How many murders are solved?

HR has been conducting an in-depth survey to find out, reviewing so far about 330 homicides in Los Angeles County this year. According to the Homicide Report's analysis, the average rate at which these 2007 cases have been solved (or "cleared by arrest" in police lingo) is 39%.

Clearance rates vary widely by police units. They range from only one-fifth of all cases cleared in some areas of the county to more than three-fourths in others.

Of the 13 municipal-police homicide units and sheriff's teams surveyed so far, only two have managed to clear more than half of their cases this year.

One homicide unit--LAPD Newton in South-Central L.A.--has such a high clearance rate that its numbers distort the overall average. Without Newton, the clearance rate of the sample would drop to about 34%.

To put this another way, outside of Newton, about two out of three murderers in the countywide sample have gotten away with it -- so far, anyway.

Other units that have emerged in the top tier so far include LAPD Hollywood, Long Beach police and LAPD Northeast. Each has arrested suspects and obtained charges at significantly higher rates than is typical elsewhere in the county.

Arrest information is gradually being added to the posts on the site. The clearance survey continues. More to come.

Above, child's drawing displayed in the lobby of LAPD's Newton station.

(Clearance rates are the number of cases in which a suspect has been charged versus the number of criminal homicide cases investigated by a given homicide unit. HR's clearance rate calculation differs from that reported by law-enforcement agencies.

The HR count includes only 2007 homicides, and excludes citizen-justifiables, officer-involved shootings, cases in which a homicide determination is pending, and murder-suicides. Double and triple homicides are counted as single cases. Cases from the last two weeks are also excluded. A case is considered "cleared" if at least one suspect has been arrested and charged, or charged and a warrant issued. HR's findings may differ from those reported by law-enforcement agencies to the FBI because of these criteria. Law-enforcement agencies, for example, sometimes report clearance rates of more than 100% because they are counting cases cleared from prior years.)

(Photo by Geraldine Wilkins/LAT 2004)

Comments

[ruben]

Reposado

What fantasy world are you living in? I am born and raised in East L.A and we dont have a dont snitch policy we have a "dont get our A%#! killed" policy which is we are scared of retaliation from the offender so by you saying the community is "giving free reign" you are just ignorant, the lawmakers and police need to come up with better community and informant protection and better anonymous tipping without going to trial or things of that nature if you want it to change. So dont go blaming these poor hard working people of the ghettos that are just trying to live their lives and not bother anyone of giving these thugs a "free pass". We hate them just as much as you do and this is NO MOVIE there is no Charles Bronson or Stallone to save us at night when all the police leave the neighborhoods.

[ruben]

Sal LaBarbera

Dont blame Mrs. Leovy because you guys cant do your job she is just reporting the facts. And when you say were still working on the cases, isn't it a fact if you dont solve the case in the first few days the chances of that case getting solved gets dropped DRAMATICALLY, like slim to none? I'm not saying your doing a bad job or it's YOUR fault, but shouldnt you be outside going to neighborhoods instead of blogging on Latimes.com?

[Gabe]

Ms. Leovy --

The detective has a point, although I keep hearing that the chances of clearing a case drop dramatically if it isn't cleared within a few days. But the detective is right about how good investigators, and the homicide cops at this level are good, do not let these cases go. What yardstick ought we to use?

Certainly the LAPD has some way to measure performance based on a realistic calculation of the clearance rate that accounts for cases getting solved with the passage of time. Or, if not, there must be some clearance numbers that are used, because I'm assuming that's how the homicide supervisors are graded. What numbers or calculation method are they using then?

We should ask Detective LaBarbera because he raised the question and, I suspect, is in a position to know.

[Truthteller]

The LAPD's deployment of officers is a closely guarded secret but occasionally some facts find their way to the light of day.

"more than 140 law enforcement officers descended on Santee Alley in what officials described as their largest raid ever of the quirky downtown shopping district famous for selling cheap knockoffs."

These officers were not investigating murders or patrolling to lower street crime. They were protecting the profits of huge multi-national corporations such as Prada, Rolex, Fendi and Gucci.

