LMPD Chief: High murder clearance rate direct result of goal to drive down crime overall
LMPD Chief Erika Shields described her goal as police chief at the beginning of 2021.
"A city that struggles with violent crime will never get the violent crime down if they don't get their [clearance] rates up," Shields said. "So it was really important that we slowed the pace of the shootings so that we could focus on the families, making arrests and I think everybody feels better about the work they're doing."
Data shows that in 2021, only 32% of the city's homicides had been solved.
As of this point in 2022, that number was nearly 20% higher at 51%.
"My goal would be to get them up above the 70-percent line, but they are doing a phenomenal job," Shields said.
On Tuesday, police announced the arrest of Chelynda Howlett in the murder of Poncho Young at an Okolona hotel in 2021.
But as more cases are closed, the violence continues.
Over the weekend, a horrific murder-suicide claimed the lives of four people when a man shot and killed his wife and two daughters before turning the gun on himself.
Then on Monday, two men were killed in a shooting in an Old Louisville hotel parking lot.
"Yesterday, you had something that my suspicion is probably related to drugs," Shields said. "The day before that you had a horrific domestic violence incident. It's sickening to see and you don't like it. But from a numerical standpoint, no. Violent crime is going to be down about 17%, homicides down about 12 percent shootings down 30%."
Despite the promising numbers, Shields said the murder-suicide highlights an end-of-the-year hurdle the department faces.
"December is always always a bad time for domestic violence and domestic violence homicides," Shields said. "We want to get ahead of this stuff, we don't want to see it happen and it's just heartbreaking."
There have been more than 150 homicides citywide this year.