Philly Detectives Are Solving More Shootings. Here’s Why.

Stoneleigh Fellows Kevin Bethel and Daniel Semenza reflect on how Philadelphia’s improving homicide clearance rate helps to strengthen community trust and safety throughout the city.

Over the past 10 years, the share of homicides solved or otherwise cleared by police has nearly doubled, from 45 percent in 2016 to 82 percent last year, according to data obtained by The Trace. The clearance rate for nonfatal shootings climbed 15 percentage points, to more than 40 percent, over the same period.

Police and researchers attribute the increases to multiple factors. One is the dramatic drop in homicides over the past few years, which has freed detectives to devote more time to each case. Officials also credit the growing use of crime-solving technology and forensic science.

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