Earlier this month Sky, ITN and the BBC lobbied the government to allow cameras in court. The hope is that criminal trials could be televised as early as early as 2015.
The ban on taking photographs goes back to 1925 but even before then cameras had to be smuggled into courtrooms in hats or bags.
Crippen and Le Neve at Bow Street Magistrates Court
Probably the most famous ‘snatched’ courtroom image is that of ‘Body in the Cellar’ murderer Dr Crippen and his mistress Ethel Le Neve, in 1910.
Two years later a photographer decided to go one better by taking a picture of the poisoner Frederick Seddon as he was being sentenced to death at the Old Bailey. You can just make out the black cap on the head of the judge, Mr Justice Burchill.
Frederick Seddon (left, in the dock) being sentenced to death. Source: Wikipedia
This photo’s publication in an illustrated paper in March 1912 led to questions in the House of Commons. The MP Alexander MacCallum Scott suggested the government should ‘introduce legislation either to prohibit altogether the taking of such photographs or to provide that cinematograph proprietors will have equal facilities of photographing such proceedings and making a public spectacle of them.’ (Hansard 18/3/12)
Sadly the idea of allowing proceedings to be filmed with a ‘cinematograph’ (an early motion picture camera) was not pursued.
The Home Secretary Reginald McKenna gave his reply a few days later (Hansard 21/3/12): ‘I find that no permission was given for the taking of the photograph in question or of any photograph in the Court. It must have been taken without authority and surreptitiously. The Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, and the officers of the Court strongly disapprove of such photographs being taken, and share my hon. Friend’s indignation that anyone should have been guilty of such an outrage.’
However McKenna wasn’t sufficiently outraged to bring in any legislation and in 1915 a photographer managed to grab a shot of the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer.
The ban only appeared ten years later as a small section (no. 41) in the Criminal Justice Act 1925, which mainly dealt with the system of probation.
No person shall (a) take or attempt to take in any court any photograph, or with a view to publication make or attempt to make in any court any portrait or sketch, of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal; or (b) publish any photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made in contravention of the foregoing provisions of this section or any reproduction thereof;
The act stated that the maximum punishment for breaking the law was a fine of £50.
Since then newspapers and TV companies have used sketches by court artists, made outside court from memory.
More recently, the taking of photographs in court has been dealt with as a contempt of court rather than under the 1925 Act. A 19 year-old man who took pictures inside Luton Crown Court on his mobile phone was jailed for two months while a Frenchman was kept sweating in the cells for two hours after taking a picture during Julian Assange’s appearance at the High Court.
All that will be shown and heard, according to the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, is the judge delivering his sentencing remarks. No defendant in the dock, no witnesses, no prosecutor or defence barrister. Still, it’s a start.
The launch of the new ‘Trident Gang Crime Command’ is being backed by the mother of murdered teenager Negus McLean.
Negus was 15 years old when he was stabbed to death by a gang of youths in Edmonton, north London, on April 10, 2011.
The case remains unsolved thanks to a ‘wall of silence’ preventing witnesses from coming forward to help police arrest the killers.
Ingrid Adams, Negus’ mother, said in an interview: “I go to bed thinking of Negus and wake up thinking about him. I will always remember his smile. Even if a child isn’t in a gang they probably know someone who is in a gang or is affiliated with a gang.
“The police need to start with children very early. When I was growing up the police used to come into my school. You have to start young and talk to them to gain their trust. I know there is a problem with so called snitching and loyalties. But keeping quiet isn’t helping the problem.
“There is this wall of silence that needs to be broken down. They need to come forward to talk to the police. The wall of silence needs to stop. Since Negus there has been so many others.
“Negus was murdered on a Sunday; it was a bright sunny day. It could happen to anybody. It is anybody this problem doesn’t just affect the poor, people from broken homes or gang members, it could happen to anyone.”
The Met police have 4800 ‘nominals’ and 435 gangs recorded on their gangs database and estimate that 250 are criminally active. They claim 62 of those are responsible for two thirds of gang-related offences.
