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Yet most murders go unsolved.

ssl-3 3y ago
Then most murderers are geniuses. Or most murder investigations are (by definition) incompetent. Or (more likely): The old idiom quoted above is stupid and useless. (That it presumes that murdering and getting away with it is somehow a noble or esteemed deed should be damning enough.)
- graphe 3y ago
  Wrong. There’s no money or benefits in solving crimes. It could be done easily in many cases but nobody cares about certain people like gang members. Lots of cases where the murderer tells everyone but nobody cares.
  - ssl-3 3y ago
    Wrong? Which part is wrong? Only 2/3 of these to choices can be wrong. The remaining one must be correct.
    - withinboredom 3y ago
      Technically, all 3 could be wrong and an unknown 4th option could be correct. That seems to be what they are proposing here. In both cases, the premise is unclear so good luck!
      - ssl-3 3y ago
        Eh, good call I guess. I didn't see that aspect. The 4th option they may appear to propose suggests that murder investigators don't get paid -- neither in money, nor in benefits. So, to that end: As far as I know, that's not usually the case with government employees, and it is always actionable when it does happen to be the case.
TheBlight 3y ago
Depends on locale. In Germany something like 90% of murder cases are solved/cleared. In the U.S., I suspect a majority of the murders technically unsolved by police are cases where the identity of the perpetrators is somewhat of an open secret within communities that don't trust law enforcement (and LE similarly has little interest in working with them either.)
- kybernetyk 3y ago
  >In Germany something like 90% of murder cases are solved You must watch out when reading the German crime statistics. "Solved" which is marked as "aufgeklärt" in those statistics just means that a suspect has been named. Not that someone actually did it/has been sentenced for the crime. >https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufkl%C3%A4rungsquote#Deutschland https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufkl%C3%A4rungsquote#Deutschl... 2nd sentence
  - TheBlight 3y ago
    Is it reasonable to assume a material number of cleared murders in Germany result in no charges and/or no conviction? (Genuinely curious.)
    - OJFord 3y ago
      Surely it's pretty common everywhere to have at some point a suspect ('solved!') who is then released, because you lack evidence, realise it's not them, whatever. A suspect isn't necessarily convicted even if you do ultimately convict someone.
      - trogdor 3y ago
        > A suspect isn't necessarily convicted even if you do ultimately convict someone. What does that mean?
        OJFord 3y ago
        Turns out it was someone else, and you convict that other person. You thought you had them, were wrong, but did then ultimately solve the case. It happens loads too, frequently in high profile stuff on the news they'll have a suspect who's somehow close to it, arrest them, but then they're released once satisfied with their allibi or whatever.

Then most murderers are geniuses. Or most murder investigations are (by definition) incompetent. Or (more likely): The old idiom quoted above is stupid and useless. (That it presumes that murdering and getting away with it is somehow a noble or esteemed deed should be damning enough.)

graphe 3y ago
Wrong. There’s no money or benefits in solving crimes. It could be done easily in many cases but nobody cares about certain people like gang members. Lots of cases where the murderer tells everyone but nobody cares.
- ssl-3 3y ago
  Wrong? Which part is wrong? Only 2/3 of these to choices can be wrong. The remaining one must be correct.
  - withinboredom 3y ago
    Technically, all 3 could be wrong and an unknown 4th option could be correct. That seems to be what they are proposing here. In both cases, the premise is unclear so good luck!
    - ssl-3 3y ago
      Eh, good call I guess. I didn't see that aspect. The 4th option they may appear to propose suggests that murder investigators don't get paid -- neither in money, nor in benefits. So, to that end: As far as I know, that's not usually the case with government employees, and it is always actionable when it does happen to be the case.

TheBlight 3y ago

Depends on locale. In Germany something like 90% of murder cases are solved/cleared. In the U.S., I suspect a majority of the murders technically unsolved by police are cases where the identity of the perpetrators is somewhat of an open secret within communities that don't trust law enforcement (and LE similarly has little interest in working with them either.)

kybernetyk 3y ago
>In Germany something like 90% of murder cases are solved You must watch out when reading the German crime statistics. "Solved" which is marked as "aufgeklärt" in those statistics just means that a suspect has been named. Not that someone actually did it/has been sentenced for the crime. >https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufkl%C3%A4rungsquote#Deutschland https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufkl%C3%A4rungsquote#Deutschl... 2nd sentence
- TheBlight 3y ago
  Is it reasonable to assume a material number of cleared murders in Germany result in no charges and/or no conviction? (Genuinely curious.)
  - OJFord 3y ago
    Surely it's pretty common everywhere to have at some point a suspect ('solved!') who is then released, because you lack evidence, realise it's not them, whatever. A suspect isn't necessarily convicted even if you do ultimately convict someone.
    - trogdor 3y ago
      > A suspect isn't necessarily convicted even if you do ultimately convict someone. What does that mean?
      - OJFord 3y ago
        Turns out it was someone else, and you convict that other person. You thought you had them, were wrong, but did then ultimately solve the case. It happens loads too, frequently in high profile stuff on the news they'll have a suspect who's somehow close to it, arrest them, but then they're released once satisfied with their allibi or whatever.