Crime clearance rate

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In criminal justice, clearance rate is calculated by dividing the number of crimes that are "cleared" - a criminal charge being laid and the case either reaching a conviction or being otherwise resolved - by the total number of crimes recorded. Various groups use clearance rates as a measure of crimes solved by the police.

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Clearance rates can be problematic for measuring the performance of police services and for comparing various police services. This is because a police force may employ a different way of measuring clearance rates. For example, each police force may have a different method of recording when a "crime" has occurred and different criteria for determining when a crime has been "cleared." A given police force may appear to have a much better clearance rate because of its calculation methodology. [1]

In system conflict theory, it is argued that clearance rates cause the police to focus on appearing to solve crimes (generating high clearance rate scores) rather than actually solving crimes. Further focus on clearance rates may result in effort being expended to attribute crimes (correctly or incorrectly) to a criminal, which may not result in retribution, compensation, rehabilitation or deterrence.[ citation needed ]

Homicide clearance rate differs between countries, with around 98% in Finland and around 24% in Trinidad and Tobago, a direct comparison is limited due to differing definitions and criminal justice procedures. [2]

In the United States

The U.S. has a low clearance rate--cases solved or arrests made. Murder clearance rates of Australia, Britain and Germany are in the 70s and 90s percent range, compared to the U.S. in the 50s. 2023 Clearance rates for crimes - US.svg
The U.S. has a low clearance rate—cases solved or arrests made. Murder clearance rates of Australia, Britain and Germany are in the 70s and 90s percent range, compared to the U.S. in the 50s.

The clearance rate for reported crimes varies by type of crime. For 2023 in the USA the arrest rate was 47.5% for murder, 42.9% for aggravated assault, 35.4% for shoplifting, 24.9% for robbery, 24.3% for embezzlement, 22.2% for arson, 12.0% for rape, 11.9% for burglary and 6.6% for motor vehicle theft. [4]

Homicide clearance rate in the United States of America has been decreasing from 95% in 1962 to 54% in 2020. [5] Some U.S. police forces have been criticized for overuse of "exceptional clearance", which is intended to classify as "cleared" cases where probable cause to arrest a suspect exists, but police are unable to do so for reasons outside their control (such as death or incarceration in a foreign country). [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Greene, Jack R. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Police Science, Volume 1. Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. p. 907. ISBN   978-0415970006 . Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Liem, Marieke; Suonpää, Karoliina; Lehti, Martti; Kivivuori, Janne; Granath, Sven; Walser, Simone; Killias, Martin (30 March 2018). "Homicide clearance in Western Europe". European Journal of Criminology. 16 (1). SAGE Publications: 81–101. doi: 10.1177/1477370818764840 . hdl: 1887/64091 . ISSN   1477-3708. PMC   6328993 . PMID   30675132.
  3. ↑ Lopez, German (6 July 2025). "Nearly Half of America's Murderers Get Away With It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. "Source: Jeff Asher, F.B.I"
  4. ↑ Walinchus, Lucia; Smyser, Katy; Murphy, Joe (10 January 2025). "Less than 4% of sex crimes end in conviction, NBC News investigation shows". NBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Cook, Philip J.; Mancik, Ashley (26 January 2024). "The Sixty-Year Trajectory of Homicide Clearance Rates: Toward a Better Understanding of the Great Decline". Annual Review of Criminology. 7 (1). Annual Reviews: 59–83. doi: 10.1146/annurev-criminol-022422-122744 . ISSN   2572-4568.
  6. ↑ Mark Greenblatt; Mark Fahey; Bernice Yeung (November 16, 2018). "Case Cleared: The Consequences Of 'Exceptional Clearance'".
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