MPD Chief Cathy Lanier, “There’s no trick to DC’s homicide closure rate”

Chief Cathy Lanier

Chief Lanier sent out via the listservs:

On Feb. 19, The Washington Post published a front-page article headlined “The trick to D.C.’s homicide closure rate,” suggesting that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was somehow tricking the public by announcing that it had a 94 percent homicide closure rate. To support its slanted claims, the article used misleading and inflammatory quotes from ill-informed sources. Furthermore, the writer left out information supplied by my department that would have invalidated the assertions contained in the story.

As chief of police, it is my duty to respond, to explain the truth and to defend the tireless work of the members of the MPD.

My Editorial in response to the article can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-no-trick-to-dcs-homicide-closure-rate/2012/02/24/gIQAgtFYYR_story.html

She writes:

“The fact is, last year the District realized the lowest number of homicides and highest clearance rate in almost 50 years.

Oh, and by the way, in 2011 we closed 103 homicides, for a UCR closure rate of 95 percent. Regardless of how The Post would like us to record the rate, this is still approximately 40 percent over the national average for comparably sized cities.”