Read the story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-santee1dec01,1,1792452.story

No wonder Ms Leovy and the Homicide Report will never lack subject matter.

The weak excuses that our politicians give for this exercise in tax money wastage is laughable " City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said Friday that his office believes some of the sales of counterfeit goods are going to fund street gang activities."

Rocky, maybe if you tried arresting and prosecuting street gang members you might have a miniscule chance of ever being elected again.

How many man-hours went into this raid and investigation? How many murders could have been solved or prevented had those same man-hours been utilized in a manner that would protect the common citizen in place of protecting corporate profit.

[smokeonit]

"The "dont snitch" and "dont trust or help the police" culture of the black and brown are giving their own people's murderers free reign.

Not very smart if you ask me."

i'm not black or brown, but i understand why people are to frightened to talk to police... the people commiting those murders live nearby and i would be too scared to talk if i knew that the murderer i saw lives nearby and has friends that are willing to kill in order to protect their "friend"...

if there would be enough money to take witnesses into protective custody there wouldn't be this fear... and a murder trial can drag on for years... it's a vicious cycle that needs to be broken... everyone deserves a neigborhood that lets you live in peace and lets your kids go to school without the fear of drugs and violence...

[smokeonit]

"If witnesses won't come forth and testify, all the resources in the world aren't going to be helpful. These people want to be protected from the bad guys in their midst, but can't be bothered to be enough of a citizen to stand up and help in the procedure. Frankly, I was amazed that the clearance rate in South Central was that high, given that time and time again, the brief descriptions on this page include the notation that all the witnesses had melted away by the time police arrived."

if those useless purchases are channeled into ant-gang related tech purchases like CCTV on the most common murder hotspots... that should take care of people being to scared come forward and testify....

[Sal LaBarbera]

Ms. Leovy,
Although nothing less a one hundred percent clearance rate is acceptable by any homicide investigator, your analysis based on 2007 cases solved during 2007 is misleading to the public, particularly the loved ones of homicide victim's. These cases and their subsequent clearances cannot be measured in such a time frame. Based on your math, if the city or county were to succumb to another twenty or so new murders during the last few days of the year, the clearance rate would take a dramatic tumble.
These cases ARE NOT NUMBERS, they are lives. By your account, should we only investigate new murders and shelve the previous year’s cases? Murder cases dating back many years are continually investigated. If you were to poll these homicide units on the number of solved cases this year, you would see that the majority of cases solved, occurred during previous years. The public deserves to know that homicide detectives, although assigned new murder investigations throughout the year, still maintain the integrity of all their assigned cases, and strive to solve each and every one regardless of any “numbers game”. If you want to alarm the public, let’s look at the average number of cases a homicide investigator is assigned each year, and the lack of basic equipment, in order to successfully arrest and prosecute those who commit these violent acts.

[reposado]

Your 100% correct Nancy Gee.

Police cant read minds.

The "dont snitch" and "dont trust or help the police" culture of the black and brown are giving their own people's murderers free reign.

Not very smart if you ask me.

[Nancy Gee]

hopefully numbers like this get more resources into solving murders than useless purchases of anti-terror stuff...

If witnesses won't come forth and testify, all the resources in the world aren't going to be helpful. These people want to be protected from the bad guys in their midst, but can't be bothered to be enough of a citizen to stand up and help in the procedure. Frankly, I was amazed that the clearance rate in South Central was that high, given that time and time again, the brief descriptions on this page include the notation that all the witnesses had melted away by the time police arrived.

[Not right]

You should look closer to LAPD Homicide Units. There are homicide units with much higher clearances rates and a few with close to or over 100% clearances.

[A]

I'm confused, only 13 teams were surveyed and Newton Division surpassed those teams by a lot, yet it only changed the overall stat by 5% That seems less than disproportionate, especially since Newton isn't that nice of an area, right..?

[smokeonit]

39%??? this low in MURDER cases... this is a disgrace...

hopefully numbers like this get more resources into solving murders than useless purchases of anti-terror stuff...