California is Getting Worse at Solving Homicides

The recent arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo, the man believed to be the Golden State Killer, raises an important question: How many homicides go unsolved?

After four decades of trying to figure out who was behind at least 12 homicides and 50 rapes in the 1970s and ’80s, investigators felt that they were sure that DeAngelo was the suspect that they had been searching for the whole time.

According to the Murder Accountability Project, from the period of 1980-2012, California had the highest number of reported homicides in the nation at 113,762. During that time period, only 58.41 percent of the reported homicides were solved.

Unfortunately, California is getting worse at solving homicides. The clearance rate in the state has fallen from 91 percent in 1965 to about 59.4 percent in 2016.

With the release of more inmates due to criminal justice reforms in the state and the possibility of a computer algorithm deciding who gets let out pretrial, there could be the possibility of even more homicides going unsolved.

Senate Bill 10 will further reduce the accountability of criminals and put more pressure on law enforcement. Senate Bill 10 will put more repeat offenders on the street with no assurance that they will show up to their court date, which will force law enforcement to go look for them and stretch out their resources.

California needs to put public safety first and really think about the ramifications that Senate Bill 10 will have if it is passed.

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