Neighbourhood context and unsolved murders: the social ecology of homicide investigations

The Impact of Investigation Strategies and Tactics on Homicide Clearance

“…Some studies reinforce the assumptions of victim devaluation (Hawk & Dabney, 2014;Keel et al, 2009;Lee, 2005;Litwin & Xu, 2007), while other studies do not (Alderden & Lavery, 2007;Litwin, 2004;Puckett & Lundman, 2003). Similarly, examinations of police devaluation have also found support in some studies with clearance decreasing in socioeconomic disadvantaged neighborhoods (Litwin & Xu, 2007;Ousey & Lee, 2009;Petersen, 2017), while other studies have found no relationship (Borg & Parker, 2001;Litwin, 2004;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Regoeczi & Jarvis, 2013;Xu, 2008). Studies that have examined the racial composition of neighborhoods as a proxy for police devaluation have also found mixed results (Litwin & Xu, 2007;Petersen, 2017;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Xu, 2008).…”

“…Similarly, examinations of police devaluation have also found support in some studies with clearance decreasing in socioeconomic disadvantaged neighborhoods (Litwin & Xu, 2007;Ousey & Lee, 2009;Petersen, 2017), while other studies have found no relationship (Borg & Parker, 2001;Litwin, 2004;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Regoeczi & Jarvis, 2013;Xu, 2008). Studies that have examined the racial composition of neighborhoods as a proxy for police devaluation have also found mixed results (Litwin & Xu, 2007;Petersen, 2017;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Xu, 2008). Conversely, the event characteristics perspective has found more robust support in the literature.…”

“…The areas that traditionally experience these types of mistrust of the police are often those suffering from structural disadvantages and racial isolation (Mancik, Parker, & Williams, 2018). As a result, neighborhood social structural characteristics such as socioeconomic status, racial composition, and, more recently, collective efficacy are used as proxies to measure this perspective (Keel et al, 2009;Mancik et al, 2018;Petersen, 2017;Puckett & Lundman, 2003). This perspective is also referred to as neighborhood processes.…”

From Murder to Imprisonment: Mapping the Flow of Homicide Cases—A Systematic Review

“…Homicides that took place in the nighttime were less likely to be cleared (Alderden & Lavery, 2007;Donohue, 1998;Hawk, 2015;Roberts, 2015). In terms of homicide context, homicides involving multiple victims (Addington, 2006;Petersen, 2017b) and domestic homicides were associated with higher clearance (Baskin & Sommers, 2010;Litwin & Xu, 2007;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Riedel & Boulahanis, 2007;Roberts, 2007). Some studies report drug-or gang-related homicides to be associated with lower clearance level (Alderden & Lavery, 2007;Alexander, 2012;Braga et al, 2019;Litwin, 2002Litwin, , 2004Pastia et al, 2017;Petersen, 2017b;Puckett & Lundman, 2003;Trussler, 2010;Xu, 2008), whereas other studies report higher clearance rates among this subtype (Adcock, 2001;Jiao, 2007;Litwin & Xu, 2007;Mancik & Parker, 2019;Ousey & Lee, 2010;Roberts, 2007;Roberts & Lyons, 2011;Roycroft, 2009).…”

Competitive dominance, gang size and the directionality of gang violence

“…Thus, more dominant gangs may attempt to utilize less severe acts of violence, however, the results may still be a homicide. Furthermore, research has shown that the investigation of homicides by law enforcement is likely to be the most robust, given that there is almost always a victim, with a specialized police unit that dedicates substantially more investigative time and effort to their resolution (Petersen 2017;Pizarro et al 2018;Regoeczi 2018). In this study, the thoroughness of investigating gangrelated homicide is expected to provide a much more complete picture of the violent event including reliable data on gang affiliations of both the target and the aggressor, two crucial pieces of information needed to the current analyses.…”