Getting away with murder
Record high in unsolved homicide Just 72% result in charges brought ‘Huge Tory cuts to police to blame’
MORE than a quarter of killings remain unsolved by Britain’s biggest police force, pushing the rate to a record high.
Only 72% of murders and manslaughters resulted in charges by Metropolitan Police last year, down from at least 90% in previous years.
The figures add to the pressure on Home Secretary Amber Rudd, amid a rise in violent crime following years of Tory cuts to forces.
One police source said: “With the huge cuts in budgets it is no surprise that one in four homicides are not being solved.”
Homicide clear-up rates plummeted as the number of murder squad teams in the capital fell from 30 in 2002 to just 18 last year.
The rate had consistently been over 90% since 1999, when it was 84%. The police inspectorate blamed that on “unacceptably low staffing levels”. The Met has lost specialist officers to the Grenfell Tower probe and last
[Institutional racism] is now hidden far better than it was, but it exists and it’s thriving IMRAN KHAN LAWYER FOR STEPHEN LAWRENCE’S MOTHER
week had to bring in an outside force to investigate a murder for the first time. A police source said: “Senior management need to have a major rethink and support the officers on the ground.”
Homicides in London last year totalled 116, excluding terror attack deaths. Among unsolved cases is Corey Junior Davis, 14, shot in a play area in Forest Gate, East London, in September. The killers fled in a stolen car with fake plates.
Another unsolved murder is that of Karim Samms, 16, shot as he stood with friends in North Woolwich last April. Scotland Yard said: “Detectives are working around the clock to catch those responsible for each murder.
“Many [murders] involve groups of young people, so establishing exactly what part people have played is challenging. We then face people who do not want to speak out.” Officer numbers in England and Wales were last year down by 16%, more than 22,000, against a 2009 peak. While 20,982 people were caught with weapons, topping 20,000 for the first time since 2011.
The Government yesterday launched a Serious Violence Strategy on the rise of violent crime but did not mention cuts, despite a leaked Home Office report revealing it was a factor.
The strategy said the main cause of the rise in England and Wales was drug-related gang crime.
Ms Rudd said “the evidence does not support” claims fewer officers means a rise in crime. The leaked February report said a lack of resources may have “encouraged” offenders. Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg said: “I’m astonished.
“We’ve had senior officers, including Met commissioner Cressida Dick, saying there are a critical number of officers and the police are under serious strain. And we have the Home Secretary saying it is not the issue.”