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HOMICIDE 101
June 25, 2005 edition; by Elton Lewis, former Police Commissioner

Solvability and How to Increase Clearance Rates and
Should you come forward if you have information you think
the police should know?

Allow me to get right to the point. We have 18 unsolved homicides. Every one of them is as important as the other. Everyone one of them possesses common threads of loved ones, family, children, anger, sadness, blame, and loss. The families are angry with the police for not solving these, apprehending the perpetrators.

Sometimes one homicide receives more attention than others. The Veteran’s Drive incident received considerable national attention necessitating the Virgin Islands Police Department to appear to focus on just that one. Again, every homicide is important and receives the attention necessary.

What the VIPD is Asking

If you have witnessed a crime you may have doubts about whether to report what you have seen. You may well be feeling upset or confused and have doubts about who you should speak to. All understandable.

Witnesses and coming forward with any information plays a vital part in the Territory by helping solve crime and stop injustice taking place. It is not unusual for people to feel anxious about giving evidence or coming forward. Perhaps you are not sure if what you say, or how you say it, will help make sure that justice is done or will you be safe from retaliation. Allow us to help you with responses that will reduce your anxiety and assure ananimity and safety.

There is no legal obligation to contact the police, but the information you give them could make the difference in bringing a criminal to justice. This could prevent further crimes and protect others from becoming victims. All crimes, even less serious crimes with no obvious victims, have a negative effect on our neighborhoods, so by reporting what you know helps our community. The more the criminal segment understands that the community is tired of these violent crimes and that they’re going to do something about it the faster this segment will find it more and more difficult to operate. We won’t stop all crime. I just want to make a very big dent.

Please bear in mind, the criminal justice system can only work effectively with the help of the public.

Silent Witnesses are Eroding Justice

The reluctance of the public to report crime seriously underminds our justice system. A poll, I reviewed, revealed that 12 per cent of adults would not report a murder, 59 percent would not report screaming from their neighbors and 70 per cent would not report a street fight. 4.5 times more crimes are committed than are reported to the police; and only 14% of those who do witness an assault report it.

The willingness of witnesses to give evidence is vital in the detection and successful prosecution of offenders – and in securing justice for the innocent. I believe witnesses are deterred by fear of retribution, anxiety about their treatment in the justice system, lack of confidence in the outcome, differing views on the seriousness of offences, and maybe even the inconvenience.

Sarah Spencer, co-author of Reluctant Witness, said: ‘The failure of witnesses to come forward is evidence of an alarming disengagement from the criminal justice system that government must address if we are to tackle crime effectively and deliver justice. Witnesses’ contribution is vital, yet clearly can no longer be taken for granted. They need a seamless service of information, advice, reassurance, consideration for the inconvenience they experience - and thanks’.

Definition of a Solved Homicide

For the purposes of this article, a homicide is recorded as “solved” when an offender has been arrested and charged, or the homicide was a murder–suicide. This definition does not take into account the outcome of the judicial process, or whether the alleged offender is consequently acquitted or convicted.

In addition to having trained people we have access to every law-enforcement entity available. For example, I’m in daily contact with the New York Police Department’s Major Crime Squad. Not at the precinct level, but at the level of the Chief and the Commissioner. Our Major Crime and Investigation Units are hitting the streets 24/7 trying to solve crimes and the homicides. It isn’t all about technology, or the right equipment, or the number of people on the case. Solvability is fifty percent witnesses coming forward, forty percent police investigation and the rest pure luck. We need two things right now…help from the community and some of that luck.

The NYPD, LAPD or Dade County all rely on one crucial source for solving homicides or any crime for that matter. The people. Today, I believe there are at least 10 people out there who know something important to help solve the current Veterans Drive crime. That goes for every homicide that is still open and being investigated. Where did I come with that number? Mostly experience and intuition. I haven’t personally done any sophisticated study but the research is certainly available. One statistic I do know is that justice comes to only about twenty-five percent of the homicides. Out of that twenty-percent over half are solved with members of the community coming forward.

My job is to have the answers to this. I don’t. Just like I receive assistance from the best of the best members of the FBI, other Federal and state agencies and the NYPD, I need assistance from you with the same commitment and spirit. Think about this for the next week, send in your suggestions and, I’ll review and publish them. Your responses will remain anonymous.

