This statistic shows the total number of solved and unsolved homicides in Canada for 2012 and 2014. In 2014, there were 131 unsolved homicides and 385 solved homicides reported in Canada.
In 2023, murder and manslaughter charges had the highest crime clearance rate in the United States, with 57.8 percent of all cases being cleared by arrest or so-called exceptional means. Motor vehicle theft cases had the lowest crime clearance rate, at 8.2 percent. What is crime clearance? Within the U.S. criminal justice system, criminal cases can be cleared (or closed) one of two ways. The first is through arrest, which means that at least one person has either been arrested, charged with an offense, or turned over to the court for prosecution. The second way a case can be closed is through what is called exceptional means, where law enforcement must have either identified the offender, gathered enough evidence to arrest, charge, and prosecute someone, identified the offender’s exact location, or come up against a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that keeps them from arresting and prosecuting the offender. Crime in the United States Despite what many people may believe, crime in the United States has been on the decline. Particularly in regard to violent crime, the violent crime rate has almost halved since 1990, meaning that the U.S. is safer than it was almost 30 years ago. However, due to the FBI's recent transition to a new crime reporting system in which law enforcement agencies voluntarily report crime data, it is possible that figures do not accurately reflect the total amount of crime in the country.
In 2023, police in Germany solved 92.3 percent of murder cases. The clearance rate for murder cases during the specified time period remained high.
The share of murder cases being solved in Sweden varied between 16 and 26 percent over the last 10 years. The highest clearance rate was registered in 2016. In 2022, 17 percent of the registered murder cases were solved. Over the same period, the total number of homicides increased.
Saint Kitts and Nevis saw a murder rate of 65 per 100,000 inhabitants, making it the most dangerous country for this kind of crime worldwide as of 2023. Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 20 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. Meanwhile, Celaya in Mexico was the most dangerous city for murders. Violent conflicts worldwide Notably, these figures do not include deaths that resulted from war or a violent conflict. While there is a persistent number of conflicts worldwide, resulting casualties are not considered murders. Partially due to this reason, homicide rates in Latin America are higher than those in Afghanistan or Syria. A different definition of murder in these circumstances could change the rate significantly in some countries. Causes of death Also noteworthy is that murders are usually not random events. In the United States, the circumstances of murders are most commonly arguments, followed by narcotics incidents and robberies. Additionally, murders are not a leading cause of death. Heart diseases, strokes and cancer pose a greater threat to life than violent crime.
For the year ending March 2023, 5.7 percent of crime offences resulted in a charge or summons in England and Wales. While this was an improvement when compared with the previous four quarters, it was far lower than in the first quarter of 2015, when 15.5 percent of crimes were solved.
The data tables contain figures for:
There are counting rules for recorded crime to help to ensure that crimes are recorded consistently and accurately.
These tables are designed to have many uses. The Home Office would like to hear from any users who have developed applications for these data tables and any suggestions for future releases. Please contact the Crime Analysis team at crimeandpolicestats@homeoffice.gov.uk.
In 2023, the FBI reported that there were 13,789 victims of murder who identified as male, compared to 3,849 victims of murder who identified as female in the United States. A further 75 murder victims were of an unknown gender in that year.
This statistic shows the rate of homicides in Canada in 2022, by Aboriginal identity and province or territory. In 2022, 4.15 Aboriginal people per 100,000 Aboriginal people were the victims of homicide in Quebec.
In 2022, traffic crimes had the highest clearance rate in Norway, reaching 83 percent. Drug-related crimes had the second highest clearance rate at 66 percent, followed by other types of offenses at 65 percent. On the other hand, only 17 percent of the cases of vandalism were solved, and 19 percent of the cases of theft, robbery, and burglary, which accounted for the highest share of crimes that year. In total, the clearance rate of the Police in Norway was 44 percent in 2022.
In 2022, there were over 28 thousand murders reported across India. Furthermore, more than 57 thousand attempted murder cases were filled in the country that year. A consistent increase in the attempt to murder cases were seen over the years till 2017.
There were 65 homicide offences recorded in the Republic of Ireland in 2023, compared with 80in 2022. In the provided time period, homicides in Ireland increased from 2003 onwards, reaching a peak of 153 in 2007 before declining to the relatively low figures seen in the late 2010s.
In 2023, a total of 42,013 homicides were registered in Mexico, over 800 murder victims less than the death toll reported a year earlier. The number of homicides in Mexico, including intentional homicides and cases of manslaughter, grew between 2015 and 2018, before plateauing around 44,000 victims per year.
Kidnapping in Mexico In Mexico, even with a 20 percent reduction in the kidnapping rate, which amounted to 463 reported cases in 2023, the region continues to witness the distressing reality of five individuals being subjected to violent abduction daily. These heinous acts are chiefly perpetrated in various settings, including workplaces, residences, and public areas. Furthermore, the state with the highest recorded kidnapping incidence is Mexico State, marking a significant disparity in numbers. This dire situation positions the country as the third highest in terms of kidnapping occurrences throughout Latin America.
