tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post3656049210088215826..comments2024-02-24T05:11:30.646-06:00Comments on The Director's Desk: Case clearedTom Casadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03188041481309059441noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-6708091115226221552007-10-05T21:12:00.000-05:002007-10-05T21:12:00.000-05:00I came across this site Googling for a definition ...I came across this site Googling for a definition of "cleared exceptional," which I saw on a police blotter. Your definition is handy, although I'm a little unclear on, in a practical situation, when it would be used.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-17009458662573597542007-08-23T05:47:00.000-05:002007-08-23T05:47:00.000-05:00It's just my theory, but it has been borne out by ...It's just my theory, but it has been borne out by looking at a few other agencies' data. The FBI does not break down clearance by exception and clearance by arrest, but I found a few individual agencies on the web that do so in their own published reports. We're very low on exceptional clearance in comparison.<BR/><BR/>The reason it's plausible to me that it's overused more in rape than in other crimes is this: it's not uncommon for a rape victim to decide, at some point, that she doesn't want to go on with the investigative process. My theory is that in many departments, these cases routinely are "cleared by exception," because the victim won't participate,when in fact they don't actually meet the criteria because there is not yet enough evidence to support an arrest and charge. I think this is more likely in rape than in any other crime. <BR/><BR/>Why would the exceptional clearance rate for rape the State of <A HREF="http://www.justice.utah.gov/Research/Crime/2004CrimeInUtah.pdf" REL="nofollow">Utah</A> (page 56) be almost double the rate for other violent crimes, more than seven times the rate for crime overall, and triple that of the City of Lincoln?<BR/><BR/>Any grad students out there looking for a thesis or dissertation topic?Tom Casadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03188041481309059441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-17994863149358023352007-08-22T21:53:00.000-05:002007-08-22T21:53:00.000-05:00If there is an over reliance on the Exceptional Me...If there is an over reliance on the Exceptional Means clause - wouldn't it be consistent across all crimes and not just rape?<BR/><BR/>Unless you are suggesting that the stigma for rape is such that it pressures agencies to use that escape route - when they might not use it to boost their burglary numbers?M Roseliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05447989193524477962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-16944951017580370652007-08-22T15:33:00.000-05:002007-08-22T15:33:00.000-05:0012:44, I think you are right. Comparing our data ...12:44, I think you are right. Comparing our data on rape to other violent crimes across jurisdictions would confirm your observation.<BR/><BR/>There is a second reason, IMHO. I think many departments overuse "cleared by exceptional means", which is defined, straight out of the <A HREF="http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/handbook/ucrhandbook04.pdf" REL="nofollow">UCR Handbook </A>as follows:<BR/><BR/><I><B>Cleared by Exceptional Means</B>—A clearance in which some element beyond law enforcement control prevents filing of formal charges against the offender. Agencies can clear an offense exceptionally if they can answer all of the following in the affirmative. (1) Has the investigation definitely established the identity of the offender? (2) Is there enough information to support an arrest, charge, and turning over to the court for prosecution? (3) Is the exact location of the offender known so that the subject could be taken into custody now? (4) Is there some reason outside law enforcement control that precludes arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender (for example, suicide, deathbed confession, double murder, etc.)?</I><BR/><BR/>We scrupulously follow these guidelines, and have cleared only about 5% of our rapes by exception since 2000. I think this is far below most cities, where exceptional clearances are more liberally applied. I am not implying that they cook the books, but there is a lot of fast-and-loose UCR coding that fails to follow the precise FBI guidelines. We submitted to a voluntary FBI audit at our own initiative to make sure we are doing it right.<BR/><BR/>Check out <A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/sec/2005-07-04-uk-rape-case_x.htm" REL="nofollow">this example</A> from the news, or pages 129 and 130 from <A HREF="http://www.atlantapd.org/Chief%20of%20Police/Files/Fragile%20Momentum.pdf" REL="nofollow">this report</A>.Tom Casadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03188041481309059441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-51479570604842111552007-08-22T12:44:00.000-05:002007-08-22T12:44:00.000-05:00Thank you for the stats (that was my inquiry last ...Thank you for the stats (that was my inquiry last night). My boring layman's hunch on the lower rape case clearance is that a higher percentage of the rapes that occur in Lincoln are actually reported, whereas in the other cities a rape is less likely to be reported. If it's not reported, it's not on the books. This could give the impression that rape is more common in Lincoln than in, say, Chicago, which goes against all common sense. Maybe a pro could parse my gibberish and make sense out of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225570644228196036.post-89874137934181721672007-08-22T07:50:00.000-05:002007-08-22T07:50:00.000-05:00Not my belief but is it because we are a college t...Not my belief but is it because we are a college town and more reported sexual assaults are false?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com