Most Violent and Property Crimes Reported to Police in the U.S. Go Unsolved

According to Pew Research (March 1, 2017) only about half of the violent crimes and a third of the property crimes that occur in the United States each year are reported to police. And most of the crimes that are reported don’t result in the arrest, charging and prosecution of a suspect, according to government statistics.

Even when violent and property crimes are reported to police, they’re often not solved – at least based on a measure known as the clearance rate. That’s the share of cases each year that are closed, or “cleared,” through the arrest, charging and referral of a suspect for prosecution. In 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, only 46% of the violent crimes and 19% of the property crimes reported to police in the U.S. were cleared, according to FBI data.

Police clearance rates also vary significantly by crime type. Only 13% of burglaries, 13% of motor vehicle thefts and 22% of larcenies and thefts were cleared in 2015. By comparison, police cleared 29% of robberies, 38% of rapes and 54% of aggravated assaults in 2015.

When it comes to deadly crimes, Chicago has drawn widespread attention recently for its historically low murder clearance rate in 2016. But murder is actually the crime that’s most likely to be solved, at least when looking at national statistics. In 2015, 62% of murders and non-negligent homicides in the U.S. were cleared. That rate hasn’t changed much since 1995, but it’s far lower than in 1965, when more than 90% of murders in the U.S. were solved.
--

So, why is it that most crimes in the United States go unsolved? The men and women that make up our police forces certainly want to solve crimes and catch bad guys. Police training in the United States may not be the best in the world, but it far from being the worst and certainly not what anyone would rate as poor quality. There are very knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced detectives and investigators on or available to every police force.

There are many reasons that police may be failing to solve crimes, but one reason may be that departments are not focused on proactive policing and crime solving activities. Police departments have become cesspools of politics and special interests, where employees are subjected to witch-hunt investigations, suspensions, and terminations for any mistake, and too often for just doing their jobs.

Recent news reports highlight the issues affecting many departments:

Behind The Scenes, Lacey, WA Police Department is a ‘Mess,’ Union Says

Baltimore Cops 'Stopped Noticing Crime' After Freddie Gray Incident

Portland Police Union President Says City 'A Cesspool' Amid Failed Policies

Seattle Cops Flee the Force in 'Mass Exodus' Because of Politics

Police are no longer focused on fighting crime, and they are not trusted by the people in the communities where they work. Under these conditions it is little wonder that actual crimes go unsolved.