The findings, obtained by a freedom of information request by researchers, raise concerns about police handling of evidence used to prosecute the most serious crimes, such as DNA samples, CCTV footage, weapons, drugs and phone data.
The figures show that lost or unavailable materials were responsible for the pre-trial collapse of 7,316 cases between September 2021 and September 2022, including 16 homicides (1.3% of the total) and 123 sexual offences (1%). In the previous three years, in forces across England and Wales, between October 2018 and August 2021, 20,838 cases were dropped, including 42 homicides (1.1% of the total) and 364 sexual offences (1.2%).
"This is the stark reality of a criminal justice system with massive holes in it," said Prof Carole McCartney, a criminologist at the University of Leicester. "If you've lost the evidence, you can't prosecute people, you can't appeal if you're wrongly convicted, you can't solve a cold case."
The figures, obtained by McCartney and Louise Shorter, an independent criminal justice researcher, come as the police and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) face intense criticism over the handling of forensic evidence in the Andrew Malkinson case. Malkinson was exonerated last month after spending more than 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, despite another man's DNA being found on the victim's clothing in 2007.
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