Police unit in charge of unsolved case of missing Milton Keynes woman Leah Croucher wins award for excellence

The unit, which has been in charge of the Leah Croucher case for the past three years, received the award for its work investigating homicides.

The force says these have almost doubled in the region over recent months.Supt Kevin Brown, who leads the unit, said that his team had shown “huge commitment, enthusiasm, motivation, and above all resilience” investigating what is usually two major new cases a month, but which can be as many as three a week.The team succeeds in charging offenders in over 95% of cases.The TVP Major Crime Unit covers homicide and serious crime investigations across the whole of the Thames Valley, with three offices in Aylesbury, Oxford and Taplow.

The unit also has a complex child sexual exploitation team, a review team for cold cases, and a small team dedicated to the Didcot Power Station investigation.The core team that deals with homicide is relatively small, comprising 35 Detective Constables, 11 Detective Sergeants, four Detective Inspectors and four Detective Chief Inspectors.Supt Brown said: “Over the past 14 to 16 months we’ve sadly seen a huge rise in homicides and serious violence, so much so that it’s almost double our usual amount. We have seen a rise in cases involving mental health, a rise in cases where it’s intra-familial, so siblings on parents for instance, as well as more recognisable domestic violence.“Knife-enabled crime has gone up significantly, some to do with drug use but also sadly more cases of young teenagers who have died of knife wounds.“Despite the added pressure, we’re still able to charge offenders in over 95% of the cases we deal with. It’s good for the investigators as they can see the results of their considerable efforts, and it’s reassuring for the families that someone is being held to account for the death of a loved one.”Supt Brown added: “The team are very humble people and they don’t do this for recognition, they do it because they want to make things better for bereaved families. But they’re really pleased to be recognised. They are putting themselves out there every single day, as a lot of police officers do, but particularly in the early stage of an investigation they can be working 15-20 hours a day for two to three weeks.”He will attend the 2022 Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Awards on April 28 to accept the award on behalf of the team.Meanwhile, the case of missing Leah Croucher is still not solved three years and two months after she vanished on her way to work in Milton Keynes.

Senior investigating officer from the Major Crime Unit, DS! Andy Howard has described it as one of the most baffling cases he has had to deal with.

Anyone with information about Leah should call police on 101, make a report on the dedicated online site here or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.