Britain's most wanted: hunting down fugitives
6/15/202643 min
Nearly 60,000 suspects skipped court in England and Wales last year. Thousands still haven't been found.
Investigative journalist Matt Shea has spent months tracking down some of Britain's most wanted fugitives – from safehouses in North London to red light districts in Thailand – for his Channel 4 Dispatches film Hunting Britain's Fugitives. He joins Andy and Neil to reveal how he found people the system hasn't caught up with, and why so many suspects now feel emboldened to simply not show up.
Plus they discuss what exactly has gone so wrong with British justice that attending court feels optional, and what would it take to fix it.
Follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents
The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[upbeat music] Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail? Filters ready to clog? HVAC on its last leg? If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Granger for quality products, easy reordering, and 24/7 support. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done.
Neil Basu· Host0:30
[upbeat music] This is a global production.
Andy Hughes· Host0:34
Nearly 60,000 people skipped court in England and Wales last year.
Matt Shea· Guest0:40
They all seem to share the same concerning perception about the justice system, which is that it's now optional. People are now warning of, of system collapse. He's on social media, living up his life. He's traveling around the world, and he's apparently returned to this country. Why was he not stopped on the way back in?
Andy Hughes· Host0:58
This one's a killer.
Matt Shea· Guest0:59
Criminals need to at least be afraid they will get caught, and they will go to prison, and that they can't evade justice. Victims need to think that they will get justice- Mm ... for society to function. This is gonna be- Yeah ... at the very least, very awkward.
Andy Hughes· Host1:13
Yeah, yeah.
Matt Shea· Guest1:13
At the very most, potentially dangerous.
Andy Hughes· Host1:15
Probably the first question on everyone's mind is how on Earth are these people allowed to evade justice so easily?
Neil Basu· Host1:21
[gentle music] The Crime Agents.
Andy Hughes· Host1:25
Hello, and welcome to The Crime Agents with me, crime journalist Andy Hughes.
Neil Basu· Host1:29
And me, the ex-cop,