Bail fail: British justice system shambles as Tory cuts mean 26,000 crime suspects on run
Oct 29, 2014
Alleged murderers, rapists and terrorists are among those still at large after absconding with David Cameron and Theresa May blamed for shutting jails
PA
Suspected criminals are being freed on bail because there is not enough room in Britain’s crowded prisons thanks to Tory closures, critics have claimed.
And thousands of them – including alleged murderers, rapists and terrorists – are going on the run every year as a result.
Prison officers’ chiefs spoke of their horror after a police document revealed 26,312 suspected serious crooks have vanished while on bail in the past three years.
And Labour laid the blame squarely at the feet of David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May for shutting jails and axing staff as part of savage Tory austerity measures.
Among those who vanished while bailed were brothers Valodia and Jurius Tarasov who killed a Polish man they wrongly accused of stealing a phone and terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed. He fled in a burka from a mosque.
Prison Officers’ Association general secretary Steve Gillan said: “I am shocked that suspected murders, rapists, and even a terrorist have been given bail. It is even worse that they have then abused their freedom and gone on the run.
Austerity impact on prisons
18
Jails closed since 2010
22%
Decrease in prison officers
“There is a serious issue with overcrowding within the prison system in this country, which has become even worst since 2010 which has seen the closing of 18 prisons.
“We also currently have 22% less prison officers than we did before austerity measures came into place, but with a rising prison population.
“People appear to be getting granted bail to cope with the lack of space inside our prisons. That isn’t right.”
Labour MP Ian Austin added: “This is an absolute disgrace.
“The Tories sacked 13,000 police officers, reduced the number of prison places and 26,000 suspected criminals have disappeared.
“David Cameron and Theresa May clearly can’t be trusted with law and order in Britain. They should hang their heads in shame.”
Valodia Tarasov, 35, and 33-year-old Jurius Tarasov went on the run in July after Judge Brian Barker QC granted them bail. They killed 37-year-old Pawel Pacholak in London.
Central News
Judge: Mr Baker let crooks out
The pair were later arrested and jailed at the Old Bailey for manslaughter. Terror suspect Mohamed vanished in November from West London. He has not been found.
There were also 47 suspected rapists who went missing in the last three years after being bailed – 25 in 2012, 14 in 2013 and eight last year.
The figures show 177 sex offenders, 11 paedophiles, 465 robbers and 992 burglars fled after being handed bail by the courts.
And 22 people charged with making Threats to Kill were also released from custody pending court proceedings.
The 26,312 figure released by the Met Police is believed to be only the tip of the iceberg as that covers only London. Thousands more suspected criminals are feared to have been released on bail across the land who have also vanished.
On run in last three years
In the capital alone the estimated cost to the taxpayer to rearrest fugitives and put them back in custody is around £25million a year.
Officers have to spend time investigating the whereabouts of an alleged offender, arrest the suspect and put them back into custody.
Former Met chief inspector Peter Kirkham told how officers get frustrated when people suspected of serious crimes are freed on bail – only to go on the run.
He said: “I am surprised people with offences as serious as this are being bailed. Sometimes there isn’t enough space within the system to hold a person who has been charged with an offence pending court proceedings and so they are given bail when they probably shouldn’t be.
“It is expensive keeping an offender in custody, but it is possibly more expensive to track these people down again. It requires a new investigation, man hours on the ground, administrative and transport costs.”
The costs can be up to £1,000, sometimes more, for each new probe.
Annual cost of tracking down and rearresting fugitives
£25m
Overall cost to taxpayer
Up to £1,000
Per absconder
In many cases the suspect can spend months, sometimes years on the run, or evade capture altogether. The police paper was released to the Mirror under Freedom of Information.
A Met spokesman said: “The figures include crown court bench warrants, failure to appear magistrates’ warrants, breaches of court orders and orders by other prosecuting agencies that are not issued by the Metropolitan Police Service.
"The MPS recognises that pre-charge bail decisions impact on victims, witnesses and suspects.
"We are committed to finding people who fail to attend court or attempt to evade justice.”
Killers: Valodia and Jurius Tarasov
Central News
Granted bail: Brothers fled after Britain's most senior judge allowed them freedom before sentencing
Britain’s most senior criminal judge was criticised when two convicted killers failed to turn up to court for sentencing – hours after he granted them bail.
Judge Brian Barker QC, the Recorder of London, allowed Lithuanians Valodia Tarasov, 35, and his younger brother Jurius, 33, to remain free overnight.
The pair were convicted of manslaughter at the Old Bailey in July along with their older brother Viktoras, 39, over the death of 37-year-old Polish man Pawel Pacholak.
Mr Pacholak suffered fatal injuries jumping from a first-floor window while trying to escape the Tarasovs after they wrongly accused him of stealing a mobile phone during a drinking session.
But Jurius had actually left the handset at a betting shop.
Viktoras was the only one to turn up to court, delaying the entire court process and triggering another costly police investigation to find the two on-the-run brothers.
Valodia was caught the same day – but Jurius was captured after nine days only when police received a tip-off from the public about his whereabouts.
It is thought the brothers, of South London, were trying to escape to eastern Europe.
The three men were eventually jailed.
Terror suspect: Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed
PA
al-Shabaab fanatic: Mohamed was twice released while facing 20 charges of breaching terror control orders
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed gave police the slip after changing into a burka on a visit to a mosque.
The Somali-born al-Shabaab fanatic, 28, was twice released from jail while facing 20 charges of breaching terror control orders over an 18-month period before disappearing.
Mohamed, who is 5ft 8in tall and of medium build, arrived at the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Acton, West London, wearing Western-style clothes at 10am on November 1 last year – a Friday, the traditional day for Muslim prayers.
CCTV images issued by Scotland Yard later showed him leaving with his face and body fully covered by the traditional Islamic women’s garment.
There were fears the fugitive terror suspect vanished with worrying simplicity – after calling a taxi – but officers left it two days before they started questioning cab firms.
Mohamed is believed to have fled the UK to meet up with terrorist leader White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite in East Africa.
Legal aid lawyers for Mohamed won a ruling this May that his control orders should be quashed as they were imposed in secret without a reason given.
