I have to say something.  Recently it’s been acknowledged that some of the NYPD’s earlier numbers are inaccurate.  I keep reading that 1963 is the year when they started getting it right.  I’ve always had a lot to say about the homicide numbers, but I just didn’t feel like getting into it. But when I read this line from the article cited below I just had to respond.   The reporter writes:

“The story line of murder in New York is one that has been undergoing constant revision since 1963, when the Police Department began tracking homicides in a way that officials now deem reliable. (Before then, homicides were not counted until they were solved.)”

There are many reasons why the NYPD numbers are inaccurate, but I don’t believe that this is one of them.  While I was researching my book I read every single NYPD Annual Report from 1908 on.  (If my memory is correct, I didn’t read them all because some of the earlier reports were missing.  I was able to also read a sample of the pre-1900 ones however, which were still available, and all of this was at the city library at 31 Chambers Street.)

The wording has changed over the years, decades and centuries, but in those reports the NYPD listed not just the solved cases, but the total number of homicides, indicating which were cleared and which weren’t.  Here is a sample from 1949.

Right or wrong, these are not just the solved cases, but the total number of homicides as the NYPD chose to present them.  The cleared case figures were ones that turned out to be the least reliable.

Tracing the complex history of reasons for inaccurate homicide and clearance totals would be an important research project for someone.  There are so many things to consider, and it’s too much for one post alone.  I started looking into it and learned a lot. But it would be a fairly major undertaking and I personally wanted to move on from studying law enforcement.  I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned to a reputable group, or a perhaps a class at John Jay.

Putting aside the whys, it is not necessary to depend on the NYPD for homicide totals.  The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the office which classifies a death a homicide, keeps their own records and totals.

(However some of their historical totals will have problems, too.  In the past, the ME classified some possible homicides as CUPPIs (Circumstances Undetermined Pending Police Investigation).  They did this because they needed more information before declaring them homicides.  They rarely classify deaths as CUPPIs now.  They’re better at determining the cause and manner of death.  But it does mean that those CUPPI deaths are in limbo.)

For some of the earlier years there’s “Population, Births, Notifiable Diseases, and Deaths, Assembled for New York City, NY 1866-1936 from Official Record,” compiled by Haven Emerson, MD, and published by Columbia University.  Emerson got his figures from the Department of Health.

There are probably a lot of other sources, but I was focusing on why a murder case goes cold and how it is sometimes solved later and I found what I needed for that.  But the fact remains that there are many more unsolved murders than those which are on the books.

Here is the beginning of the article that got me started.  It is from The New York Times.

New York on Track for Fewest Homicides on Record

By AL BAKER — Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 ‘The New York Times’

There were days upon days in New York City when not a single person was murdered in 2009. Two such stretches, in February and March, lasted nearly a week each.

There were some pockets of the city where homicide was a singular occurrence: 12 of the city’s 77 police precincts, in locations as varied as Hamilton Heights, in Upper Manhattan, and Park Slope, Brooklyn, had logged one each through Sunday.

The story line of murder in New York is one that has been undergoing constant revision since 1963, when the Police Department began tracking homicides in a way that officials now deem reliable. (Before then, homicides were not counted until they were solved.) There have been rises — the number peaked at 2,245 in 1990 — and subsequent falls. But there have never been as few homicides as this year.

I post this picture every year.  I still love it.  (Even though the Towers in the background is sad.) Happy holidays everyone.

Why shouldn’t decks of these Missing Persons and Unsolved Homicides cards be distributed to inmates in every prison in New York (and surrounding states)?

As I learned researching my book, people invariably talk. The police certainly know this and visit prisons to talk to inmates.  But they can’t go all the time and talk to every one.

This deck was developed by Doug and Mary Lyall, whose daughter Suzanne went missing in 1998 when she was 19 years old.  The deck comes with instructions about how the inmate can provide tips.  The inmate is not required to identify themselves, although they may be eligible for a reward if they do.

According to the Lyalls:

“The New York State Tip Center has received a total of 130 tips from 5/10/08-11/19/09. Of this number a total of 53 are considered viable leads.  Cold case homicides in Texas, California and Florida, have been solved as a result of information received and other convictions are imminent.”

I went through the entire deck.  Some are so poignant, like this one for Carlos Diaz, who went missing when he went to bury his beloved dog.  There are only a couple of cards of children. “Pictures of children are known to be a commodity for predators,” the Lyall’s fact sheet explains.  But I like that there is a mix of age, sex and race in their deck. Missing children tend to get the most attention, understandably, but every case is important.

There are plans to distribute the cards “to the non-prison population, including: high crime urban areas, probation/parole offices, homeless shelters and truck stops. In the future it is anticipated that inmates in city jails and prisons throughout NYS will be targeted.”

These decks, and many more like them, should be everywhere.  As the Lyalls say, “the cards may be just enough to jog a memory, or a conscience, for those who hear things.”

For more information about these cards visit The Center for Hope.

I recently heard about a new magazine from The International Academy of Forensic Professionals. From their website:

“IAFP is pleased to announce the launch of our journal, the Forensic Digest. The Digest is dedicated to contributing to the body of already existing forensic knowledge through the publication of wide and varied articles of general and specific interest to our readership. We are committed to publishing a journal that is reflective of the many disciplines, roles and functions of those who represent forensic practice. The Forensic Digest welcomes all first time writers as well as published authors. We are pleased to provide a forum for learning and reflection in order to further advances in forensics.”