Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Effects on Homicide Arrest Outcomes

• In Event: Murder Investigations: Locations, Bodies, Scripts, and Arrests

Abstract

The research project seeks to assess factors that affect clearances of homicide incidents, whether an offender was arrested or not. The clearance rate by arrests has been in a national decline for decades, reaching a national all-time low of around 60%. It has been theorized that homicide clearance is impacted by factors of the victim and the offender’s discretionary status (i.e., sex, age, race) or the case’s non-discretionary facts. The discretionary perspective is rooted in Black’s theory of law (1976), which purports that the law is not applied across society with equity. Non-discretionary factors are the facts of the incident, such as means, motives, location, and victim-to-offender relationships. The research project will compare the discretionary (within police control) and non-discretionary (outside of police control) variables to assess their effects on arrest outcomes. The research project will accomplish this by analyzing homicide incidents known to law enforcement and reported to the FBI through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in 2022. Some of the impacts of declining clearance rates include decreased police credibility, undermined deterrence, and a demonstration that the government cannot insulate citizens from violence.

Author

• Andrew Carroll, Texas State University