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Killers are winning a close race with law enforcement as police struggle to solve the homicides of 101 people who were stabbed, shot, beaten to death or otherwise slain last year in Palm Beach County.
A Palm Beach Post analysis of countywide homicides in 2006 found that a suspect has so far eluded police in 51 percent of the cases. Arrests were made in 40 percent, and another 9 percent were cleared for other reasons, such as a suspect's death in a murder-suicide.
Nationally, an average of 62 percent of homicides are solved or cleared. Palm Beach County last year cleared 49 percent.
"I wouldn't be happy if I was a taxpayer in your area," said Charles Welford, a University of Maryland criminologist who has studied how police departments solve violent crimes. "If the national average is 62 percent, you're well below the national average."
Driven by gang violence, drug turf wars and myriad social shifts, homicides in Palm Beach County have grown from 75 in 2000 to 101 last year - a 35 percent increase that puts our homicide rate slightly above that of New York City and San Diego.
With a population of 1.2 million, Palm Beach County had eight homicides for every 100,000 residents in 2006. New York City had seven, while San Diego had about five per 100,000 residents.
more at the link http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/02/18/c1a_HOMICIDE_0218.html
A Palm Beach Post analysis of countywide homicides in 2006 found that a suspect has so far eluded police in 51 percent of the cases. Arrests were made in 40 percent, and another 9 percent were cleared for other reasons, such as a suspect's death in a murder-suicide.
Nationally, an average of 62 percent of homicides are solved or cleared. Palm Beach County last year cleared 49 percent.
"I wouldn't be happy if I was a taxpayer in your area," said Charles Welford, a University of Maryland criminologist who has studied how police departments solve violent crimes. "If the national average is 62 percent, you're well below the national average."
Driven by gang violence, drug turf wars and myriad social shifts, homicides in Palm Beach County have grown from 75 in 2000 to 101 last year - a 35 percent increase that puts our homicide rate slightly above that of New York City and San Diego.
With a population of 1.2 million, Palm Beach County had eight homicides for every 100,000 residents in 2006. New York City had seven, while San Diego had about five per 100,000 residents.
more at the link http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/02/18/c1a_HOMICIDE_0218.html
