WE'RE ALL MORE AT RISK WHILE THESE PEOPLE ARE FREE

Stretched cops hunting crooks including killers and rapists

- BY NORMAN SILVESTER

THOUSANDS of on-the-run crime suspects, including rapists and murderers, are being hunted by cops every day, according to shock new figures.

Now police have warned that the huge number of cases is putting a massive strain on resources.

And women's safety campaigners say the courts need to keep more rape and sex assault suspects behind bars.

The snapshot from a single day shows that 7328 live manhunts were under way by cops after warrants were issued - often for failure to appear in court. More than 40 cases involved people accused or convicted of rape while six involved alleged or convicted murderers.

The latest figures show 7328 people faced warrants for their arrest on November 24 last year. Of those 306 were for sexual offences including 43 rapes.

A further 20 were for sex offenders who have gone missing or who cannot be traced. One hundred arrest warrants related to domestic violence charges, with 10 for attempted murder and one for culpable homicide. The largest single number of arrest warrants, 1309, were for assault.