The increase in gun violence is significantly impacting the ability of police to solve homicides, according to new research from the Criminal Justice & Research Planning Unit.
The 2018 to 2020 study, conducted by statistician Tameisha Howell, shows that the clearance rate has declined to the point where just under 40 per cent of homicides remain unsolved.
While lawmen had a 90 per cent and above clearance rate for murders committed with weapons of convenience such as knives or stones, only 45 per cent of those gun-related had been solved.
Howell, presenting her findings entitled An Examination Of Gun-Related Homicides In Barbados during a webinar yesterday hosted by the unit, said that the higher the number of gun-related killings, the lower would be the percentage of solved murder cases.
“Gun-related homicides are less likely to be solved compared to other weapons or methods used. A weapon can affect clearance rate, so as gun-related homicide increases, then its clearance rate as well as the overall homicide clearance rate will experience a decline,” said Howell. (CLM)
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