Justin Fenton on solving homicides in the Sun:
A couple of decades ago — the last time the city saw so much killing — Baltimore’s homicide unit closed more than 70 percent of its cases. Veterans talk of returning to the office from a crime scene to find a fistful of tips waiting for them. [Former Commissioner Thomas Frazier broke up that homicide squad to increase diversity in its ranks. He accomplished his goal; the homicide clearance rate plummeted.]
But the widening gulf between police and the community since then has made witness cooperation a rarity.
Forensic science has advanced, and surveillance cameras have grown common in the city. But detectives say witnesses remain the most important element in successfully bringing charges against a suspect.
The challenges are not exclusive to Baltimore, but are being felt here more acutely. Among similar-sized cities in 2014, the average for cases closed — through arrest or other means, such as the death of the suspect — was 56 percent.
In Baltimore, it was 45 percent. This year, it has fallen to 31 percent.
…
Detectives say they have suspects in as many as three-quarters of cases, but in many instances they lack the evidence to move forward or can’t convince prosecutors, who in recent years have wielded more authority over detectives’ ability to charge.
You want cause and effect between politicians’ rhetoric, a narrative that says police can’t be trusted, and less trust in police? There you go. And prosecutors are spending their precious resources putting six cops on trial. It’s all just the perfect shit storm. And as a result people are literally getting away with murder. There is no justice and indeed, no peace.
The police are innocent in this loss of trust in the police?
Seriously?
Unlike many of my friends, I thought that having what are essentially anti-police protests in a city like Baltimore was playing with fire. Then the riots happened. Then in the post-riot days where the city really seemed to come together and there was a sense of optimism. I thought maybe we needed this violent cathartic episode to really change things for the better.
And then the homicide rate doubled. And stayed that way since. Just an unprecedented rate of killing.
At this point it is what it is. I'm not really interested in why we're here and who's fault it is, except where it helps us figure out where we need to go.
Yeah, there almost seems to be something positive when people actually talk about and care about real issues. But no, it wasn't good.
But I also firmly believe riots are bad. Sounds obvious to say so, except for all the riot apologists out there. Riots have never has brought about positive change, at least not in the city where the riot happens. (Arguably riots did help bring about Civil Rights reform in 1968, which is good.)