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HOMICIDE BUREAU / CHAPTER 9 MISCELLANEOUS

9-8 LASD MURDER SOLVE RATES


9-6 PARTICIPATING WITH OUTSIDE PRODUCTION COMPANIES
CHAPTER 10 BODY WORN CAMERA UNIT

HOMICIDE BUREAU

DETECTIVE DIVISION

BUREAU ORDERS

 

Bureau Order Number:  9-8

Subject:  LASD MURDER SOLVE RATES

Effective Date:

12/10/2015

Last Date Revised:

12/10/2015

Last Date Reviewed:

03/11/2021

Next Review Date:

03/11/2022

Purpose of Order

The purpose of this order is to establish guidelines on how LASD establishes murder solve rates.

Scope of Order

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department murder solve rates are based on very strict FBI guidelines.

Cleared by Arrest

In the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, a law enforcement agency reports that an offense is cleared by arrest, or solved for crime reporting purposes, when three specific conditions have been met.  The three conditions are that at least one person has been:

  • Arrested.
  • Charged with the commission of the offense.
  • Turned over to the court for prosecution (whether following arrest, court summons or police notice).

In its clearance calculations, the UCR Program counts the number of offenses that are cleared, not the number of persons arrested.  The arrest of one person may clear several crimes, and the arrest of many persons may clear only one offense.  In addition, some clearances that an agency records in a particular calendar year, such as 2010, may pertain to offenses that occurred in previous years.

Cleared by Exceptional Means

In certain situations, elements beyond law enforcement’s control prevent the agency from arresting and formally charging the offender.  When this occurs, the agency can clear the offense exceptionally.  Law enforcement agencies must meet the following four conditions in order to clear an offense by exceptional means.  The agency must have:

  • Identified the offender.
  • Gathered enough evidence to support an arrest, make a charge and turn over the offender to the court for prosecution.
  • Identified the offender’s exact location so that the suspect could be taken into custody immediately.
  • Encountered a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that prohibits the agency from arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender.      

Examples include, but are not limited to: death of the offender (e.g., suicide or justifiably killed by police or citizen); the victim’s refusal to cooperate with the prosecution after the offender has been identified; or the denial of extradition because the offender committed a crime in another jurisdiction and is being prosecuted for that offense.