NOPD homicide unit increasing solve rate
NOPD solving more homicide cases
Determination trounces severe staff shortage
Sunday, June 29, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy
The Times-Picayune
Closing a case like this one would be a major win in a city where the sheer number of slayings overwhelms a thinly staffed NOPD homicide unit of just 16 detectives. Each detective in the homicide unit had already surpassed the nationally recommended annual caseload of six per detective — in less than half a year. If the killing holds steady, a near certainty, each detective will have a 2008 portfolio more than double that size.
“They are out there; they are relentless,” said Capt. Kevin Anderson, commander of the unit, of his group. “They beat the streets, turn every stone once, sometimes twice.”
Still, despite uncooperative witnesses and an overtaxed unit, NOPD Homicide has upped its clearance rate to its highest level in years. As of late May, the squad’s clearance rate sat at 64 percent, above the national average and significantly higher than the rates of recent years.
Detectives “clear” a case when they formally name a suspect and secure an arrest warrant. Although the statistic does not consider convictions, police officials say it provides a gauge for detectives’ performance. …
Since early last year, the homicide squad has supplemented its ranks with a rotation of five or six FBI agents, who assist local investigators in all aspects of their cases. The rare federal initiative took hold as the city’s escalating murder rate garnered national attention.
But that assistance ended days ago, leaving the office as short-staffed as ever.
Defillo, boss of the investigative bureau, said the entire police force needs more people, more money. Homicide is no different. Once more recruits are hired, the homicide unit will be expanded, he said.
One key addition, Defillo said, is a recently created two-person “homicide intelligence unit” within the division, Defillo said. It tracks murder suspects, learns about their motives and anticipates retaliatory killings.
— Cases screened faster —
For the most part, the homicide unit works alone, sequestered from the day-in and day-out traffic stops, minor arrests and other tasks of a typical patrol officer. Several NOPD divisions, such as juvenile, intelligence and district detective units, lend support, yet homicide’s closest allies may be the prosecutors in the district attorney’s office.
Homicide department heads, along with Bobby Freeman, head of the district attorney’s Violent Offender Unit, said that better communication and an expedited screening process have soothed a sometimes-testy relationship between the agencies. In addition to the increased clearance rate, the homicide unit is bringing more cases to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.
More than 57 cases were presented to the Violent Offender Unit in the first four months of 2008 — compared with 47 cases in all of 2007. Instead of waiting until late in the screening process, as the legal deadline to charge defendants looms, the prosecutors are working more with the detectives on the front end of the investigation, Freeman said. …
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