Gang members are thought to be responsible for 17% of all personal robbery, 40% of ‘cash in transit’ and commercial robbery, 12% of residential burglary, 26% of aggravated burglary, 14% of rape, 22% of serious violence, 20% of stabbings and 50% of shootings.
It’s difficult to put a figure on exactly how many murders are ‘gang-related’ but there are several high-profile cases every year.
Take 2010 as an example: In April Agnes Sina-Inakoju, 18, was shot dead with a submachine gun by two members of the ‘London Fields’ gang (the same gang was responsible for the murder of 15 year-old Shaquille Smith in 2008). Nicholas Pearton was stabbed to death by members of the ‘Shanks and Guns’ gang in Sydenham in May 2010. Samuel Ogunro was shot dead on the orders of a member of the ‘Peckham Boys’ in June 2010. Zac Olumegbon was stabbed to death by members of the Brixton GAS gang in July 2010. Sylvester Akapalara, 17, was shot dead by members of the GAS gang in December 2010. The murders of Gulistan Subasi and Ezra Mills in March 2010, Michael Ofori in June 2010, Marvin Henry in October 2010 and Sylvester Senyah in November 2010 were also said to be carried out by members of London gangs.
According to the Met Police the new Trident Gang Crime Command will be made up of 1,000 officers.
In a statement, it said: “The new command will retain responsibility for the prevention and investigation of shootings, but will now work more closely with boroughs to proactively tackle gang crime.
“The new command will be enhanced with additional specialist resources from the MPS, including Operation Connect and the Serious and Organised Crime Command (SCD7). It will take responsibility for real time monitoring of gang activity across London and work with new ‘Grip and Pace’ centres to coordinate and task corporate resources, both overt and covert, quickly at the relevant places.”
The Trident Gang Crime Command also has a new logo:
The focus is on 19 ‘priority’ boroughs – Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Merton, Camden, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham.
There were 114 homicides in London in 2011 compared to 122 the previous year, according to our own list of cases. This continues the downward trend since 2003.
The good news continues when we break down the cases by weapon. What had started to look like an increase in fatal shootings went into reverse while fatal stabbings showed a slight increase.
Fewer teenagers were killed in 2011 than in the previous year (reduced from 19 to 15). This continues the progress made since the peak of 2007/8 and the headline cases of Ben Kinsella and Rob Knox. Clearly the next group to target is the 20-29 year olds.
The percentage of female victims also reduced slightly from 25 to 23 per cent from 2010. Here is an unnecessary pie chart.
The low total for 2011 had not looked possible in the first two months of the year with 13 homicides in January and 15 in February. The only other significant spike was in August, which was the month of the riots.
Finally here are the figures broken down by borough for the last four years. Newham and Hackney had ‘good’ years while only Lambeth broke into double figures.
Borough
2008
2009
2010
2011
Barking and Dagenham
1
3
4
1
Barnet
3
2
7
4
Bexley
3
3
0
4
Brent
11
4
5
4
Bromley
0
5
1
4
Camden
1
2
3
2
City of London
0
1
0
0
City of Westminster
4
4
4
1
Croydon
5
7
6
6
Ealing
5
4
4
7
Enfield
9
4
3
5
Greenwich
5
6
4
5
Hackney
5
7
7
2
Hammersmith and Fulham
1
1
3
4
Haringey
4
9
3
8
Harrow
1
5
3
0
Havering
0
1
0
1
Hillingdon
3
2
2
2
Hounslow
1
1
2
0
Islington
7
4
6
4
Kensington and Chelsea
0
1
0
0
Kingston
0
1
0
1
Lambeth
13
7
8
11
Lewisham
5
7
8
6
Merton
5
1
0
1
Newham
6
7
15
3
Redbridge
4
1
2
3
Richmond
0
0
0
0
Southwark
12
8
6
7
Sutton
3
3
3
1
Tower Hamlets
6
8
5
9
Waltham Forest
7
5
6
5
Wandsworth
4
6
2
3
Total
134
130
122
114
Note: The Metropolitan Police’s rolling 12 month tables give figures of 124 homicides for 2010 and 117 for 2011.
