An Evaluation of the Predictors of Case Clearance: The Story of Knoxville Police Department

• In Event: Translating Research to Policy: Lessons Learned from the Second Year of the IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy

Abstract

While research regarding the productivity and effectiveness of police investigations in solving crime was conducted in the 1970s and 80s, few contemporary studies have evaluated the process of police investigatory work. It is possible that improvements in investigatory technologies since the 1980s (e.g., computers, license plate recognition, CCTV, DNA profiling) have enhanced the effectiveness of police investigations. However, police agencies, such as Knoxville (TN) Police Department (KPD), report clearance rates that are stable or have declined over time. Additional research is needed to assess the practice of police investigatory work and the predictors of case clearance. This presentation reports the preliminary findings from an examination of the impact of solvability factors and investigatory efforts by KPD on case clearance rates. A description of the origins of the KPD solvability factors; mapping of the case flow process; examination of the rigor in which the factors are applied; description of changes in the use of solvability factors over time; and the possibility of developing better/more accurate solvability scoring instruments will be discussed.

Authors

• Hannah D. McManus, University of Cincinnati

• John E. Eck, University of Cincinnati