Increase State Support to Shooting Investigations to Improve Clearance Rates and Reduce Cycles of Retaliatory Violence

  • Nationwide, only 46% of gun homicides result in an arrest. Even fewer arrests are made in non-fatal shootings cases. This means many serious violent crimes are committed with no legal repercussions.
  • When police and prosecutors don’t solve gun crimes, survivors and their families may worry that law enforcement can’t keep them safe – and may resort to taking their own measures to protect themselves and those around them.
  • Through additional staffing, enhanced training, and other management practices, police departments in the US have been able to increase their clearance rate by 10-27%.*
  • Current Minnesota systems require the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to process evidence in gun crimes, however current resource shortages lead to months-long backlogs that imperil investigations.
  • Increased funding for agencies like the BCA and MN Department of Public Safety for local grants to hire more investigators and data analysts could help increase Minnesota’s investigation clearance rates and help deliver the protection and justice that communities deserve.

 

Sources

*Braga, A. A., & Dusseault, D. (2016). Can Homicide Detectives Improve Homicide Clearance Rates? Crime & Delinquency, 64(3), 283–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716679164

Schmelzer, E. (2020, November 13). Denver police solved less than half of all nonfatal shootings last year. A new solution is showing promise. The Denver Post; The Denver Post. https://www.denverpost.com/2020/11/13/nonfatal-shootings-denver/

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