SQ cold case squad has solved no murders
A cold case squad created in 2018 by the SQ has not succeeded in solving a single murder. But there’s a twist in the story, as the writer compares this result to U.S. successes using DNA databases: a man described as a “criminologist who is also a former police officer” complains of “Canadian hand‑wringing over privacy” – hand‑wringing which from another angle is reasonable respect for the privacy of the individual.
Because your third cousin did a crime is no reason for your DNA to be dragged into a cold case, although I do realize that by uploading one’s DNA to such databases one risks getting police thumbprints all over it.
Ephraim 15:42 on 2022-07-21 Permalink
Stats Can says that 70% of homicides are cleared. Which is the right term for it. You can’t really lay charges if the person who committed the crime commits suicide for example. But also Police can label a murder as “drugs”, “settling of accounts” or even “gangs” and basically not solve it, but clear it.
This is where we get into the territory of lies, damn lies and statistics. So 68% of homicides are solved/cleared within one week of the incident. Then a further 26% are solved between 8 and 364 days… and then they say 6% take more than a year… and yet only 70% are cleared…. I think we may be running into Marcellus’ speech in Hamlet… the numbers just don’t add up.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00017-eng.htm
The only “good” thing about this, from the perspective of solve rates, is because this is Canada, 4 out of 5 solved homicides… knew their killer. The numbers in the US are MUCH darker especially with missing people. Oh… and Canada’s “Cabot Cove” is Thunder Bay with a rate of 6.35 per 100K population.