The Metropolitan Police unit responsible for investigating murders* in London was cut by nearly 40 per cent between 2004 and 2017 (see table below). Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request show the Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC) reduced in total strength almost every year over that period. The sharpest fall was from …
Tag archives: Metropolitan Police
Off The Map: Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo
The case of 18 year-old Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo has been removed from the database after the Metropolitan Police concluded it was not a homicide. Their decision was taken after a special post-mortem gave a cause of death as multiple organ failure from a pre-existing medical condition. The police statement reads: The cause of death has been …
Detected and Undetected Homicides 2003-2013
Last month the Metropolitan Police released data on the number of homicides between 2003 and 2013 under the Freedom of Information Act. The data also reveals the number of homicides classed as ‘detected’ and ‘undetected’. Sanction Detections refer to ‘police generated detections’ where the accused receives a punishment or sanction (charge, caution, summons) from the police. Non-Sanction detections (Other) …
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Homicides ‘to fall below 100’
The BBC reported recently that the yearly number of homicides* in London is expected to fall below 100 for the first time since the 1960s. According to the Metropolitan Police, by 22 December there had been 93 victims of homicide in 2014. (UPDATE: The final figure for the year was 95). From our own figures we …
Sanction Detection Rates
The ‘murder rate’ is one way of measuring the effectiveness of the justice system. Another is the percentage of homicides that are ‘cleared up’ – otherwise known as the Sanction Detection Rate. This means cases where a suspect has been identified but not necessarily convicted of the crime, perhaps because they have been acquitted on …