New York, NY – New Report Indicates Trend Between Unsolved Homicides And Detective Staffing In Five Boroughs

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    New York, NY – 2013 saw the lowest reported number of homicides in the city since the inception of official record-keeping in the early 60s, but despite the record low, an investigation by the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS (http://nydn.us/1cBjs8N) reveals that some 1,500 homicides committed over the past decade remain unsolved, and that reductions in numbers of homicide detectives assigned to each borough appears to correspond to the number of its unsolved murders.

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    Arguably, some suggest that, since homicide numbers overall are down, detectives from boroughs with fewer unsolved homicides might be best utilized in others, where numbers are disproportionately higher—but graphs provided by the DAILY NEWS show otherwise, with certain boroughs—Manhattan, to be more precise—still maintaining a markedly lopsided cops-per-case ratio.

    Some highlights from the study—which uses data taken from 2013—include:

    ● Brooklyn, far and away, leads the city with 77 unsolved murders, the Bronx has 39, Queens 26, Manhattan 15, and Staten Island 2.

    ● The 67th Precinct in East Flatbush leads all city precincts in having the most unsolved murder cases, 10 out of 12; the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights is second with 9 of 13 unsolved; and the 75th Precinct (East New York) has 8 of 17 still open.

    ● Manhattan South’s homicide squad checks in with a staff of 10 detectives available to work on the 10 murders that occurred in its jurisdiction in 2013, or, one case per detective. Accordingly, Brooklyn North’s homicide squad is manned with 17 detectives to handle its 86 homicides in 2013, or, five cases per detective.

    ● When precinct-level detectives—who work on a wide variety of crime cases—are factored in, Manhattan South’s numbers shoot to 15.6 detectives for each homicide, as opposed to Brooklyn North’s numbers, which sit at a paltry 2.4 detectives per murder.

    ● Approximately 86% of white victim homicides have been solved, but then drops to 56% for Latino victims, and 45% for black victims.

    If the numbers seem skewed, it should really come as no surprise reports 44 year-old Joseph Giacalone, ex-Bronx cold-case commander and now an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

    “Manhattan is treated differently than the outer boroughs because that’s where the money is,” said Giacalone.

    For various reasons—media attention being a major one—a Manhattan murder will “get probably double the amount of cops that you see in Brooklyn,” Giacalone said. “It’s just part of the deal.”


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    3 Comments
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    YITZCHOKLEVI
    Active Member
    YITZCHOKLEVI
    10 years ago

    Duh! What a no-brainer. Less Detectives equals more unsolved cases. Is tis considered a “Chidush”?

    10 years ago

    Throughout the USA, about 60-65% of homicides result in an arrest. That means that 35-40% of the cases are never solved. Therefore, NYC is not unique.