These five murder cases in London from the year 2011 remain unsolved. Can you help? Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Samuel Guidera
Adeniyi Lateef Shode
Wayne Stockdale
Trevor Ellis
Ronnie Khan
Samuel Guidera, a 24-year-old university student, was stabbed to death in a suspected robbery in Sydenham, southeast London, on 12 February 2011. He had spent the afternoon watching football with friends before getting the 9.17pm train from Bickley to Penge East to see his girlfriend. He arrived at the station just after 9.30pm, crossed over the footbridge towards Newlands Park and entered a convenience store. Samuel, who was carrying a pink T-mobile carrier bag, was last seen at the bus stop opposite Bailey Place at about 9.38pm. Ten minutes later at 9.48pm his phone was used to dial 0740 4776433, a Lyca pay as you go number which was not connected to Samuel or anyone he knew and has never been activated. Seconds later the phone was used to dial 9999 and the call did not connect. At 9.55pm Samuel was found lying injured at the junction with Bailey Place. His wallet had been stolen. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later. A postmortem found he suffered a single stab wound to the heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ex-ijWIJ64
Police appeal for information in 2016
In later police appeals, detectives said they were working on the theory that Samuel’s killer or killers may have got his attention on the pretext they wanted to use his mobile telephone. DCI Chris Jones said: “I believe the answer to this murder lies locally in and around the Penge area. I would appeal to anyone who knows anything about the incident to contact us. Someone out there has information which can help us to identify Samuel’s attackers and I would appeal to them to contact the police.”
From the moment Samuel was murdered, we as his parents started a life sentence from which we will never be released. We still feel a sense of anger and all we can do is continue to cope with each day as it comes, with the help of medication, family, friends, whatever it takes. We just want somebody out there who knows something that could help in the apprehending of the killers to come forward so they do not have the opportunity to take another person’s life and destroy another family. It could be somebody reading this who gets the call about the savage death of a loved one next. So please look at your son, brother, uncle, think how you would miss them and if you know anything come forward – don’t let the cowards who took my son’s life kill again.”
Statement by Samuel’s parents Chris and Sarah Guidera
Four people were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged. Contact detectives on 020 8345 3734.
Adeniyi Lateef Shode, 21, was stabbed to death in Ealing Road, Northolt, on 2 May 2011. He was found injured close to the junction of Rowdell Road, Ealing Road and Kensington Road at around 9.10pm. Adeniyi, known as Ade or Enda, of Whitchurch Avenue, Edgware, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead an hour later at 10.12pm. Detectives believe that Ade was attacked by someone he knew. DI Andy Manning said: “Ade Shode was a young man who was murdered in the prime of his life. We still strongly believe that Ade knew his attacker and that he was murdered due to a previous disagreement between him and the killer. I am appealing to anyone who has any information about this senseless killing to come forward and give information to police. It may be that as time has passed someone may now feel able to help police bring someone to justice for this brutal killing.”
All our family thinks about Ade every day. We remember his laugh and smile and he always remains in our thoughts. It still hurts us to think that whoever killed Ade is still out there and we pray that it doesn’t happen to anyone else’s family. I’d ask anyone who may be able to help us to speak to the police. If you are not happy talking to the police then please tell someone and get them to pass the information on. What is important is that the police can track down whoever took my son from us.
Antonia Frances, Ade Shode’s mother
Eight people were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged. Contact the Incident Room on 020 8358 0300.
Wayne Stockdale, 42, was shot in Bromley-by-Bow, east London, on 6 May 2011. He was found with a bullet wound to the head in an underpass at a block of flats in Rounton Road near the junction with Knapp Road at around 10.20pm. Mr Stockdale, from Poplar, died four days later at 12.50pm on Tuesday 10 May. Detectives said he may have been targeted in a case of mistaken identity. They believe two men armed with handguns opened fire as the victim rode his bicycle down Rounton Road. The suspects, described as black or Asian and wearing face coverings, then fired a series of shots at a group outside a parade of shops in Devons Road before returning to Knapp Road to flee the scene by car. Renewing appeals for information in 2015, DI Peter Hine said: “We have always maintained that Wayne was not the intended target for this incident, which saw shots fired both at him and into the street. We are urging those who have remained silent all these years, to think about Wayne’s family and re-examine their consciences and help bring Wayne’s killers before a court.” Five men were arrested during the investigation but nobody has ever been charged.
