Post by abbey1227 on Jun 30, 2022 14:28:06 GMT
CBS News
A "coin flip": Nearly half of U.S. murders go unsolved as cases rise
Andrew Bast, Durrell Dawson Wed, June 29, 2022 at 5:45 AM·3 min read
Police called Denita Williams in April and gave her the address of a gas station in their town of Jackson, Mississippi and asked how long it would take for her to get there.
"When I pulled up, all I see is this crime tape," Williams told CBS News.
Her son, Kenland Thompson, Jr., was shot and killed while putting air in his tires. He was 20 years old.
"The coroner had already taken his body," she said. "He was already gone."
Three months later, no one has been arrested for the murder of Kenland Thompson, Jr.
"I gave them names," Williams said, describing how she told police she would help them investigate the case herself. "I felt like I was going crazy, giving them so much. They're not doing their job."
Across a nation that is already in the grips of a rise in violent crime, murders are going unsolved at a historic pace, a CBS News investigation has found. A review of FBI statistics shows that the murder clearance rate — the share of cases each year that are solved, meaning police make an arrest or close the case due to other reasons — has fallen to its lowest point in more than half a century.
"It's a 50-50 coin flip," says Thomas Hargrove, who runs the Murder Accountability Project, which tracks unsolved murders nationwide. "It's never been this bad. During the last seven months of 2020, most murders went unsolved. That's never happened before in America."
A "coin flip": Nearly half of U.S. murders go unsolved as cases rise
Andrew Bast, Durrell Dawson Wed, June 29, 2022 at 5:45 AM·3 min read
Police called Denita Williams in April and gave her the address of a gas station in their town of Jackson, Mississippi and asked how long it would take for her to get there.
"When I pulled up, all I see is this crime tape," Williams told CBS News.
Her son, Kenland Thompson, Jr., was shot and killed while putting air in his tires. He was 20 years old.
"The coroner had already taken his body," she said. "He was already gone."
Three months later, no one has been arrested for the murder of Kenland Thompson, Jr.
"I gave them names," Williams said, describing how she told police she would help them investigate the case herself. "I felt like I was going crazy, giving them so much. They're not doing their job."
Across a nation that is already in the grips of a rise in violent crime, murders are going unsolved at a historic pace, a CBS News investigation has found. A review of FBI statistics shows that the murder clearance rate — the share of cases each year that are solved, meaning police make an arrest or close the case due to other reasons — has fallen to its lowest point in more than half a century.
"It's a 50-50 coin flip," says Thomas Hargrove, who runs the Murder Accountability Project, which tracks unsolved murders nationwide. "It's never been this bad. During the last seven months of 2020, most murders went unsolved. That's never happened before in America."
Police are far less likely to solve a murder when the victim is Black or Hispanic, according to CBS News' analysis. In 2020, the murders of White victims were about 30% more likely to be solved than in cases with Hispanic victims, and about 50% more than when the victims were Black, the data show.
The Hill
Chicago's 797 homicides in 2021 highest in 25 years, most of any US city
January 1, 2022
Last year ended as one of the most violent on record for Chicago with more fatal shootings than any year in the last quarter century.
The Chicago Police Department reported 797 homicides in the city in 2021, the most in Chicago since 1996 and more than any other city in the country. The 2021 figure was also 25 more incidents than in 2020 and 299 more than in 2019, according to The Associated Press.
"We all know this has been a challenging year here in the city of Chicago," Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference this week, per the AP. "Too many families are reeling from the loss of (loved) ones due to senseless gun violence."
Brown added that most of the homicides stemmed from conflicts between rival gangs.
The city's police department reported 3,561 shootings in 2021, the wire service added.
Both New York and Los Angeles, which have larger populations than Chicago, records at least 300 less homicides in 2021 than the Windy City, according to the AP.
In an effort to address violence, Brown said Chicago intends to employ more officers in the new year.
"There will be more officers on the street, not just in patrol cars or behind desks, to interact with all Chicagoans," he said, according to the AP.
Homicides in 2021 were of notable concern elsewhere in the U.S. as well.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) last month requested the help of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to curb violent crime in the city. In her letter to Newsom, the mayor noted 131 homicides had occurred in Oakland since the start of 2021.
Washington D.C. recorded its 200th homicide of the year in November, marking the highest threshold reached since 2003.
Chicago's 797 homicides in 2021 highest in 25 years, most of any US city
January 1, 2022
Last year ended as one of the most violent on record for Chicago with more fatal shootings than any year in the last quarter century.
The Chicago Police Department reported 797 homicides in the city in 2021, the most in Chicago since 1996 and more than any other city in the country. The 2021 figure was also 25 more incidents than in 2020 and 299 more than in 2019, according to The Associated Press.
"We all know this has been a challenging year here in the city of Chicago," Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference this week, per the AP. "Too many families are reeling from the loss of (loved) ones due to senseless gun violence."
Brown added that most of the homicides stemmed from conflicts between rival gangs.
The city's police department reported 3,561 shootings in 2021, the wire service added.
Both New York and Los Angeles, which have larger populations than Chicago, records at least 300 less homicides in 2021 than the Windy City, according to the AP.
In an effort to address violence, Brown said Chicago intends to employ more officers in the new year.
"There will be more officers on the street, not just in patrol cars or behind desks, to interact with all Chicagoans," he said, according to the AP.
Homicides in 2021 were of notable concern elsewhere in the U.S. as well.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) last month requested the help of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to curb violent crime in the city. In her letter to Newsom, the mayor noted 131 homicides had occurred in Oakland since the start of 2021.
Washington D.C. recorded its 200th homicide of the year in November, marking the highest threshold reached since 2003.
Comments
Commenting on this article has ended
Sort by
2 January, 2022
Crime wave in Democrat controlled cites.... Voters are getting want they voted for.
Commenting on this article has ended
Sort by
2 January, 2022
Crime wave in Democrat controlled cites.... Voters are getting want they voted for.
![[cheers]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/engyBVslEdpmpmdnBwZQ.gif)
