The IACP Center for Police Research & Policy partnered with the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) in an evaluation of KPD’s investigatory process. This evaluation examined the impact of solvability factors and investigatory efforts by KPD on the likelihood of case clearance for burglary and robbery offenses. Solvability factors refer to the pieces of information about a crime that can provide the basis for determining who committed the offense. 

While research regarding the productivity and effectiveness of police investigations in solving crime was conducted in the 1970s and 80s, few recent studies have evaluated the process of police investigatory work. It is possible that improvements in investigatory technologies since the 1980s (e.g., computers, license plate recognition, CCTV, DNA analysis) have enhanced the effectiveness of police investigations. However, many agencies – similar to KPD – report clearance rates that are stable or have declined over time. 

The IACP Center for Police Research & Policy seeks to reinvigorate this line of research with the hope that this work can help inform police investigatory practices and further enhance both the effectiveness and efficiency in policing.