Majority of homicides in Detroit unsolved

DETROIT, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Detroit police have what appears to be the lowest homicide clearance rate of any major city department in the country, The Detroit Free Press reports.

Police made arrests in one-third of homicides in 2005, the newspaper said. In other large cities, about half of homicides were cleared, while on average across the country two out of three were.

One reason given for the drop in arrests is the end of the traditional practice of picking up everyone nearby at the time of a homicide. In 2000, there were three arrests for every homicide, with most of those suspects being released quickly.

Some experts suggest that Detroit police investigators got sloppy during the dragnet era. Other reasons given for the low clearance rate include the rising number of drug-related homicides, with many witnesses afraid to talk, and budget cuts that have hit the homicide unit hard.

Commander James Tolbert, in charge of all major crime investigations, said that in homicides the police need to move quickly to interview witnesses.

"The key to case-closing is the number of officers who respond to a homicide," he said.