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) …

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 …

The London Homicide Manual

How do detectives investigate a murder? Books, TV programmes and documentaries give us some idea – even if their focus is on a single grizzled cop who solves a homicide single-handed. But what exactly is the ‘procedure’ when that call first comes in about a dead body? As it happens the Metropolitan Police have what …

Unsolved / Undetected Homicides 1999-2011

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 …