By Luke Cross
lukecross@trinitysouth.co.uk
UNSOLVED murders and serious sexual attacks will be reinvestigated by a specially formed crack team of detectives.
Thames Valley Police has created the Dedicated Review Team, an experienced squad of eight detectives who will investigate 50 homicide cases from the past 50 years and serious sexual assaults dating back to the 1980s.
The Buckinghamshire Advertiser launched appeals for two cases in the last 18 months – the horrific murder of Penny Bell, from Bakers Wood, Denham in 1991 and the brutal killing of Dr Helen Davidson, in Coleshill back in 1966.
Detective Superintendent Barry Halliday, who heads the team, feels the move sends a clear message to the public – that unsolved murder and rape cases have not been forgotten.
He said: "The majority of people reading this are going to be quite comfortable.
"But there is a percentage that will feel uncomfortable because we may well be coming after them.
"I cannot give guarantees with regards to cases but by having a dedicated team, by reviewing cases and by the way we are reviewing cases, results are inevitable – there is no question about that."
Pictured are murder victims Penny Bell and Dr Helen Davidson.
Members bring a range of skills to each investigation, from a very sensitive approach to "more overt" police methods.
But Mr Halliday emphasised that his team are also very concious of the sensitivities surrounding sex crimes and stressed they will respect the wishes of the victims.
They will use the latest forensic advances, such as DNA, and employ the most recent legislative and policing powers, such as the revised double jeopardy rule which allows a suspect who was acquitted to be retried for the same crime.
The team is very well briefed in statutory changes which may not always be used in day to day policing.
And the detective superintendent also pointed out an irony – that while murderers or rapists may feel that the passage of time has seen them safe, it is that very same passage of time which could enable the police to catch them.