Wayne left behind a loving partner, 3 children and a grandson. He was also a loving son, brother and uncle. Wayne’s murderers are still at large and continue to live their lives normally unaware and uncaring of the devastation they have caused to all of our family. We all as a family urge anyone out there that has any information no matter how small to please come forward and help us give Wayne the justice he so deserves
Wayne’s sister Jacqueline Stockdale
Anyone with any information can contact detectives, in confidence, on 020 8785 8267.
Trevor Ellis, a 26-year-old father-of-four, was shot dead during the 2011 London Riots. He was attacked by a gang of nine looters after a car chase in Croydon, south London, on Monday, 8 August 2011. Mr Ellis, from Brixton Hill, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a dark-coloured hatchback at the junction of Duppas Hill Road and Warrington Road at around 9.20pm. He died in hospital the following day. Detectives appealed for anyone who captured footage of the killers looting during the riots in Croydon before they headed to Scarbrook Road. Fourteen men were arrested during the inquiry but nobody has ever been charged.
Trevor’s murder was even harder because this all happened when all the rioting was going on, the murderer made my son’s life insignificant. His life has not been portrayed as important as the building and material things, things that in time to come can be replaced. Some people have said that it serves him right for being out there, if only he had said no to his friends for picking him up and diverting him from his way home. But no matter where he was that does not give anyone the right to take his life. For many he is only just another black man taken off the streets. Thanks to the murderers there’s no need for racist killings, because we are killing ourselves and all they have to do is sit back and watch us kill each other. How can you live with yourselves knowing that you have killed someone, taking a life that’s not yours to take? WHY? I know on that awful night of my son’s murder it was witnessed by three car loads of people. What are you all doing by keeping your mouths shut? You are all no better than the murderers; he could have been your family member. You have destroyed many lives, taking him away from his children, family and everyone who loved him. I wish to appeal to anyone who was there on that night, who might have seen something before, during or after Trevor’s murder to please come forward and help take these people off the streets.
Trevor’s mother Joy Sanderson, in 2014
Contact the incident room on 0208 721 4005.
Azezur ‘Ronnie’ Khan, 21, was shot dead after leaving the funeral of a childhood friend in East Dulwich, south London, on 3 November 2011. Azezur, who was known as Ronnie by friends and family, was walking along Forest Hill Road near the junction of Rockells Place at around 3pm when he was caught in an exchange of gunfire. He was hit several times and died at the scene from a gunshot wound to his stomach. A 17 year-old man was also hit in the ankle. Detectives believe Ronnie was an innocent bystander. In 2013 DCI Graeme Gwyn said: “Despite extensive investigations we still cannot be certain of the motive behind the shooting that day, but I am confident that Ronnie was not the intended victim. We know that people’s allegiances shift over time and now that two years have passed I need people to come forward.” Police appealed for witnesses to come forward, including at least 50 people who were following the funeral cortege of 17 year-old Joel Morgan to Camberwell Old Cemetery in Forest Hill Road. It was later reported that Joel, who died in a car crash, was a rapper associated with the GAS gang from Brixton. Three people were arrested but nobody has ever been charged.
We have been stopped from getting on with our lives as his killer still has not been brought to justice. Whilst Ronnie is no longer with us, his killer is able to walk the streets freely. He is still able to enjoy his friends and family, whilst my little brother is dead. What’s more, his killer is still able to do what he did to Ronnie and put others through what we are going through. Ronnie was a good person. He wished nobody any harm and this reflected in his good-natured personality. He wished to finish his studies and to be able to provide a good life for our parents and family. Nobody deserves to have their life ended in the disgusting and vile way his life was cut short. Catching his killer will be a huge step forward in our healing process. Please, if anyone knows anything that will help us, do this. Do the right thing, and come forward. Ronnie deserves justice for what happened to him.
