According to The New York Times, a 2019 study of homicides in Boston showed the most important factor in solving cases was adequate resources. That means more manpower, more time, and more money dedicated to the investigation. The Times reported that more people working on the case meant more witnesses being identified and convinced to speak up.
Philadelphia police officers interviewed by CBS agreed. Regarding clearances of murder cases, they attributed their low rates to the “volume” of cases. In 2021, 562 murders were committed in Philadelphia, or about 11 per week — too many for the amount of personnel they have. As Geberth pointed out, modern homicide investigations can also involve so many steps and so much bureaucracy to assure conviction, the need for greater manpower is even higher than in the past (via NPR). Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told CBS, “[I]t’s going to take more than the police to clear these cases.”
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These officers noted how time-consuming and expensive murder investigations can be, according to NPR. For example, according to NBC 12, in 2018, Richmond, Va. had one of the highest clearance rates among U.S. cities. NPR attributed Richmond’s high clearance rate to reorganization so that its police department’s detectives got fewer cases and the department was better funded. However, many cities just don’t have the money to take steps like these.
