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Experts urge dedicated nonfatal-shooting units after Saint Paul model boosts clearance rates
Summary
Experts and prosecutors urged a dedicated nonfatal-shooting investigative unit modeled on Saint Paul's approach, saying such a unit can substantially raise clearance rates and reduce retaliatory violence.
Experts from the Minnesota Justice Research Center, independent law-enforcement analysts and Ramsey County officials told the Public Health and Safety Committee on Oct. 1 that Minneapolis should consider a dedicated nonfatal-shooting investigative unit modeled on Saint Paul and Denver.
Justin Terrell, executive director of the Minnesota Justice Research Center, introduced presenters from the center and outside partners and said the organization's research shows clearance rates for nonfatal shootings are low nationwide and can rise when teams of police investigators, prosecutors and crime analysts are dedicated to those cases.
Dr. Will Cooley of the Minnesota Justice Research Center said that, nationally, nonfatal-shooting clearance rates have fallen and that solving those cases is labor- and resource-intensive. He gave two statistics from Minneapolis: the department solved about 65% of homicides but only about 23% of nonfatal shootings in recent data, and he urged investment in investigators, crime analysts and training.
David Zimmer, a former homicide detective who now serves as Public Safety Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experiment,…
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