Homicide Solvability Factors In El Salvador: An Initial Exploration

Ponce, C., Salfati, C. G., Barton, S. M., Shon, P. C.

            For more than a decade, El Salvador struggled through a civil war, motivated largely by ideological differences. The war ended in 1992 with the signing of the peace treaty between the government and rebel groups (Martínez, 1996). One of the most important agreements reached through peace negotiations was the dissolution of the military-controlled security forces in charge of public safety and the creation of a new law enforcement agency, the National Civil Police (henceforth, PNC), which was entrusted with providing basic law enforcement services nationwide (Call, 1997). Under the supervision of the United Nations, the PNC was systematically implemented and deployed by 1994 (see Costa, 1999).

            Despite the peace treaty, non-political violence has been one of the most enduring issues in El Salvador (Arana, 2001); and while the PNC has effectively tackled major crime-control problems since its creation (see Ponce, Woods & Skelton, 2005), homicides continue to remain a major concern for criminal justice practitioners as well as the public in general (see Mejía & Arauz, 2005; Mejía, 2005). Notwithstanding the exigent and practical concerns regarding the prevalence of homicides in El Salvador, there has yet to be an empirical examination of the characteristics of criminal homicide cases that increase case solvability. The present exploratory study seeks to remedy that gap by examining the case features (e.g., victim and crime scene characteristics) that affect the solvability of homicides.   For the purposes of this study, solved cases are defined as those cases where: “… an offender has been identified. This may involve the arrest of a suspect, laying of charge without apprehending a suspect, or solving the case in some manner” (Regoeczi, Kennedy, & Silverman, 2000: 142).  One thousand fifteen homicides perpetrated between July 2002 to July 2003 were included in the analysis.  Of those 1015, 31.5% (n=320) were solved and 68.5% (n=695) were unsolved.