More than half of America’s major police departments are struggling to solve
homicides at the same level of success they enjoyed a decade ago, according to
a study of federal crime records by the nonprofit Murder Accountability
Project.
The
study focused on the nation’s 160 police departments that investigate at least
10 homicides a year and that also faithfully report crime data to the FBI’s
Uniform Crime Report. Of these, 86 departments (54 percent) reported less
success in solving murders committed during the 10-year period 2006-2015 than in
the preceding decade of 1996-2005, while 74 police agencies (46 percent) reported
improving clearance rates.
The
study found most departments with declining murder clearance rates also
experienced rising numbers of homicides. These departments often are located in
states or counties with declining tax bases or facing other kinds of fiscal
challenges.
The
purpose of MAP’s study was to learn which law enforcement jurisdictions in the
United States generally have improved homicide clearance rates and which
jurisdictions experienced declines. Under U.S. Justice Department definitions,
a homicide is “cleared” if at least one person is arrested, formally charged
and handed over for prosecution.
The study identified the 10 police agencies that reported the
most improvement in homicide clearances and the 10 departments reporting the
worst decline in solving murders.
The
law enforcement agencies with the most improved homicide clearance rates were:
Mesa Police Department, Arizona; Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, California;
Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC; North Little Rock Police
Department, Arkansas; East Orange Police Department, New Jersey; Fresno Police
Department, California; Winston-Salem Police Department, North Carolina;
Richmond Police Department, Virginia; Santa Anna Police Department, California;
Oxnard Police Department, California.
These
agencies increased their clearance rates by a range from 36 percentage points
in the case of Mesa Police down to 21 percentage points in the case of Oxnard
Police.
The
10 law enforcement agencies reporting the largest declines in homicide
clearance were: Newark Police Department, New Jersey; Little Rock Police
Department, Arkansas; Trenton Police Department, New Jersey; Pine Bluff Police
Department, Arkansas; Chester Police Department, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth Police
Department, New Jersey; Flint Police Department, Michigan; Camden City/County
Police Department, New Jersey; City of Yonkers Police Department, New York; Stanislaus
County Sheriff’s Office, California.
To
see a spreadsheet of all 160 police departments, click here.
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