Number of murder police in London plummets as crime rises
Written by News on 15/01/2019
The number of police personnel investigating murder cases in London has shrunk by more than 25% in the last decade.
Scotland Yard’s murder investigation unit has lost 315 officers and civilians from a total of 1,208 since 2008, according to figures obtained by the Press Association.
Included in the figures were a drop in the number of officers from 850 to 715 and a drop in other staff from 358 to 177.
The number of major investigation teams also plummeted – from 26 to just 18.
The worst year for staffing was 2017, when the homicide and major crime command (HMCC) had just 590 officers and 168 other staff, making a total strength of 758.
The overall strength of the Met Police fell from 31,460 in October 2008 to 29,654 in October last year, according to figures released by the mayor’s office.
The news comes amid a rising number of violent crimes in the capital – there were 128 homicides last year, the highest number in a calendar year for a decade.
So far this year, police have launched six murder investigations.
A Met Police spokeswoman said the service “frequently adjusts resources to respond to violence in London”.
But a spokesman for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “This is the stark reality of years of damaging government cuts that have seen the Met having to make colossal savings of £850m, which has resulted in officer numbers falling below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years.
“While even the Home Office admits there is a link between the increase in violence and a decrease in officer numbers, it’s fallen on deaf ears with ministers failing to reverse the cuts which could see the number of police officers fall still further by 2022.”
Police are mostly funded by central government but around 30% of their funding comes from council tax through the policing precept levy.
The Home Office said decisions about frontline policing and the deployment of resources in London were a matter for Met Commissioner Cressida Dick and Mr Khan.
A spokeswoman said: “Met Police funding will increase by £172m next year if the Mayor of London increases council tax precept by £2 a month for a typical (Band D) household.”
Meanwhile, another of England’s large police forces is failing to record more than 16,600 violent crimes each year, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
The watchdog has said the efforts of West Midlands Police to record violent crime and sexual offences are “inadequate”, with only 78.2% of violent crime and 89.2% of sexual offences reported to police being recorded.
Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said the report was “frustrating”.
She added: “It does not include the results of other crimes, and consequently it has not recognised the force’s overall crime recording from which we have good, reliable crime accuracy.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Number of murder police in London plummets as crime rises
