Crime Without Punishment | CBS Reports
In this CBS Reports documentary, Jim Axelrod peels back the curtain on a sobering reality of a justice system in crisis: For roughly half of the people murdered in America, no one is arrested for the crime.
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A look at unsolved murders in America
In a collaboration with CBS News, we examine a crime often going without punishment in our country. CBS2's Ali Bauman takes a closer look at racial disparities in homicide closure rates at the NYPD.
Barely half of murder cases in the United States get solved. The national homicide clearance rate is at an all-time low, according to FBI data. Oakland and San Francisco are seeing a large difference on solved cases, as Wilson Walker reports.
Barely half of murder cases in the U.S. get solved. The national homicide clearance rate is at an all-time low, according to FBI data. In the mid-1960s, more than 90% of murders were solved, generally resulting in the arrests. By 1990, that percentage fell into the 60s. Then, by 2020, as homicides surged, the national clearance rate dropped to about 50% for the first time ever.
Murders are going unsolved at a historic pace, and police are far less likely to solve cases when the victim is Black or Hispanic, a CBS News investigation has found.
The investigative team at CBS News wanted to understand how police were addressing this nearly unprecedented spike in murders – and why many were going unsolved.
Officials from more than 20 agencies are working together in a nondescript warehouse, investigating Baltimore's most brazen drug syndicates.
Mothers being asked to investigate the murders of their sons has become a reality in Jackson.
CBS News analyzed decades of unsolved murders across the country, and found stark racial disparities in the clearance rates — the share of cases each year that are solved.
Renee Hall, former chief of the Dallas Police Department, is the daughter of a police officer killed in the line of duty.
According to data analyzed by CBS News, the national homicide clearance rate has been improving for cases involving white victims, but falling for Black and Hispanic victims.
According to the FBI and the Detroit Police Department, homicide clearance rates in the city have risen as the national average has fallen.
An analysis of FBI crime data by CBS 2 has found that LAPD's homicide clearance rate has ebbed over the years in a way that is concerning.
Chicago Police have low arrest rates, but higher rates for cleared or closed cases. We dig into what's behind those numbers.
New research by the CBS News Innovation Lab shows the likelihood of a murder being solved in the US is significantly lower when the victims are Black or Hispanic.
In a collaboration with CBS News, CBS Sacramento is examining why crime is often going without punishment in our country. The national homicide clearance rate is at an all-time low, according to FBI data. Barely half of the murder cases in the United States get solved.
In Miami-Dade, the clearance rate for homicides in 2020 was 43%
Unsolved murders are a growing concern nationwide.
The murder rate in Philadelphia was 499 in 2020. That's a 40% increase from 2019.
A CBS News analysis of FBI homicide data shows Baltimore City's average clearance rate from 2015 to 2019 was just 38.7%, hitting a low of 29.7% in 2015, the tumultuous year when Freddie Gray was killed in police custody and arrests plummeted.
Murder, according to the FBI, is the most likely crime to be solved in the US, but nationally the rate of success has been in decline for years.
In a collaboration with CBS News, KDKA Investigates examines crime often going without punishment in our country.
The day after Terrell Mayes, Jr. celebrated Christmas with his family, the 3-year-old and his siblings heard gunshots. A stray bullet struck Terrell as he ran up the stairs inside his north Minneapolis home. For more than a decade, WCCO has followed his grieving mother's push to find her son's killer.
Denver police has made many changes in the decades since the shocking murder of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, including building a $28 million state-of-the-art crime lab.
In a collaboration with CBS News, KPIX 5 is examining a crime often going without punishment in our country. Barely half of murder cases in the United States get solved.
The Trump administration is unlikely to back down from pursuing additional tariffs following the Supreme Court decision, according to trade experts.
The Democratic Women's Caucus wore pink to President Trump's address to Congress last year. This year, they're returning to white.
Since the administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in small vessels last year, at least 148 people have been killed in the strikes.
Kouri Richins, the Utah mother accused of killing her husband and then publishing a children's book about grief, is now on trial for his murder.
Law enforcement is monitoring potential increases in violence, coercion or debt-collection activity in domestic trafficking corridors after cartel head "El Mencho" was killed Sunday.
The Trump administration is unlikely to back down from pursuing additional tariffs following the Supreme Court decision, according to trade experts.
The Dow Jones slid nearly 800 points as investors fret over AI disruption and react to President Trump's new tariff agenda.
Workers who claim the new deduction will see an average tax cut of around $1,400, although some could realize larger savings.
The Social Security Administration wouldn't stop issuing benefits once its trust funds are exhausted, but it could be forced to cut benefits.
President Trump signed an order that will impose 10% tariffs on imports from all countries, just hours after the Supreme Court struck down a different set of sweeping global tariffs.
The Democratic Women's Caucus wore pink to President Trump's address to Congress last year. This year, they're returning to white.
Since the administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in small vessels last year, at least 148 people have been killed in the strikes.
Law enforcement is monitoring potential increases in violence, coercion or debt-collection activity in domestic trafficking corridors after cartel head "El Mencho" was killed Sunday.
Documents given to Congress appear to show courses involving use-of-force were eliminated from ICE officer training.
Former U.K. ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson has been arrested weeks after a series of emails between him and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the broadening use of anxiety medications, but doctors and researchers say the MAHA movement is misrepresenting drugs that have been proven to help.
After decades of American children routinely receiving polio vaccines, the virus that had doomed many to paralysis was nearly eliminated in the United States. But vaccine avoidance today may allow the crippling disease to return.
After decades of American children routinely receiving polio vaccines, the virus that had doomed many to paralysis was nearly eliminated in the United States. But vaccine avoidance today may allow the crippling disease to return. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook talks with David Oshinsky, author of "Polio: An American Story," and with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who contracted polio as a child, about how parents opting out of vaccinations for their children could affect polio rates here.
