Thousands of suspects in Warwickshire avoid justice because victims drop charges

Thousands of suspects are avoiding justice, and victims’ rights groups claim this could be due to victims fearing trials or humiliation by lawyers in court.

In Warwickshire, victims refused to support police action in 4,871 cases where suspects were known, between April and September 2018, the latest period data is available from the Home Office.

This makes up 48 per cent of all investigations where officers identified a suspect.

The majority of cases shelved involved violence against the person.

Victim Support said the data could show “a lack of public confidence in the criminal justice system”.