Maybe one way to motivate potential witnesses is to offer a financial reward. Money is surely a motivating factor here and anywhere. My advisors all agree that the way to facilitate solutions is through financial rewards. I wonder if you agree. I want to know from the public if you believe that a financial reward would significantly make a difference? However, if you do agree that a financial reward would facilitate solvability then I also need to know where we get the funding. We have 18 unsolved homicides.

A closer look at the criminal justice system reveals that many factors contribute to the dismal picture of not being able to solve homicides faster: An over-worked homicide unit, an under-staffed crime team and the topic of today’s article, the absolute reluctance of witnesses to come forward in homicides.

The NYPD, LAPD, Dade County, D.C Metro and about 90% of the law-enforcement agencies in the U.S all agree that the reluctance of witnesses to come forward is a major obstacle. All I can tell you is that homicide solving goes beyond investigators following a step-by-step procedure that, at the end of a set period of time, yields a suspect. There are police departments that have a high rate of arrests in homicide cases. San Jose for example. They’re experiencing a very high arrest rate. What’s working? A significant community supported reward system, a state-of-the-art TIPS line and people in the community having the courage and values to come forward.

Solvability Factors of Homicides

In brief, it is found that unsolved homicides were more likely than solved homicides to occur in the course of another crime and at a location other than a residential premise. The victims of unsolved homicides were more likely to be killed with a firearm, and were likely to be aged 30 years or older.

Advances in technology such as DNA typing and innovations such as Cold Case Squads are helping reduce the number of homicides which remain unsolved. The VIPD has a year or two to go before we are at that level of law-enforcement. However, there is little valid research about what makes a particular homicide more or less likely to be solved, and most of what is believed has not been verified in any way.

Review of the Literature

There is considerable concern, primarily in the public arena, about serious violent crimes such as homicide, but little attention is paid to the ability of police to solve these crimes. Evidence from the National Homicide Monitoring Program suggests that the percentage of homicides in the United States homicide clearance rate has decreased substantially.

Investigators are generally of the opinion that the increase in homicides in the United States, crimes which are generally considered more difficult to solve, is at least partly responsible for the decreasing clearance rate. Many of the VIPD homicides come under this category. There is no empirical research on solvability factors relevant to homicide investigations. While homicide itself has been the subject of much research, the process of investigating homicide has not.

Factors Associated with the Homicide Incident

One of the most significant factors found to differentiate solved and unsolved homicides was whether the incident occurred during the commission of another offence, such as a robbery or a break and enter. A comparative analysis indicates that unsolved homicides are significantly more likely than solved homicides to occur during the course of another crime. Although the majority of homicides, regardless of their clear-up status, are more likely to occur between 6pm and 6am, unsolved homicides are significantly less likely than solved homicides to occur during these hours. The majority of unsolved homicides occur in a location other than a residential premise. The majority of solved homicides occur in a residential premise.

Factors Associated with the Victim

A comparative analysis revealed a number of victim characteristics that differentiated solved and unsolved homicides. Gender of the victim is not a significant factor. The distribution of male and female victims do not differ based on whether the homicide was solved or unsolved. Males outnumbered females as victims of homicide, following similar patterns of homicide in general . Age, however, is a significant factor found to differentiate solved and unsolved homicides.

Homicides are significantly more likely to be solved when they involved an Indigenous victim. Findings suggest that victims of unsolved homicides are significantly less likely than victims of solved homicides to have consumed alcohol prior to the incident.

Internal Organizational Factors

The most noteworthy factor I know is having sufficient resources. For example: Ample time to devote to the investigation; sufficient numbers of experienced detectives to assign to all of the cases; overtime; support staff; analysts; cooperation; and effective communication.

Crime Scene Factors

One of the most important crime scene factors was the necessity of an experienced detective to rapidly secure the primary scene, and any other scenes. This facilitates the preservation and collection of evidence, and examination.

With regard to the collection of evidence, one of my detectives stated that “it is better to have it [the evidence] and not need it, than need it and not have it”. Another factor is the construction of a time line for both the victim and the offender and a comparison of where overlaps occur.

Witness Factors

The most important witness factor is the actual presence of witnesses. Obvious, right? Not only at the crime scene but witnesses throughout the sequence of events. As one detective points out “the absence of witnesses severely impedes the investigation”.

Concluding Comments

There is no magic formula for solving all homicides. I do know that one crucial part of the equation is people coming forward. A seemingly impossible homicide can be quickly solved on the information of one anonymous call, something that is generally impossible for police, criminologists or policy-makers to influence. Other difficult cases can be solved by “tried and proven methods”, careful examination of all the evidence, and a great deal of patience and tenacity.

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