A growing, aging population and an acute caregiver shortage are pushing adult care centers to think outside the box. Itay Hod introduces a new, high-tech helper.
Travis Corbitt's struggles to breathe led to his retirement and reliance on an oxygen tank.
The Trump administration is unlikely to back down from pursuing additional tariffs following the Supreme Court decision, according to trade experts.
Law enforcement is monitoring potential increases in violence, coercion or debt-collection activity in domestic trafficking corridors after cartel head "El Mencho" was killed Sunday.
Former U.K. ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson has been arrested weeks after a series of emails between him and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released.
The State Department has ordered some staff in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to begin to leave Lebanon, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.
American skier Lindsey Vonn, who crashed seconds into her downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, said she is finally out of the hospital as she recovers.
Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles on Monday in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans has more.
Nick Reiner, 32, was charged with two counts of murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
CBS News' Dave Malkoff joins from Star Trek: The Cruise with Rob Picardo, who plays "The Doctor" in the series, to discuss how people are celebrating 60 years of the franchise.
Britain's film academy and the BBC apologized after a broadcast of the BAFTA awards ceremony that included an offensive outburst by an audience member with Tourette's syndrome.
Contestant Colby Donaldson talks about returning to play "Survivor" again, why he wanted to play originally and how the 50th season is all about the fans.
A growing, aging population and an acute caregiver shortage are pushing adult care centers to think outside the box. Itay Hod introduces a new, high-tech helper.
One of the catalysts for the social media addiction debate was a 2024 book called "The Anxious Generation" by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. His new book tries to help parents and kids break free from screens. Haidt joins CBS News to discuss Mark Zuckerberg, the ongoing social media addiction trial and artificial intelligence.
From labor shortages to environmental impacts, farmers are looking to AI to help revolutionize the agriculture industry. One California startup, Farm-ng, is tapping into the power of AI and robotics to perform a wide range of tasks, including seeding, weeding and harvesting.
A Los Angeles judge ordered Meta officials to remove their AI glasses at a trial over the impact of social media on users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand at the social media addiction trial examining whether children and teens were given access to an addictive and harmful product. CBS News' Carter Evans reports.
A large shark was caught on camera for the first time in Antarctica's waters, surprising researchers. "There's a general rule of thumb that you don't get sharks in Antarctica," one said.
On the evening of Christmas 1776, Gen. George Washington surprised the King's forces by leading the Continental Army in a surprise crossing of a near-frozen Delaware River - a watershed military maneuver that dramatized a changing America, and a changing climate.
On the evening of Christmas 1776, Gen. George Washington surprised the King's forces by leading the Continental Army in an unanticipated crossing of a near-frozen Delaware River. Environmental correspondent David Schechter looks at how Washington's watershed military maneuver dramatized both a changing America, and a changing climate.
The Winter Olympics in Milan need artificial snow due to climate change and warmer weather. Athletes say man-made snow makes terrain more difficult and unpredictable. Rob Marciano reports on its impact.
After decades monitoring polar bears in Norway's far north, researchers say the animals have proven incredibly adaptable, but there are no guarantees for the future.
Kouri Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail that her husband drank, prosecutors say.
Nick Reiner, 32, was charged with two counts of murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
An armed man was shot and killed after gaining "unauthorized entry" into Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's Florida estate, the Secret Service said. The shooting occurred as FBI Director Kash Patel attended the Winter Olympics in Italy. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reports.
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes — known as "El Mencho" — was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico.
The U.S. Secret Service shot and killed a North Carolina man who authorities say entered a secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and gas canister. President Trump and the first lady were at the White House at the time. Scott MacFarlane reports.
The space agency said Sunday it's targeting Tuesday for the slow, four-mile trek across Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting.
The Artemis II mission aims to send four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a flight around the far side of the moon and back.
An internal investigation is blasting NASA's handling of the first piloted flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in 2024. The flight left two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station for nearly a year. The investigation found the flight was plagued by potentially life-threatening technical and management failures.
President Trump has ordered the release of all government documents related to aliens, UFOs and extraterrestrial life. It comes after former President Barack Obama addressed the topic earlier this week and said aliens are real, a statement which he later modified. CBS News contributor Janna Levin has more details.
A successful fueling test prompts NASA to press ahead toward a March 6 moonshot.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
Does the evidence show a cover-up, or was Todd Kendhammer wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife?
Christy Salters-Martin dominated in the boxing ring but faced her toughest challenger at home.
Family seeks answers in death of newlywed who disappeared in 2005 while on Mediterranean honeymoon cruise.
Meet the tattooed beauty charged in the death of Google executive Forrest Hayes.
Just 26% of independents approve of the job President Trump is doing, while 73% disapprove, according to a new poll from CNN and SSRS. That is a 15-point decline since February of last year. CBS News' Fin Gómez has more.
President Trump said Saturday that he will raise global tariffs to 15% after the Supreme Court struck down a set of sweeping global tariffs in a decision last week. CBS News White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi has more.
More than half a million power outages have been reported across the East Coast as a historic blizzard continues to impact states from Maryland to Maine. CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul reports.
A former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement instructor who says new recruits are receiving "defective" training is set to testify on Monday at a hearing organized by congressional Democrats. CBS News immigration correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more.
The Dow Jones has spent Monday in the red after President Trump on Saturday said he would raise his global tariff to 15%. Last week, the Supreme Court struck down a set of sweeping global tariffs, a decision Mr. Trump lashed out at. Sabrina Escobar, a reporter for Barron's, joins CBS News to discuss.