Clearance Rate

In D.C., Chief Cathy L. Lanier is getting some heat for what the Washington Post reports is a "statistical mishmash" regarding the Metropolitan Police Department's sparkling homicide clearance rate of 94 percent of its 108 killings. As it turns out, many of the closed cases are from previous years: In Baltimore, this revelation is not new or surprising, but it's worth reminding the public how the process works. First, here's some snippets from the Post article: A 94 percent closure rate would mean that detectives solved 102 of them.

Baltimore County police reported 23 homicides in 2012 with all but three cases solved. The county's average homicide clearance rate was 89.8 percent from 2007 through 2011, above the national average of about 65 percent, according to a statement from the department. In 2012, 12 victims were killed in domestic-related incidents, while three were killed by acquaintances, three were killed in non-random, drug-related incidents, the statement said. In five cases, police had not found a clear relationship between the victim and the suspect.

Baltimore County police reported 23 homicides in 2012 with all but three cases solved. The county's average homicide clearance rate was 89.8 percent from 2007 through 2011, above the national average of about 65 percent, according to a statement from the department. In 2012, 12 victims were killed in domestic-related incidents, while three were killed by acquaintances, three were killed in non-random, drug-related incidents, the statement said. In five cases, police had not found a clear relationship between the victim and the suspect.

As the investigation into Violet R. Ripken's abduction stretched into an eighth day, police remained silent Wednesday about their leads - a strategy Harford County State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly said could ensure the potential suspect doesn't destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses. Investigators on the 40-person Aberdeen police force, Cassilly said, must find a balance in publicly releasing details that will help solve the case but will not provide any advantage to the man believed to have abducted the 74-year-old mother of Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. and widow of former manager Cal Ripken Sr. "I hope that we're successful; that's all I say," Cassilly said.

In the squad room of Baltimore's famous homicide unit, the murder board is back, telling a more upbeat story. For years, the wall-sized Formica board symbolized Baltimore's losing battle with violence, captivating viewers of the TV show "Homicide: Life on the Street." Yet frustrated police leaders viewed it as demoralizing, a reminder that killings in the city had spiraled out of control. They removed it two years ago. "It got to be a morale factor," Detective Maj. Robert M. Stanton, commander of the homicide unit, said yesterday.

In a sign that the Baltimore Police Department's change of strategy is working, preliminary statistics show that detectives are solving far more homicide cases this year, sharply reversing a downward trend in recent years. Statistics released this week show an 18 percent increase in the number of homicide cases solved this year, compared with the same period last year. Through arrests or the finding of justifiable motives such as self-defense, detectives have solved 82 percent of city homicides, including more than half of the 171 slayings that have occurred this year, police said.

Thanks to a dramatic drop in robberies, violent crime in Howard County decreased by 10.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, county police said yesterday. The statistics show that 36 robberies were reported between January and March, compared with 69 in the same period last year. No homicides were reported in the first quarter of this year; last year there was one in the first three months. "Hopefully, we can continue the trend," said Sgt. John Superson, a police spokesman. Police credit a new robbery unit and a special assignment section with helping to reduce the number of street crimes.

In some places, it's rare to hear "crime" and "good news" spoken in the same breath. Not, apparently, in Baltimore County. For 13 years, county officials have been able to point to steady, if not always huge, declines in most acts of crime. That's something to crow about, and the county executive, James T. Smith Jr., wasted no time Tuesday in doing just that, proclaiming "impressive drops" in most so-called serious crimes in the first six months of this year, compared with the corresponding period in 2008.

Baltimore County ended 2011 with 30 homicides — a spike from the 20 killings in 2010. Still, police say, the homicide tally is one of the lowest in recent years and not a cause for alarm. Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said 2010 was "an anomaly. " "That was a very low year. It's important to look at the circumstances behind each of these crimes. We're not seeing any increase in random crime. Almost all of these homicides involve people who knew each other," Armacost said.

Baltimore police abolished a much-criticized six-year policy of rotating officers through different assignments, saying yesterday that it crippled the department's effort to investigate homicides and bring killers to justice.Top department commanders said the "rotation" policy was directly responsible for a plummeting homicide arrest rate, which dropped from 70 percent five years ago to below 40 percent today, and an exodus of experienced detectives.The change is one of a series of moves announced yesterday, some of which are linked to Sunday's mass killings of five women in a rowhouse.

