Lack of officers delays fatal school crash investigation

The parents of a girl killed when a Land Rover crashed through a fence at her school say the Met Commissioner has told them their case is taking so long due to a lack of forensic officers.

Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, who were both eight, died when the vehicle crashed into an end-of-term tea party at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon, south-west London, on 6 July.

A woman arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving was released under investigation.

The Met confirmed the delay was due to a lack of specialist investigators and said it was trying to address the problem.

Nuria was taking a photo with her mum Smera Chohan when she was killed.

Several people, including Ms Chohan, were injured in the crash that happened at about 10:00 BST.

Ms Chohan told the BBC that the last year had been made worse by the lack of progress in the police investigation.

"Occasions have come and gone in the last 10 months from Christmas to new year to Ramadan to Eid to Mother's Day to her ninth birthday," she said.

"And we have lived through all of those without knowing how or why our daughter was killed.

"This is how much time has passed. This is unacceptable and it's a horror that we live in."

Nuria's father Sajjad Butt said: "The only reason for this delay in this coming to the next stage is a lack of specialised resources to deliver a particular part of the investigation. "

In a letter to the families' solicitor, the Metropolitan Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said investigators had interviewed more than 150 witnesses, analysed CCTV as well as conducted a forensic analysis of the vehicles concerned and interviewed the driver.

"I recognise that the investigation is not happening as quickly as the families would hope, and I apologise for the impact that this has had but I hope you recognise why it is important that the investigation is comprehensive," he wrote.

The letter said work was under way to "improve timeliness".

"There is currently only one path to qualify as a Forensic Collision Investigator (FCI) available in the UK, which is a six-year, part time course from De Montfort University," wrote Sir Mark.

"This means there are very few individuals who have the specialist skills needed to progress these investigations and the MPS currently takes up approximately 20% of course places as we are seeking to increase the number of investigators."

The Met has confirmed there are 11 forensics collision investigators who are required to carry out investigations on all fatal and some non-fatal crashes. 17 more investigators are in training, with the Met also looking to increase the number of trained officers.

Ms Chohan said the lack of resources in the case was not acceptable.

"With the nature of this accident and the way we have been left, I don't think it can be acceptable for any parent to hear that the reason you haven't got any answers is there's a resource issue," she said.

Nuria's parents are concerned the delay may affect their fight for answers.

"We feel there might be a challenge that the case might be impacted because so much time has passed, memories fade," said Mr Butt.

"I was present on the day but every day I find myself struggling to remember what might have happened.

"Others will want to put this behind them, others will want to move on.

"Asking critical people to wait nine months for things to move, could this impact us getting justice for our girl? It might."

The families of the two girls now want to meet with the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

They want protocols to be changed so that collisions in the public interest involving the death of children are given more priority.

Trevor Sterling, the solicitor representing the families, said: "The reality is the one enemy of justice is delay.

"What we know is part of the cause of the delay is significant. Part of that is resourcing of forensic examiners.

"What we know is it takes a year to a year and a half typically for forensic examiner's reports to be prepared.

"And the reality is with that level of delay, there is an impact on the timings of inquests, on the impact of a criminal trial, there is an impact on the civil cases.

"Delay is an enemy of justice and we need to make sure there is a process where that can be expedited."

A London Labour spokesperson said: "Sadiq's heart goes out to the families affected by this tragedy, and he understands that they want the investigation to progress quicker.

"As outlined by the Commissioner, the Met are doing everything they can to move forward this case, and are working to increase the number of forensic collision investigators to improve timeliness."

Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, in charge of policing for south-west London, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of Nuria and Selena who we know are greatly loved and missed.

"This was a tragic incident and we understand that the families want and need answers as to what happened. We are continuing to give them specialist support through our dedicated family liaison officers who are providing updates on the investigation where they can.

"Specialist detectives have worked tirelessly to establish the circumstances of that day, including detailed analysis of CCTV and the examination of expert reports. We have also sought early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"We recognise that the time taken has caused further distress but it is only right and fair to all involved that we carry out a thorough and extensive investigation.

"We have updated the families on one specific issue which has unfortunately added to the time this investigation is taking. This is around a lack of specialist investigators whose role it is to provide expertise in such investigations – an issue we are working to address."

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