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In 80-90% of real-life murders, there's no mystery who did it. It's all just basic evidence collection then move on. TV shows are of course centered around cas

In 80-90% of real-life murders, there's no mystery who did it. It's all just basic evidence collection then move on. TV shows are of course centered around cases where the ID of the murderer is harder to prove. That's just basic storytelling.

loteck 10y ago
The average murder clearance rate in the USA was about 64% in 2015 [1] so I'm highly skeptical of your claim that 80-90% of murders are not a mystery. [1] http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395069137/open-cases-why-one-third-of-murders-in-america-go-unresolved http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395069137/open-cases-why-one-t...
- travmatt 10y ago
  So 80% of known killers are apprehended, 20% aren't? That sounds totally believable - in reality, many communities most affected by homicides are places where police can't guarantee your safety, so speaking to the police could get you targeted as well. Or the people who know the killlers identity are more inclined to just do the killing themselves, rather than wait for police. Moreover, it's tough for a interpersonal conflict to rise to the level of homicide without someone else noticing.
- Gargoyle 10y ago
  Knowing who the murderer was and having enough evidence to arrest the murderer are two different things.
  - loteck 10y ago
    The article cited addresses this point and it is built into the clearance rate as calculated.
    - Gargoyle 10y ago
      Well then adjust it to having enough evidence to mark it as cleared. If you can't accept that police will often know who committed a murder without having sufficient evidence, you're denying the messiness of the real world.
- ensignavenger 10y ago
  I agree that the above 'statistic' was [probably made up, but there are still plenty of murders that could be solved with 2-3 days or less of 'foot-on-the ground' investigation work (Obviously going to take longer on a time-line considering lab tests, autopsies, and all of that stuff taking longer in many instances to get results back before you can close the investigation).

loteck 10y ago

The average murder clearance rate in the USA was about 64% in 2015 [1] so I'm highly skeptical of your claim that 80-90% of murders are not a mystery. [1] http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395069137/open-cases-why-one-third-of-murders-in-america-go-unresolved http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395069137/open-cases-why-one-t...

travmatt 10y ago
So 80% of known killers are apprehended, 20% aren't? That sounds totally believable - in reality, many communities most affected by homicides are places where police can't guarantee your safety, so speaking to the police could get you targeted as well. Or the people who know the killlers identity are more inclined to just do the killing themselves, rather than wait for police. Moreover, it's tough for a interpersonal conflict to rise to the level of homicide without someone else noticing.
Gargoyle 10y ago
Knowing who the murderer was and having enough evidence to arrest the murderer are two different things.
- loteck 10y ago
  The article cited addresses this point and it is built into the clearance rate as calculated.
  - Gargoyle 10y ago
    Well then adjust it to having enough evidence to mark it as cleared. If you can't accept that police will often know who committed a murder without having sufficient evidence, you're denying the messiness of the real world.
ensignavenger 10y ago
I agree that the above 'statistic' was [probably made up, but there are still plenty of murders that could be solved with 2-3 days or less of 'foot-on-the ground' investigation work (Obviously going to take longer on a time-line considering lab tests, autopsies, and all of that stuff taking longer in many instances to get results back before you can close the investigation).