A ditch. How else could one describe the yawning gap between the rates of elucidation of cases involving crimes against persons and those against property? According to one note published this Thursday by the statistical service of the Ministry of the Interior, in 75% of cases, one year after the commission of a homicide, one person – at least – was arrested, placed in police custody and then brought before a judge. For assault and battery cases, this rate is 71%. And if the elucidation of crimes and misdemeanors of a sexual nature is clearly below – 56% – it nevertheless remains incomparable with the figures for investigations targeting property: 16% of violent thefts, 8% of burglaries and 7% of thefts of vehicles are cleared up after a year of investigation.
Admittedly, the nature of these cases – and their seriousness – are difficult to compare. But everyday crime is considered a priority by the government, particularly because of the feeling of insecurity it generates. How, then, to explain such discrepancies? First, by the specificity of these files. “In the vast majority of personal injury cases, the suspects are found in the victim’s entourage,” notes a high-ranking police source. The gratuitous violence exists, but it remains rare. Thus, whether in cases of murder or violence of any kind, investigators systematically begin their investigations with the relatives of the victim, then working in concentric circles.
“The relatives of a victim are not reduced to the family”
This is also reflected in the figures of the study: in the category “battery and injury” for example, the rate of elucidation goes from 71% to 58% when excluding intra-family violence. The same is true – to a lesser extent – for cases of sexual violence, where the figure goes from 56% to 53%. “The relatives of a victim are not limited to his family, insists this same source. If we remove friends, acquaintances, colleagues, the figures will certainly be much lower. The observation is implacable when we look at the perpetrators of murders. In a vast survey of homicides committed in France between 2013 and 2020, INSEE established that 30% of them took place within the family. Murders on the occasion of theft represent only 3% and those in connection with the settling of scores 9%.
Conversely, as damage to property – such as theft, burglary – is rarely committed by relatives, leads to investigation are more difficult to establish. In addition, notes a commissioner, “in cases of attacks on persons, testimonies are very often easier to collect, starting with that of the victim himself if he is still there. Similarly, the survey techniques used are not the same. If now, the police and gendarmes almost systematically take fingerprints in the event of burglary and rely more and more on video surveillance, the number of acts committed makes it impossible to systematically use DNA, which is more expensive and time-consuming. “We generally have a lot more identifying elements in all cases of personal injury,” continues this source.
Look for “serial” cases
At the same time, burglars are becoming more and more cautious. The teams are generally very mobile, the techniques perfected. “The authors are more and more aware of police techniques, it is undeniable, they almost systematically wear gloves, for example”, notes a police source. Faced with this, the investigators try as much as possible to identify the “serial” facts, that is to say to follow the trail of teams having committed multiple thefts or burglaries, in particular by bringing together the operating methods or the perimeters of action.
It is then easier to mobilize more investigators and to use more advanced techniques. The fact remains that in three quarters of the cases, the robberies with violence were cleared up in the month following the incident.
More facts, falling rates
More worrying: the rate of elucidation tends, these last years, to go back. This is blatant in the business of scams. In 2017, 29% of cases were resolved within the year. Three years later, it is only 17% of cases. A decline that can be explained in particular by the complication and diversification of operating methods, especially on the Internet. But it is above all the increase in the number of cases, + 43% over this period, which lowers the clearance rate. An effect that can be found in various categories: the 82% increase in investigations into sexual violence has reduced the rate of elucidation by 6%. The number of homicides increased by 7% between 2017 and 2020 and the solve rate fell by 4%.
And for that, no mystery, it is the numbers that are pointed out. “If we have more cases but no more investigators, even with the best will in the world and the best tools, we will not be able to do everything,” sighs the commissioner questioned.