Scotland Yard has released nearly 100 murder suspects without conditions, figures reveal 

Scotland Yard has released nearly 100 murder suspects without conditions in past two years, figures reveal

  • Figures revealed 97 murder suspects were freed without conditions in two years
  • ‘Released under investigation’ status was introduced by Amber Rudd in 2017
  • Scotland Yard said changes had made it harder for police to manage suspects

Scotland Yard has released close to 100 murder suspects without conditions since 2017, new figures have revealed. 

The number of people ‘released under investigation’ has risen since changes to bail were introduced in April two years ago, reports the Times. 

Figures released by mayor Sadiq Khan showed 97 people suspected of murder were freed without conditions out of a total of 284 between April 2017 to March this year.

Amber Rudd introduced the new rules following criticism of the treatment of high-profile figures such as DJ Paul Gambaccini.

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured, introduced the ‘released under investigation’ status when she was Home Secretary in 2017. Scotland Yard has released close to 100 murder suspects without conditions since then

The 65-year-old was on police bail for almost a year before being told he will not face charges over sex abuse allegations. 

After the rules were brought in police were limited to giving bail for only 28 days. 

The Metropolitan Police also said that 807 rape suspects between April 2017 and March this year. 

Today’s figures were shared in response to Tory Susan Hall, who has since said the mayor needs to ‘urgently review’ the procedure.

The status was introduced after a campaign from people including DJ Paul Gambaccini. He was on police bail for almost a year before being told he will not face charges

The status was introduced after a campaign from people including DJ Paul Gambaccini. He was on police bail for almost a year before being told he will not face charges

She added: ‘Sadiq Khan really has taken his eye off the ball if potential murderers and rapists are freely walking around London, with no restrictions whatsoever.’

Scotland Yard told the Times that the changes had made it harder for police to manage suspects properly. 

However a spokesman explained that officers discuss risk factors with a supervisor before releasing a suspect.  

A Home Office spokesman said they are continuing to work with the police to ‘ensure pre-charge bail conditons are imposed appropriately.’ 

The 2017 reforms were to stop police leaving suspects to languish on bail for months or even years before deciding whether to charge them.   

The new rules also raised the risk of an offender absconding as no conditions can be attached to those ‘released under investigation’.

Statistics released by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs Council on behalf of 30 forces across England and Wales in 2017 showed the proportion of people being bailed plummeted since March from 26 per cent of all suspects to just 4 per cent between April and June. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk