Nearly Half of U.S. Murders Going Unsolved

According to FBI data, almost half of all murders in America remain unsolved despite rising crime rates. This is according to separate analyses by the Marshall Project (non-profit organization) and the Murder Accountability Project (non-profit organization).

Homicide “clearance rates,” According to the FBI’s most recent statistics, the murder rate has dropped from 71% in 1980 down to approximately 50% in 2020. The FBI won’t release information on 2021 until later this year.

Law enforcement solved 1,200 homicides more in 2019 than in the previous year. However, homicides rose by 30% between 2019 and 2020. One in two homicide cases is considered solved.
In the same time frame, the national clearance rates for assault and rape was 47%, and that for robbery was 27%. The lowest clearance rates were for burglaries, thefts, arsons, which ranged from 14 to 21%.