Angela Holland seems to know just about everyone in her North Baltimore neighborhood. She jokes with a guy hanging out of the window of an apartment high-rise. She consoles the deli counter man at the East 25th Street corner store, who's distraught about losing his mother two years ago. Without saying a word, she slips a few quarters to a man sitting on a stoop, who in turn hands her a cigarette. These folks know her. And some of the people in this neighborhood, she suspects, also know who killed her son, 22-year-old Jerry Isaac.

In D.C., Chief Cathy L. Lanier is getting some heat for what the Washington Post reports is a "statistical mishmash" regarding the Metropolitan Police Department's sparkling homicide clearance rate of 94 percent of its 108 killings. As it turns out, many of the closed cases are from previous years: In Baltimore, this revelation is not new or surprising, but it's worth reminding the public how the process works. First, here's some snippets from the Post article: A 94 percent closure rate would mean that detectives solved 102 of them.

Baltimore County ended 2011 with 30 homicides — a spike from the 20 killings in 2010. Still, police say, the homicide tally is one of the lowest in recent years and not a cause for alarm. Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said 2010 was "an anomaly. " "That was a very low year. It's important to look at the circumstances behind each of these crimes. We're not seeing any increase in random crime. Almost all of these homicides involve people who knew each other," Armacost said.

Baltimore police have made an arrest in the killing of a 50-year-old man whose body was set on fire in April, and court documents appear to indicate an effort by the Police Department to be more deliberate in building cases. Eugene Emmett Bates, 36, was indicted last week and charged in the death of Elmore Rembert, who police say was killed during an argument as the pair used drugs in a vacant home in the Booth-Boyd neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore. Bates is accused of setting the house on fire and stealing Rembert's truck.

Baltimore police have made an arrest in the killing of a 50-year-old man whose body was set on fire in April, and court documents appear to offer some insight into the tougher requirements new State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein has imposed on city homicide detectives.  Eugene Emmett Bates, 36, was indicted last week and charged in the death of Elmore Rembert, who police say was killed during an argument as the pair used drugs in a vacant home...

The number of reported crimes in 2009 in Anne Arundel County declined by 7 percent - or 4,551 incidents - from the previous year, county police said Thursday. More serious crimes, which include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, thefts including motor vehicle theft, and arson, decreased 8 percent, from 20,352 in 2008 to 18,714 in 2009. Lesser crimes, such as drug offenses, gambling, prostitution and weapons offenses, decreased from 43,410 in 2008 to 40,497 in 2009 for a 7 percent decrease.

Baltimore police abolished a much-criticized six-year policy of rotating officers through different assignments, saying yesterday that it crippled the department's effort to investigate homicides and bring killers to justice.Top department commanders said the "rotation" policy was directly responsible for a plummeting homicide arrest rate, which dropped from 70 percent five years ago to below 40 percent today, and an exodus of experienced detectives.The change is one of a series of moves announced yesterday, some of which are linked to Sunday's mass killings of five women in a rowhouse.

Angela Holland seems to know just about everyone in her North Baltimore neighborhood. She jokes with a guy hanging out of the window of an apartment high-rise. She consoles the deli counter man at the East 25th Street corner store, who's distraught about losing his mother two years ago. Without saying a word, she slips a few quarters to a man sitting on a stoop, who in turn hands her a cigarette. These folks know her. And some of the people in this neighborhood, she suspects, also know who killed her son, 22-year-old Jerry Isaac.

The number of reported crimes in 2009 in Anne Arundel County declined by 7 percent – or 4,551 incidents – from the previous year, county police said Thursday. Part I, or the more serious, crimes, which include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, thefts including motor vehicle theft, and arson, decreased 8 percent, from 20,352 in 2008 to 18,714 in 2009. Part II crimes, such as drug offenses, gambling, prostitution and weapons offenses, decreased from 43,410 in 2008 to 40,497 in 2009 for a 7 percent decrease.

In some places, it's rare to hear "crime" and "good news" spoken in the same breath. Not, apparently, in Baltimore County. For 13 years, county officials have been able to point to steady, if not always huge, declines in most acts of crime. That's something to crow about, and the county executive, James T. Smith Jr., wasted no time Tuesday in doing just that, proclaiming "impressive drops" in most so-called serious crimes in the first six months of this year, compared with the corresponding period in 2008.