The Investigation of Homicide

Abstract

This special issue of Homicide Studies devotes attention to the how of homicide investigation. Much like the Homicide Research Working Group itself, this issue calls attention to the contributions of both practical and academic homicide experts. We were looking for manuscripts that examined or extended the various facets of investigating homicide. The processes and practices of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and investigators greatly affect case resolution. How these entities interact as well as engage with members of the community go far in determining case success and views of efficacy.

Homicide and the Internet

“…In many ideologically motivated homicides, perpetrators in the Internet age have posted manifestos online prior to the commission of the offense. This was the case in the lone-actor terrorist killings in Oslo and Utøya, Norway, in 2011; the Isla Vista, CA rampage in 2014; the Charleston, SC, church shooting in 2015; the 2019 shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, TX; and the murder of a federal judge's son by a misogynistic attorney in 2020, to name only a few (Arango et al, 2019;Barnes, 2012;Hamm & Ayers, 2021;Hong et al, 2020;Lankford, 2018;Lankford et al, 2019;Liem & Geelen, 2019;Tully, 2020;White, 2017). These manifestos may take the form of a written letter or essay, social media postings, or videos recorded and uploaded prior to the offense.…”

“…One promising development for law enforcement professionals and criminologists is the growth of scientific applications that can assist in the detection and analysis of risk. Hough (2019) notes that the investigation of the Unabomber in the 1990s represented the first use of both linguistic analysis and the Internet in a large‐scale criminal investigation. Today, natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning show promise for predicting (and, potentially, preventing) violent behavior by identifying relevant linguistic cues (Ni et al., 2020).…”

Será que vai virar processo? Determinantes da elucidação dos homicídios dolosos em uma cidade brasileira

“…Os trabalhos sobre padrão de decisão no sistema de justiça criminal que têm como objeto de análise as mortes violentas intencionais destacam que o apontamento do responsável pelo delito é a fase mais problemática (Pastia, Davies e Wu, 2017). Em algumas localidades, vários são os corpos encontrados com marcas de violência e apenas uma parcela destes resultará na indicação de um suspeito (Carter e Carter, 2016), o que faz do trabalho policial uma fase crítica no fluxo do sistema de justiça (Hough, 2019). Se o caso "sobreviver" à fase de investigação policial, aumentam substantivamente as chances de ele resultar em punição pelo sistema de justiça (Jarvis, Mancik e Regoeczi, 2017).…”

“…Desde a formulação da teoria da vítima desvalorizada, vários são os estudos que procuram verificar como esta se faz ou não presente na realidade norte-americana (Hough, 2019) e de que maneira pode ser utilizada para explicar as taxas de elucidação em outros países (Liem et al, 2018). Ao analisar o caso do Canadá, Pastia, Davies e Wu (2017) constataram que homicídios domésticos que vitimam mulheres pobres e negras são os que têm maiores chances de elucidação porque contam com grande número de testemunhas dispostas a colaborar com a polícia.…”

CSI in the Tropics Experimental Evidence of Improved Public Service Delivery Through Coordination

“…Finally, a quantitative and qualitative literature in criminology and law discusses homicide investigation and prosecution, with a focus on identifying and analyzing best practices to solve homicide cases and increase the probability that offenders will be prosecuted (Carter & Carter, 2016;R. Davis et al, 2011;Hough, 2019;McClellan, 2008;Nicol et al, 2003;Wellford et al, 2019). However, to the best of our knowledge ours is the first study to experimentally evaluate a new criminal investigation procedure and its effects on both investigation and prosecution outcomes.…”