The Impact of Investigation Strategies and Tactics on Homicide Clearance

Abstract

This study examines whether changes made to the investigation procedures within the Rochester Police Department’s homicide unit have an effect on homicide clearance net of theoretically significant variables related to victim and police devaluation, event characteristic, and victim lifestyle. It examines 132 homicides investigated by the homicide unit over 4 years consisting of the pre-intervention period and post-intervention period. It is hypothesized that investigation tactics will affect the odds of clearance, even after controlling for other theoretically relevant variables. The findings support this hypothesis, suggesting that the approaches and tactics police departments implement within their investigative units are important.

Explainable machine learning for predicting homicide clearance in the United States

“…Finally, according to Wolfgang (1958), area population is also a significant predictor, as homicides occurring in highly populated areas may offer perpetrators the possibility to escape or hide in anonymity, compared to communities with fewer people (and fewer suspects) with higher informal social control. More recently, a line of empirical research further enriched the non-discretionary perspective by recommending to also consider law enforcement resources, training and organizational practices as potential correlates for clearing homicides (McEwen and Regoeczi, 2015;Carter and Carter, 2016;Wellford et al, 2019;Pizarro et al, 2020). A study by Braga and Dusseault (2018), for instance, indicates that clearance rates can be improved through corresponding increases of resources dedicated to homicide detectives.…”

Institutional Design, Prosecutorial Independence, and Accountability: Lessons from the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)

“…At the micro level, various individual-level factors can impact why or when cases remain unpunished. The managerial style of judges (Buscaglia 2006) and the investigative strategies, tactics, and experience of prosecutors and police officers can impact clearance rates (Keel et al 2009;Pizarro et al 2018). Discretional factors play an important role into why actors may or may not investigate or prosecute a case (Black 1970).…”

Reconsidering Homicide Clearance Research: The Utility of Multifaceted Data Collection Approaches

“…For the above reasons, this study should be framed within the larger literature and not viewed as a single, authoritative source of homicide investigation outcome findings. Recent work by Carter (2013;Carter & Carter, 2016), Braga (Braga & Dusseault, 2018), and Pizarro (Pizarro et al, 2018;Rydberg & Pizarro, 2014) suggests a groundswell of interest in improving homicide data and investigative practices. For sure, homicide clearance research is important, and more work is needed to build upon the data improvements and findings of the current study if we are to truly understand the factors that affect case closure.…”