CHIEF constable Peter Fahy wants greater freedom for police forces to publish pictures of criminals on the run.

The Greater Manchester police chief was speaking after the M.E.N exposed how murder and rape suspects were among hundreds of wanted people who had gone on the run.

Powers
He said the breach of bail should be treated more seriously and police forces should be given greater powers to issue photographs of any offenders who are missing. Figures obtained by the MEN under the Freedom of Information Act show that 1,871 suspects are at large after failing to turn up at hearings. Chief Constable Peter Fahy added: "We give a high priority to locating those who have skipped bail and we carry out huge numbers of stop checks on those whom we suspect may be wanted using the new portable fingerprint devices.

"I would like to see breach of bail treated more seriously and more freedom for us to publish photographs of those who have gone missing." Further analysis of the figures we obtained reveals 212 of the 1,871 bail-jumpers at large at the end of June were wanted for category 'A' crimes including murder, rape, kidnap, arson, racist assaults, robbery, carjacking, drugs, guns and knife crime.

Missing
More than one-in-three of the bail-jumpers has been missing more than a year and one has managed to evade justice for 19 years. More than ten per cent have been missing for 'five years or longer'. Among them are men and women wanted for causing death by dangerous driving, having indecent photographs of children, making threats to kill, blackmail, false imprisonment, police assaults, rape, drugs and firearm offences.

Those currently on the run from Greater Manchester include: *Fitim Shabani, 23, a Kosovan from Cheetham Hill who was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a man was hit over the head with an axe in a Bury park last May. He failed to show up for the third day of his Bolton Crown Court trial in April. *Deryoush Vatandoust, 36, of Breightmet, Bolton, was charged with raping a woman in 2000. He failed to appear in court in Bolton in November 2001. *Trainee social worker Asif Amin, a 39-year-old, whose last known address was in Whalley Range, who is charged with rape, gross indecency and indecent assault against a 14-year-old girl while he was working at a Stockport care home in 2001. He failed to turn up at Stockport magistrates six years ago. *Frank Ashton, 58, of Oldham, who failed to turn up at court for robbery and sexual assault offences and has not been seen since November 12 last year. *Gary Lee Johnson a rapist from Urmston who was convicted in his absence after going on the run from a Minshull Street Crown Court trial three years ago. The 38-year-old attacked a woman after meeting her in a club in 2004.

Revelations
A victim support group also responded to the M.E.N revelations saying judges who grant bail to those accused of murder and rape are failing victims and putting the public at risk. Mrs Sheila Hannam-Andrews, of the Greater Manchester based Support After Murder and Manslaughter group, said: "I think it is disgusting. Why would anyone ever give a murderer or rapist bail? It is ridiculous. What happens if they kill or attack again while they are out, `sorry we made a mistake. Sorry that sex attacker targeted your little boy,' it's just not good enough. "And what about the victims they have already targeted, imagine how they must feel to know their attacker is on the streets.

"It is not good enough to say, 'I have to give them bail as this is their first offence and it is against their human rights to remand them in custody.' What about the human rights of their victims and potential victims?"

At the moment police are only allowed to publish the picture of someone who skips bail if they can prove they have exhausted every other avenue first. Officers argue they could be found much more quickly if their pictures were published straight away.