How Effective is our Law Enforcement at Solving Crimes?

Today on KPCW (NPR) they reported a story called Why 1/3 of Murders Go Unresolved. Along with this story, they have a crime search tool that let’s you see how your local law enforcement is doing. We decided to search Park City and Summit County. Some of the interesting findings are that violent crime has increased 300% between 2011 and 2013 (the last year available). In Summit County, only 17% of burglaries are solved. There’s as much violent crime in Park City, as there is in all of Summit County.

This data comes from the FBI, which relies on local law enforcement to report information. So, there can be cases where some data is incomplete. Nonetheless it does paint a picture that you are far better off not becoming a victim. Especially with property crimes, it is highly unlikely you’ll get the outcome you hope for.

Note: “Clearance Rate” in the graphic below means the number of crimes solved or the primary suspect is unable to be tried (i.e. they’ve died).