The Metropolitan Police insists “no decision” has been made to cut murder detectives in London at a time of serious concerns about rising violent crime.
According to media reports, senior officers plan to move highly experienced investigators from the homicide command to fill gaps in other frontline units tackling crimes such as burglary and assault.
The Daily Telegraph said the move is intended to address a shortfall in recruitment and to ensure the best detectives are spread across the force, not just concentrated in specialist crime teams.
Any such decision would cause widespread alarm among victims’ families and communities.
At any one time, the Met’s 20 murder squads each juggle several live investigations while also presenting evidence in the crown court.
Last year, homicide officers probed 110 murders in the capital, one more than the 109 in 2022.
Detectives are said to have learned of the plans when they were called to a meeting with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward.
In a statement, DAC Ward said: “We are determined to deliver the service that Londoners deserve.
“This includes putting more of our great officers into communities.
“No decisions have been taken about changes to any teams.”
One senior homicide investigator speaking to the Telegraph said he feared the proposals could impact on the ability to bring killers to justice, adding: “The detectives on my team are working at full pelt.
“They are already dealing with multiple cases and more are coming in all the time.
“The officers are telling us they are in danger of burning out and yet the top brass are telling us we need to make efficiencies.
“The idea that there is any fat to trim within murder is crazy. If anything, we need more resources not less.
“In my view there is nothing more important than bringing killers to justice and we should not do anything that might jeopardise that.”
Since the start of 2024, there have been five murders across the capital - the same number as for the whole of January last year.
Fears increased when Harry Pitman, 16, was stabbed to death with a hunting knife while waiting to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks in Primrose Hill.
Harry was the 21st teenager to be killed in London in 2023, 18 of whom were fatally stabbed, two shot and one died after his moped was hit by a car.
The toll marks a significant rise on the 14 homicides in 2022 but is short of 2021, the worst year on record when 30 youngsters lost their lives.
In Croydon, the fatal stabbing of Elianne Andam, 15, shocked the community after she was attacked on her way to school in September.
Murder squads consist of one detective chief inspector, two detective inspectors, four detective sergeants and 18 detective constables.
While the scale of any possible cut is uncertain, the Telegraph said it is feared each team could end up losing one or two constables and a sergeant.
Figures show of the 110 homicides recorded in 2023, 71 were committed using a knife, 91 victims male and 19 female.
Fourteen domestic killings took place, an 18 per cent reduction on the 17 in 2022.
Latest Met figures show 4,031 people were injured in stabbings across the capital in the year to November 2023 - around 10 every single day.