Ronnie’s older brother, Pinto, in 2013
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation can call the incident room on 020 8247 4554.
Notes:
This gallery does not include the cases of Wlodzimierz Szymanski and Aaron McQueen-Williams.
Wlodzimierz Szymanski, 59, was found dead with a broken neck at a house in Chandos Road, Willesden, on March 18, 2011. A woman was arrested on suspicion of murder but released with no further action following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Aaron McQueen-Williams, 23, died of head injuries after falling out of a car on the A40 in Ealing on May 26, 2011. Police classed his death as ‘unexplained’ and a coroner returned an open verdict at the inquest in 2013.
The Metropolitan Police have issued a list of 290 ‘undetected homicides’ going back to January 1999, following a Freedom of Information request.
When people talk of unsolved murders we tend to think of classic fictional mysteries or the crimes of fiendish killers like ‘Jack the Ripper’.
Deep down, of course, we realise that cases go unsolved every year – Suzy Lamplugh in 1986, Daniel Morgan in 1987 and until recently Stephen Lawrence in 1993. On top of that there are the names of victims who do not get as such mass media attention.
The Metropolitan Police do not use the term ‘unsolved’, preferring to call them ‘undetected’, and include all homicides (manslaughter and infanticide as well as murder). In their own definition:
‘Undetected’ could refer to Homicides which are currently being investigated, ‘Cold Cases’ which are being reviewed prior to investigation by the Murder Review Group, Homicides where the main suspect has died, Homicides where the case was dropped subsequent to arrest and charge, Homicides where the case was lost at Court or Homicides where the defendant was released on appeal.
The Lawrence case goes to show that the police don’t give up just because they don’t have enough evidence to charge someone immediately. Appeals for information are often issued a year, two years or even ten years after the event. New witnesses could come forward at any time and even ‘closed’ files can be reopened for what is called a ‘cold case review.’
Murdermap only recently discovered that the Met had disclosed a list of ‘undetected homicides’ between January 1, 1999, and September 2011, following a Freedom of Information request (many thanks to the creators of the London Street Gangs website for pointing us to the link).
The list contains 290 names spanning those 13 years, an average of 22 a year. A few of the names are familiar – Suzy Lamplugh, who went missing in 1986, is listed for May 2000 (presumably because that was when police received information from the girlfriend of the prime suspect) – but most are not.
Some of the cases on the list will have changed from undetected to detected since September 2011 because suspects have been charged. These include Jordan Jackson and Layla Djemal-Northcott (2006) and David Anthony Scott (1999) as well as more recent cases.
Apart from that, the list does provide some interesting insights for the full years 1999 to 2010. The year with the most undetected homicides is 2001 (36) and the lowest 2009 (10). The figures for 2010 (22) and 2011 (24 between January 1 and September 13, 2011) are likely to decrease as investigations continue. The month with the most undetected homicides is January 2007 (6).
The ratio of men to women victims in homicide figure is usually around 4:1, and this is roughly repeated in the undetected figures, although there is a wide variation. In 2008 women represent over 30 per cent of the total undetected, while in 2010 it is less than 5 per cent.
It is also noticeable that Afro-Caribbeans form the largest group among the figures for ‘Ethnic appearance’ as determined by the police.
The table below compares the undetected to total homicides for the five years between 2006 and 2010. The detection rate of just over 92 per cent for 2009 represents the best year for the Met. Although 2010 represents a large increase, this figure would be expected to fall as police investigations continue.
Year Undetected Total Homicides Percentage 2006 24 172 13.95 2007 24 163 14.72 2008 16 155 10.32 2009 10 129 7.75 2010 22 124 17.74 Total 96 743 12.92
Figures for the whole of 2011 haven’t been issued yet, but from our own database we believe the total number of homicides has further decreased to around 113 from 124 in 2010.
