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Originally Posted by Pursuivant
Something that gets ignored in fiction, but which is huge in real life, is cost of doing a decent investigation.
A small police department in a poor state isn't likely to have the resources to do a good job of detecting, collecting, or protecting forensic evidence. For example, some police departments have untested rape kits going back for decades. They've never been tested because the money, manpower, and political will isn't there.
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I watch a fair number of crime documentaries (My wife likes them), and it allows strikes me how often the convicted culprit has another murder in a different jurisdiction. Or how often the police department breaking this case seems to have gobs and gobs of resources and time to throw at this case, and seems to take having a murder committed under their nose personally.
State wealth seems to me to be less important than community wealth. law enforcement (in the US at least) is run by cities or by counties, with the state running the courts. States have some officers, but those tend to be highway patrol and other wide-ranging officers, rather than your on the ground cops.
Quote:
Originally Posted by copeab
Interestinly, under 65% of murders are cleared today, compared to around 90% in the mid 1960's. The reasons range from less exacting forensics (which are more likely to implicate the innocent) to fewer restrictions on police and prosecutor conduct.
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We also live in a more anonymous and more environment. Cities have more resources, but they are also have lots and lots more suspects, and are easier to disappear into.
Jurisdiction is everything.