Cases that collapsed due to 'lost or missing' evidence in Northamptonshire revealed
190 criminal cases in the county collapsed between October 2022 and September last year.
Figures show one murder case and four sexual offence cases in Northamptonshire collapsed between October 2022 and September 2024, due to lost or missing evidence.
Data from local police shows that a total of 190 cases fell apart over this period, out of the 11,746 in the county in the period.
The figures amount to just over 1.6% of the cases handed to the Crown Prosecution Service between this period.
That's far better than London's Metropolitan Police Service, who were twice as likely than any other force to see prosecutions dropped due to missing evidence.
Nationally more than 30,000 criminal prosecutions, including some of the most serious offences, collapsed over the past four years due to lost, damaged or un-collected evidence, according to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) data, revealed after a Freedom of Information request.
The figures include 70 homicides and more than 550 sexual offences.
And the problem has been growing, with a higher proportion of cases failing to result in a conviction because of lost or missing evidence each year since 2020.
Northamptonshire Police
Northamptonshire Police say the CPS data looks at E72 data which t he force says this includes other data other than missing or lost, this can include statements, expert witnesses, medical and forensic evidence that could not be obtained for the trial.
A spokeswoman said:
“Northamptonshire Police has robust policies and procedures in place when it comes to gathering and storing evidence, and we work closely with the CPS to ensure that this evidence is presented in a timely manner when the case is being prepared for court."
“The E72 category in this investigation refers to evidence that is either missing or unavailable when a defendant is going to trial following being charged.
“For example, in a recent case filed under the E72 category, the complainant in a sexual offences case did not want to attend court, resulting in the case being filed under E72 because without the key evidence (the complainant), there was no realistic prospect of conviction. This is very different to evidence being physically “lost”.
“If evidential issues do occur in a case, the CPS will raise this with us for any action deemed necessary and we will work together to ensure these are resolved wherever possible.”
They also add that the data includes defendants and not cases, a case could have multiple defendants so there could be defendants in this data who haven’t been convicted of a crime, but other defendants may have actually been convicted for the same crime.
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said:
“Police and the CPS work together to ensure evidence is gathered and presented in a timely manner, bringing offenders to justice and ensuring victims are safeguarded. The E72 category refers to evidence that is either missing or unavailable when a defendant is going to trial following being charged. For example, police may not be able to find an expert witness to give evidence or it may be that a required medical statement cannot be obtained.
“When evidential issues occur in a case, the CPS will raise this with police for any action deemed necessary and we will work together to ensure these are resolved wherever possible.”
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Danielle Stone said:
“Northamptonshire Police is recognised nationally for the quality of its case files. The collapse of any case for evidential reasons is a cause for concern for my office, the Force and for the victims.
"The reasons for collapse , however, are not always within the control of the Force. Northamptonshire Police has my support to become the best it can be and to deliver my Safe and Sound public safety plan.”