Yard sees murder detection rate fall

Scotland Yard's murder detection rate has slumped alarmingly following a surge in gangland killings, the Standard can reveal today.

Police are struggling to secure convictions against feuding Jamaican and British gangsters fighting drug wars because witnesses are too frightened to come forward.

Officers are also catching fewer killers because overtime for murder squad detectives has been slashed to save money, it is claimed.

The Met is also short of 1,000 detectives and is struggling to retain experienced officers.

During 2000-01 police said they were locking up nine out of 10 killers. However, in the last financial year, 2001-2002, ending at the start of this month, it fell to seven out of 10, new figures will show. It is the worst in 10 years and the number of firearms shootings doubled.

One senior officer blamed a cut in overtime. He said: "The first week of any murder investigation is the most important. If we can't go out knocking on doors and finding witnesses during this crucial time it is not surprising we are not getting the results we used to."

In recent years the annual number of homicides (murder and manslaughter) in London has ranged between 150 and 200. During 2000/01 there were 191. Police say the total for the last year will be just over 200 homicides. The first two months of this year saw the murder rate running at an unprecedented level of nearly one a day.

Tories to focus on crime war