PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh had more murders and solved fewer of them last year than in any of the previous five years.
Records obtained by the Tribune-Review (https://bit.ly/1xjf6SJ ) show the city’s police department investigated 71 homicides in 2014 as of Tuesday compared with 46 homicides in 2013.
The newspaper reports police made arrests in 28 cases for a 39 percent clearance rate.
In 2013 the clearance rate was 63 percent.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. tells the newspaper as much as 80 percent of the violence can be attributed to the drug trade.
He says they’ve been using grand juries who meet behind closed doors to protect witnesses who fear retaliation.
Zappala says criminals are becoming more sophisticated in covering up evidence, making the job of solving crimes more complex.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, https://pghtrib.com
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