Unsolved homicides in Sweden

Sturup and colleagues

what is the global clearance rate for homicides

60%

which areas have higher rates of clearance for homicides?

• Asia and Europe

What are exceptional clearances?

• offender commits suicide before police intervention

what are whodunits?

highly complex and cannot be solved without large efforts and a portion of luck

• no apparent connection between offender and victim

• no physical evidence

what are the four factors associated with clearance status in homicide highlighted in this article?

• case-specific factors

• spatial and geographical factors

• victim factors

  • investigative factors

what are some examples of case-specific factors

• type of weapon used

• type of homicide

which types of homicide are associated with lower clearance rates?

drug- or gang-related homicides

for impulsive brawls what type of weapon is used?

• blunt or sharp objects

pre-planned homicides often use what kind of weapon?

firearms

What type of weapon is associated with lower clearance rates?

• if the victim was killed by a firearm

spatial factors

aspects of the crime scene

• distance from victim’s home

• was the body dumped?

which gender faces more issues when it comes to solving homicides?

• cases with male victims are less often solved

which age groups have higher clearance rates?

younger victims and older victims

what other victim characteristics may attribute to low clearance levels?

• non-caucasian

• previous convictions

• drug abusers or under the influence

• sometimes sexual orientation

what are some investigative factors that contribute to clearance outcomes

• number of detectives assigned

• did the detective arrive at the crime scene within 30 mins

• did the first officer notify the homicide unit and attempt to identify witnesses

• if the detective was present at the autopsy

• did they collect physical evidence

• was their access to sophisticated analytical tools

countries that have low rates of homicide have:

higher clearance rates

what was the difference in time to solve a case in Sweden compared to the US

• cases were solved in 42 days after the incident for Sweden

• in the US it was solved within 21 days

how does the time until homicide time is solved reflect the way police conduct their investigations?

• due to lower rates of homicide in Sweden then can spend more time on cases

• higher rates of homicide in the US means they drop cases faster but they may be able to solve them quicker

according to this study, which factor was associated with a lower likelihood of a homicide case being solved?

victim having a criminal record in the past 5 years

this study found that cases with female victims were less likely to be solved compared to cases with male victims

false

this study suggests that DNA evidence is a primary tool for solving homicides in Sweden

false, it was considered a tool of last resort

This study suggests that police interventions that aim to interfere with criminal environment can be a complimentary intervention with a positive spill-over effect on the appearance on hard to solve cases. Explain what that means.

changes in criminal environment lead to changes in clearance rates, usually an increase in homicide cases within criminal milieus leads to decrease in clearance rates. If they were to intervene criminal milieus, there would be a positive effect, or an increase in clearance rates.