More than 22,000 criminal suspects are at large after missing court dates.
Armed robbery suspects, rape suspects, and even murder suspects are still at large, often decades after their claimed crimes.
Police are overworked and unable to apprehend those who are believed to be at their listed residences. Two suspects were even found by the Mail inquiry at their own residences.
Our results “laid bare how shambolic our judicial system has become,” according to a former minister.
Legal experts thought that the penalties for missing court were insufficiently severe to serve as a deterrence.
Freedom of information requests to 35 of the 43 forces in England and Wales showed there were 22,345 failure to appear warrants for offences including homicide, rape and serious assault.
A suspect accused of attacking four police officers and wrecking a police vehicle in Slough, Berkshire, was the subject of one of the outstanding warrants. But a Mail reporter managed to spot him at his west London house, hiding in plain sight. According to information obtained under the freedom of information act, at least 11 murder suspects and more than 406 accused sexual offenders are now at large.
The suspected murderers were charged with murder but not released on bail, according to police agencies. Instead, after being detained for a minor offense that was later enhanced, they escaped.
According to Ministry of Justice records from the ten years before to the epidemic, 70,000 to 77,000 failure to appear orders are issued annually.
‘It is just not acceptable for someone to dodge punishment by a court by the simple expedient of not turning up,’ former home affairs minister David Mellor said.
You would anticipate that in a fully functioning criminal justice system, the defendant’s failure to appear would be promptly investigated by the police, who would then take immediate custody of him or her until the matter could be resolved. Our once-proud criminal justice system has fallen into disarray, as shown by the fact that little to nothing appears to be occurring.
Scotland Yard had 3,961 outstanding warrants as of May, including 920 for violent crimes, possessing offensive weapons or making threats to kill. West Midlands Police had 1,791 and Greater Manchester Police 1,386, including 75 for sexual offences and two for suspected murders.
According to an NPCC official, many outstanding warrants are likely for low-risk criminals who pose no danger to the public and are accused of committing summary offenses. The totals of outstanding warrants are also likely to include a significant number of warrants that police have just lately become aware of and are now tracking down.
If police believe a suspect may attempt to flee the nation, they will give public pleas and markings at airports priority in locating and apprehending high-risk or dangerous offenders.
‘At appropriate opportunities forces will proactively contact the suspect or the solicitor that is representing them, to ensure they’re aware of their court date and to remind them. These opportunities encourage suspects to take responsibility, in the knowledge of the possible consequences they may face for failing to appear in court.’
A senior police source said officers were shown photographs of wanted suspects but did not have the resources to carry out regular house visits.
Guidelines for punishment for failure to surrender range from a minor fee to up to six weeks in jail.
Senior police officer Norman Brennan, who retired after 31 years of service in London, claimed that while forces were currently understaffed, 20 years ago officers would go right away to the residence of any suspect who failed to show up in court.
‘These offenders know how badly police are stretched so they treat their victims and the criminal justice system with contempt, knowing they will get away with it,’ he said. ‘Our criminal justice system is in chaos from top to bottom.’
Nick Titchener, director at Lawtons Solicitors, said given the antiquated and disparate nature of police recording systems, some defendants may have been arrested and the warrant withdrawn, one suspect might have multiple warrants against them and some might have died with the warrant remaining active.
‘There are so many reasons why the figure may be so high and some of these reasons may well account for a not insignificant proportion of them,’ Mr Titchener added.