Nearly half of all US murders go unsolved, data shows

(NewsNation) — More people are getting away with murder in the United States, according to FBI data analyzed by The New York Times and other crime researchers.

The homicide clearance rate, a metric used by the FBI to assess how many murders are solved, was nearly 58% in 2023, according to the data.

That places the U.S. far behind other countries like Germany, where more than 90% of homicide cases are solved, according to Our World in Data.

The murder clearance rate hit an all-time low in 2020. In 2021, only 51% of homicides were solved, according to FBI statistics analyzed by the Murder Accountability Project. The country is seeing a continued decline in cleared cases compared to previous decades when the rate was closer to 70%.

Retired NYPD officer and John Jay College lecturer Jillian Snider has conducted her own research, estimating that 51% to 52% of killings go unsolved in the U.S., many involving young Black and Latino men.

"Which is mind-boggling," Snider said, "because 50 years ago, agencies were solving upwards of 90%."

Experts cite several reasons for the decline:

• More guns and gun-related violence make cases harder to crack
• Gang-related crimes often lack willing witnesses
• Understaffed departments leave detectives overloaded and under-resourced

"There's no way to think that a detective or investigator can take on 10-15 new serious violent crimes or homicides every month, that's way too much to be able to dedicate the time and the resources to a proper investigation," Snider said.

She also emphasized that distrust between law enforcement and the community they serve is another obstacle to solving crimes.

"There are times that people don't want to work with the police, they might've had a bad encounter or known someone who had a bad encounter, but the police can't effectively do their job, and they can't get justice for victims without community support," Snider said.

Law enforcement officials and researchers say potential solutions do exist, including increased resources, more detectives, inter-agency cooperation and the use of modern technology.