When we think of the crime of murder in the US, we have an image in our mind of CSI crime labs, autistic geniuses recreating the crime to the smallest detail, psychics communing with the victim or receiving visions, and essentially a non-stop effort that ends with the dirtbag in cuffs. This is not the case for around half of murders in the US. I find it disturbing that in our age of endless digital surveillance, murder and violent crimes go unsolved at increasing rates each year. Think back on a time you knew someone who filed a police report regarding a crime. Was it solved? Did the police even get back to them? The portrayal of the justice system on the silver screen and the justice system as it exists do not match up. This wasn’t always the case. In the 60’s, 90% of murders were “cleared”, meaning the police found the perpetrator. Would 60’s cops have had success with the JonBenet Ramsey murder where 90’s cops failed? Would they have had her then-9 year old brother, who more than likely killed his sister, institutionalized within a few months? Instead, he has walked free ever since.
The recent Moscow, Idaho quadruple murder looks to be quickly turning into a cold case that will never be solved. Did incompetent investigators bungle the crime scene, and squander the vital first few days? It is appearing to be the case. This points to a dramatic rise in the incompetence of government and law enforcement at every level. A cultural shift has taken place slowly, over a period of several decades, and the public suffers for it.
