Most murders in London this year were committed by foreigners, according to Scotland Yard figures obtained by The Times.

Of 47 killings between April and September where the nationality of the accused is known, 26 of the suspects — 55 per cent — are not Britons. In 19 cases the killer is believed to be British. In a further 23 cases the nationality of the killer has not been determined. At least 23 of the victims were foreign, including Somali, Brazilian, Irish and Vietnamese citizens.

The killings over the six months are under investigation by Scotland Yard’s Homicide Command and are subject to change as more cases are solved. But the raw data represents a stark illustration of the problems facing forces nationwide as communities change rapidly because of large-scale immigration.

The accused in the London sample hail from all corners of the world: Peru, China, Albania, Romania, Lithuania, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

All murder and manslaughter cases involving foreigners — as either victims or perpetrators — present detectives with difficulties in understanding motives and overcoming language barriers. Deep-rooted cultural differences also need to be resolved, involving, for example, “honour killings” and revenge murders stemming from Albanian village rivalries.

Increasingly, police have to travel overseas to trace suspects, liaise with foreign forces and speak to the families of people killed in Britain. The result is that murder cases are becoming more complicated for investigators, more expensive for police forces and more time-consuming for the courts.

One of the country’s most senior homicide officers told The Times that the Scotland Yard data was not sufficient on its own to provide firm conclusions, but it pointed to an urgent need for detailed research to determine the nationwide police response to demographic change.

“We have to stress that this is just a snapshot and much more work needs to be done to establish if it represents a wider pattern,” said Commander Dave Johnston, vice-chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ homicide working group. “But this does have resource implications for the police. Such cases require the use of interpreters and there can be difficulties understanding some of the cultural issues. Sometimes we have to pursue suspects across national boundaries.

“It is hard to say if there is a national trend, but this is something that should be more closely monitored.”

The figures obtained by The Times relate only to Greater London. Other forces contacted said that they did not compile such data or would release figures only through the freedom of information process. But there is growing evidence that new immigrants to Britain are killing and being killed.

Hertfordshire police have had to investigate a murder linked to an Albanian clan feud, and in Cambridgeshire a Lithuanian man was burnt alive. The case was suspected to involve rivalries originating in his homeland. Polish citizens have been killed this year in Leeds, London, St Helens and Wrexham. An Albanian man was convicted over the shooting of a countryman in an Albanian social club in London, and two men were jailed in Tirana for a murder in North London. Four weeks ago Benjamin Marshall was jailed after pleading guilty to the murder of a Lithuanian citizen, Arturas Venckus, in Nottinghamshire.

There is evidence in police budgets of the increased workload of dealing with crimes committed by foreigners. Chief constables are having to pay more for the services of interpreters and translators. With spending at £9.7 million, Scotland Yard is £1 million over budget for interpreters.

The figures from Scotland Yard cannot be presented with scientific certainty as proof of a definite trend. They exclude killings being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Command and by the Operation Trident team which handles gun crime in the black community. Nor do the figures suggest any migrant-fuelled wave of killings.

Murders in the capital had fallen from 176 in 2003-04 to 127 in 2006-07.

The list

Cases of murder or manslaughter in London from April to September:

19 British suspects charged
26 Foreign citizens charged
29 Number of British victims
23 Number of foreign victims

Source: Metropolitan Police

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