Summary
Homicides are challenging events for communities and they are often complex from an investigative standpoint. Although the crime may be clear-cut, the multifaceted issues surrounding it (public perception of safety and police effectiveness, witness cooperation, media and political pressures, etc.) can be daunting to a police agency and, in particular, the executive. Careers are often made or broken by a chief’s response to and management of homicides.
One of the standard benchmarks of police effectiveness is the homicide closure rate, which is a critically important figure that demands attention at the highest level of law enforcement leadership. However, focusing on the homicide closure rate alone can offer a limited perspective on public safety and police performance overall. In this report, executives are encouraged to consider additional activities and measures to supplement the closure rate in evaluating and improving performance in a homicide unit. Further, this shift should be made with community involvement to increase its understanding of how units and agencies function.
This report does not suggest that introducing additional measures of performance and safety will be accepted immediately nor that case closure rates are less deserving of attention; rather, the process of looking more holistically at homicide investigation outcomes must start now and develop in partnership with others—to improve perception, understanding, and overall effectiveness. This begins with the executive making improved homicide investigation outcomes (including closure rates) a priority and being willing to implement change. This report offers a starting point for executives and highlights 10 recommendations that will help executives support homicide investigations, investigators, and the communities they serve.
A critical step in this process is for an executive to connect his/her commanders, supervisors, and investigators with the tools and resources they need to be successful. While this report focuses on the administrative environment necessary to support successful homicide investigative outcomes, a companion guide—Homicide Process Mapping: Best Practices for Increasing Homicide Clearances, which was made possible with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and available through the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)—details effective investigative practices. Both components—administration and investigation—are essential for effectively impacting homicide investigation outcomes.