Is the fact that most violent crimes in the US go unsolved a new phenomenon?
For decades, most violent crimes reported to law enforcement in the U.S. have not been solved.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance falsely suggested it was a recent phenomenon.
Alluding to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, he said Aug. 20, 2024, in Kenosha, Wisconsin:
"Do you know that the gross majority now of violent crimes in this country go unsolved? ... That is because of the leadership of our vice president."
An April Pew Research Center analysis shows that in every year since 1993, the majority of reported violent crimes were not closed because of an arrest or other reason. The FBI defines violent crime as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The highest clearance rate was 50% in 1999.
The latest data show recent declines:
2017: 45.6%
2018: 45.5%
2019: 45.5%
2020: 41.7%
2021: Data unavailable
2022: 36.7% (lowest rate in past 30 years)
2023 data isn't available until October.