is a useful example of all that is good and bad with modern British society. While the area as a whole has seen growth and an increase in living standards, and while the local council works hard to promote itself to the world, all this development has been paralleled by the growth of an underclass. The new town council buildings and the new county court house have been built in the centre of town, in and amongst the so-called ‘Ipswich village’ an area sectioned off for redevelopment after the football teams promotion to the Premiership in 2000. Yet despite the new glass fronted buildings and the coffee drinking, union joining and guardian reading middle classes that swarm in and out of the buildings by day – at night the streets are reclaimed by the underworld.
Disturbing to me was also just how ‘normal’ the girls were. Being the snob that I am I always assumed that ‘call girls’ were a breed of their own – but they ain’t. These girls came from Kesgrave – they were Sea Cadets – they went to my middle class and high achieving school – one was even about to open her own beauty parlour. They were normal, healthy, intelligent, wealthy and ambitious girls.
All of their dreams and ambitions were ended when they became addicted to drugs. Usually beginning their careers through the easily accessible cannabis they quickly worked their way up the ladder until they became slaves to cocaine and heroin. Their lives were entirely taken over by this addition and in many respects the individuals had in some ways already died. They became alien to their families and bore almost no resemblance to their former selves.
When it comes to remedies the authors shoot down my preferred option of legalisation by pointing out that in countries where prostitution has been legalised the net effect has been to increase demand to the point where it spills out of the legal brothels and back out onto dangerous streets. Instead they point to a government study carried out a few years ago (and actually chaired by one of my old university professors) that has been effectively buried by the government because it suggested something the government wasn’t willing to do. It suggested that providing safe clinics in red light districts where the women could go for safety and – importantly – free shots of heroin or cocaine. If they can get the drugs freely available then the dealers monopoly would be broken (because prostitutes are often their best customers) and it would take away the need for them to sell their bodies on the streets. It also suggests that prosecuting the women for prostitution through the courts or via ASBOs are a complete waste of time because what they are suffering from is a health problem and will re-offend time and time again. Instead curb crawlers should face more prosecution. Only three men in all of the UK have been given ASBOs for using prostitutes but countless women have been given them and this, the authors believe, demonstrates a gross bias in the law, the police force, and within society in general that sees prostitutes as less than human. That in some way it is their fault and any troubles they get themselves into are of their own making.
All in all this is an incredibly interesting book on many levels. Chilling because the events literally took place on my doorstep (the bodies were found only a few kilometres from my front door) and absorbing because I guarantee you that the problem of prostitution and drugs is far deeper then you ever thought. It is also far closer to home then you think.
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