The BBC has reported a troubling trend where over 30,000 criminal cases in England and Wales have collapsed between October 2020 and September 2024, primarily due to lost or mishandled evidence. This includes serious offenses like homicides and sexual assaults. Police chiefs acknowledge operational challenges in handling evidence but suggest not all cases are related to lost evidence. Ex-police officers attribute the issue to overwhelming workloads and resource limitations resulting from budget cuts in the previous decade. A leading criminologist emphasizes that effective evidence management is critical for securing convictions.
"The BBC found that evidence loss is a significant issue, with over 30,000 prosecutions collapsing in just four years due to various evidence mishaps."
"A leading criminologist attributed the rise in case collapses to resourcing issues stemming from police budget cuts in the 2010s."
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