What percent of U.S. murders go unsolved?

BRY2K

Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other “CSI”-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in this country are getting away with murder. FBI figures reviewed by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 — the first year records were kept in the manner they are now — to 61 percent in 2007. The number of criminal homicides committed in the U.S. climbed from 4,566 in 1963 to 14,811 in 2007, according to the FBI. The clearance rate has been dropping pretty steadily over the past four decades, slipping under 80 percent in the early 1970s and below 70 percent in the late 1980s. In cities with populations over 1 million, the 2007 clearance rate was 59 percent, down from 89 percent in 1963. http://newszine.jou.ufl.edu/us/603/more-murders-go-unsolved-in-us Jul 24 09, 8:50 PM

zbeckabee

Crime in the United States, 2008, will be published on the Web in the fall of 2009. U.S. National Clearance Overview for 2007: Nationwide in 2007, law enforcement cleared 44.5 percent of violent crimes and 16.5 percent of property crimes by arrest or exceptional means. Of the violent crimes of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, murder had the highest percentage—61.2 percent—of offenses cleared. Of the property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft was the offense most often cleared with 18.6 percent cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Eighteen percent of arson offenses were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Nationwide in 2007, 39.6 percent of arson offenses cleared by arrest or exceptional means involved juveniles (persons under age 18), the highest percentage of all offense clearances involving only juveniles. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/clearances/index.html Clearance data includes information about crimes “solved” either by arrest or exceptional means. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/about/index.html Jul 25 09, 9:27 AM