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| Alice Gross murder suspect Arnis Zalkalns not checked | Alice Gross murder suspect Arnis Zalkalns not checked |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police did not check the record of a foreign murderer, who is believed to have gone on to kill schoolgirl Alice Gross, because they were unaware how to do so, an inquest has heard. | Police did not check the record of a foreign murderer, who is believed to have gone on to kill schoolgirl Alice Gross, because they were unaware how to do so, an inquest has heard. |
| Arnis Zalkalns was held in 2009 on suspicion of indecent assault, but faced no further action. | Arnis Zalkalns was held in 2009 on suspicion of indecent assault, but faced no further action. |
| He became prime suspect in Alice's murder, after she disappeared in 2014. | He became prime suspect in Alice's murder, after she disappeared in 2014. |
| A Met Police detective told the inquest into her death officers could have made checks into Zalkalns' background | A Met Police detective told the inquest into her death officers could have made checks into Zalkalns' background |
| The inquest is examining whether failures by the government and the police contributed to her death, and why Zalkalns was allowed to live unchecked in the UK. | The inquest is examining whether failures by the government and the police contributed to her death, and why Zalkalns was allowed to live unchecked in the UK. |
| Zalkalns, a Latvian national who first came to the UK in 2007, had been convicted of murdering his wife in his native country. | Zalkalns, a Latvian national who first came to the UK in 2007, had been convicted of murdering his wife in his native country. |
| When he first came to the attention of UK police two years later, Det Supt Michael Forteath said, there was "no routine checking of individuals entering the UK". | When he first came to the attention of UK police two years later, Det Supt Michael Forteath said, there was "no routine checking of individuals entering the UK". |
| Officers could have made a check, he said, but there was no policy, and the process was not widely known about. | Officers could have made a check, he said, but there was no policy, and the process was not widely known about. |
| He said there were systems in place to ask for records information and intelligence from a suspect's country of origin, but checks were only done on around 1 in 14 suspects. | He said there were systems in place to ask for records information and intelligence from a suspect's country of origin, but checks were only done on around 1 in 14 suspects. |
| "You would have to know you could undertake the check," he said. "You have to know how, what forms to use, to send to the central authority." | "You would have to know you could undertake the check," he said. "You have to know how, what forms to use, to send to the central authority." |
| "You would have to believe the information you were asking for would have come back in enough time to be of use in the case you were dealing with." | "You would have to believe the information you were asking for would have come back in enough time to be of use in the case you were dealing with." |
| During the hunt for Alice, who disappeared on 28 August 2014, police did carry out an initial criminal record check of Zalkalns' history and nothing came back. | During the hunt for Alice, who disappeared on 28 August 2014, police did carry out an initial criminal record check of Zalkalns' history and nothing came back. |
| In September, after Arnis Zalkalns had become a suspect in Alice's disappearance, an initial check of his Latvian records came back with nothing because his murder conviction was considered "spent", the court heard. | In September, after Arnis Zalkalns had become a suspect in Alice's disappearance, an initial check of his Latvian records came back with nothing because his murder conviction was considered "spent", the court heard. |
| Vincent Williams, representing the Met, said the policy had now changed and the number of staff employed to do criminal checks had grown from five in 2009 to 130 last year. | |
| Alice's body was found by a search team in the River Brent, near her home in Hanwell, west London on the 30 September 2014. | |
| The inquest has already heard evidence that she had been sexually assaulted and asphyxiated. | The inquest has already heard evidence that she had been sexually assaulted and asphyxiated. |
| Zalkalns was found hanged a few miles from where her body was found. | Zalkalns was found hanged a few miles from where her body was found. |
| On Monday Alice's mother said she was stunned Zalkalns was not being monitored. | On Monday Alice's mother said she was stunned Zalkalns was not being monitored. |
| Reading from a prepared statement at the Royal Courts of Justice, Rosalind Hodgkiss said the family wanted to "establish whether or not the systems for monitoring foreign offenders and cross-border sharing of information are robust". | Reading from a prepared statement at the Royal Courts of Justice, Rosalind Hodgkiss said the family wanted to "establish whether or not the systems for monitoring foreign offenders and cross-border sharing of information are robust". |
| She added: "We appreciate that they may have changed significantly, but we remain stunned that a foreign national with a conviction for murder was not monitored, or even known about in any way. | She added: "We appreciate that they may have changed significantly, but we remain stunned that a foreign national with a conviction for murder was not monitored, or even known about in any way. |
| "This has destroyed much of our faith in our country's ability to protect its citizens. | "This has destroyed much of our faith in our country's ability to protect its citizens. |
| "The Home Office and the police forces nationwide should be doing everything they can to ensure that this should not be allowed to happen again." | "The Home Office and the police forces nationwide should be doing everything they can to ensure that this should not be allowed to happen again." |