NCJ Number
218464
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 3-14
Date Published
March 2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined Chicago homicide data for 1965-1995 in order to determine the effect of victim characteristics, incident characteristics, and environmental characteristics on homicide clearance rates.
Abstract
Findings indicate that the police are more likely to solve a homicide case when victims are young, male, and have no known criminal record; when evidence is readily available (i.e., domestic violence, substance involvement, etc.); and when the homicide occurs in a jurisdiction with relatively few homicides. The latter circumstance suggests a greater concentration of police resources on each case. On the other hand, homicide cases are less likely to be solved when victims are older, female, and have known prior criminal records; they involve stranger or random violence; and when they occur in jurisdictions where high rates of homicide allow fewer resources to be devoted to each case. Findings suggest that police should have a better understanding of the factors that influence homicide clearance rates in their jurisdiction and ensure that sufficient resources are available for the investigation of homicide cases. Study data were obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, Homicide in Chicago, 1965-1995. This dataset contains information on every homicide in the murder analysis files of the Chicago Police Department for these years, including 23,817 cases and 115 associated variables. Data covered the age, sex, and race of each victim and offender; the victim-offender relationship; victims and offender criminal record; time of occurrence and place of homicide; type of weapon used; cause and motivation for the incident; whether the incident involved drugs, alcohol, gangs, child abuse, or a domestic relationship; and if or how the offender was identified. Information was lacking on the actions of homicide detectives, the number of detectives assigned to homicide cases, and the redeployment of other resources. 2 tables and 20 references