The increasing cases of human trafficking
Regarded as a grievous form of exploitation encompassing coerced labor or sexual servitude, the prevalence of human trafficking in the nation exhibits a disquieting escalation. This trend coincides with a decline in cases involving children, shifting the focus towards teens and adolescents, particularly females, who are now the primary target demographic. Perpetrators manipulate victims through deceitful practices and fraudulent schemes, effectively entrapping them in a web of organized criminal activities that deprive them of their freedom.
In 2024, the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed was in Haiti, with around 62 murders committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Trinidad and Tobago came in second, with a homicide rate of 46, while Honduras ranked seventh, with 25. In the same year, the lowest rate was recorded in El Salvador, with a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence-ridden region Violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Latin American society nowadays. More than 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are located in this region, as well as one of the twenty countries with the least peace in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Despite governments’ large spending on security and high imprisonment rates, drug and weapon trafficking, organized crime, and gangs have turned violence into an epidemic that affects the whole region and a solution to this issue appears to be hardly attainable. The cost of violence in Mexico Mexico stands out as an example of the great cost that violence inflicts upon a country, since beyond claiming human lives, it also affects everyday life and has a negative impact on the economy. Mexicans have a high perceived level of insecurity, as they do not only fear becoming victims of homicide, but also of other common crimes, such as assault or rape. Such fear prevents people from performing everyday activities, for instance, going out at night, taking a taxi or going to the movies or the theater. Furthermore, the economic toll of violence in Mexico is more than considerable. For example, the cost of homicide and violent crime amounted to 2099.8 and 1778.1 billion Mexican pesos in 2023, respectively.
Except for 2020, homicide levels had been growing in this Caribbean country at least since 2014. The homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago also improved in 2020. In 2023, the numbers of murders drop again and a total of 577 occurrences were registered in the country.
In 2023, police in Germany solved 58.4 percent of crimes. Figures fluctuated slightly during recent years, but were higher than the crime clearance rate in the 1990s.
In 2024, Puerto Rico recorded around 15.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. The homicide rate registered an increase of one point compared to the previous year. In 2019, the number of individuals killed per 100,000 population peaked at 20.1. At least 450 people are murdered every year in Puerto Rico.
There were over 7.55 million arrests for all offenses in the United States in 2023. This figure is a decrease from 1990 levels, when the number of arrests was over 14.1 million. Arrest rate in the U.S. Along with the declining number of arrests, the arrest rate for all offenses in the United States has also decreased since 1990, from 5691.6 arrests per 100,000 of the population down to 2232.1 per 100,000 in 2023. Additionally, South Dakota had the highest arrest rate in the country in 2023 while Massachusetts had the lowest. High numbers of arrests and unsolved crimes A high number of arrests does not necessarily correlate to a high number of solved cases, and in the U.S., many cases remain unsolved. The crime clearance rate, or rate of closed cases, was less than half for violent crimes in the U.S., and less than 20 percent for property crimes.
In 2022, the total number of rape cases reported in India amounted to over 31 thousand. This was a slight decrease in rape cases compared to the previous year. Even though many rapes are not reported in the country, it is an issue that continuously makes news headlines, some leading to public protests. Although reports of rape have increased in recent years, it was still associated with shame for the victim, rather than the perpetrator. The justice system A victim of rape in India not only experiences social stigmatization but what is more, her fight for justice is not made easy due to the system that often faults the victim for their misfortune. Instances have been reported where victims are confronted with hostile conditions at police stations and have been often pressured to withdraw their cases. However, once a case goes to trial, it can take decades before anything is resolved. Rape cases in particular, face huge backlog where the number of new cases supersede the number of cases disposed every year. The process is arduous and could add so much trauma to the victim’s life that they often buckle under pressure from family of their own or that of the perpetrator. Women in India India is known to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Indian women are constantly in a state of high alert when alone on the streets, at work or in the markets. Due to India’s predominantly patriarchal nature, domestic violence is known to be culturally acceptable. Studies reveal that even a majority of working women suffer domestic abuse from their husbands. A non-earning woman’s position further exacerbates vulnerability and dependence on their male partner as opposed to a woman who contributors financially to the household. Rampant poverty across the country is the main driver for low literacy rates and consequently, disempowerment and abuse among women.
This statistic displays the opinions on establishing a national DNA databank in the Netherlands in 2018. In August 2018, a breakthrough in a long unsolved crime case, the murder of 11-year old Nicky Verstappen, was reached following a successful DNA match. The suspect had ignored several appeals to give his DNA over the years. Earlier the murder of Marianne Vaatstra was solved in the same way.When asked whether a DNA database should be established in the Netherlands, less than 30 percent said they disagreed with the proposal.
Not seeing a result you expected?
Learn how you can add new datasets to our index.
This statistic shows the total number of solved and unsolved homicides in Canada for 2012 and 2014. In 2014, there were 131 unsolved homicides and 385 solved homicides reported in Canada.