City officials respond to 11 Investigates reporting on unsolved homicides

PITTSBURGH — As families wait for justice, nearly half of homicide cases in Pittsburgh are going unsolved. The number of detectives working those cases is getting smaller.

Right now Pittsburgh police’s homicide unit has one lieutenant, two sergeants and 21 homicide detectives. That is 10 detectives fewer than just five years ago.

11 Investigates found Pittsburgh police investigated 42 homicides in 2024 and solved 54.8% of them, below the national average of 57.8%.

“No, it’s not acceptable,” said Councilman Anthony Coghill. “It probably speaks to the decline in our police force… I think if we’re below the national level then we need to do better.”

Coghill is the public safety chair. He blames the below-average clearance rate on staffing and said the current levels are not sustainable.

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t aware that our clearance rate had been so low until we talked today, so I have questions along that line myself,” Coghill said.

Acting Police Chief Chris Ragland said the bureau held a detective school last year to expose patrol officers to detective work.

But the five homicide detectives who left the unit in 2024 have not yet been replaced, the department confirmed.

“We do the best we can with whatever we have wherever we are,” Ragland said. “I think our desire is to always solve every homicide. When we don’t, we have work to do.”

11 Investigates found several large and medium-size cities in the region are outperforming Pittsburgh. Philadelphia police have a 71% solve rate. Police in the District of Columbia recorded a 60% solve rate last year. Detroit sits at 60%. Cincinnati and Columbus police have rates of 71 and 75%, respectively. Those are all higher than Pittsburgh’s 55% solve rate.

“There’s really strong evidence that as we have a higher homicide clearance rate, we see violence go down,” said Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA Education Fund.

“In general, about one percent of a city is involved in violence. And so when you really engage in solving those acts of violence, it helps prevent it by shrinking that pool,” Garber said.

He said research shows arrests in violent crimes act as a deterrent and build community trust.

“And so when they see that the law enforcement community is actively and successfully solving acts of violence, it builds up that trust. And it’s virtuously a cycle where it builds more trust and then the community is willing to help solve the next criminal activity,” Garber said.

The Gainey administration has touted a reduction in violent crime. City data shows the number of fatal and non-fatal shootings have both decreased over the last three years. 11 Investigates asked the deputy mayor why more homicides are not being solved.

“It’s something that I think that we will definitely want to explore, right, and understand better. I think that the reduction in the overall rate of violent crime is the area with which we’ve been most focused,” Jake Pawlak said. “I think that some of these crimes can take awhile to solve. They’re complicated cases often… Happy to look into the question more with the assistant chief and the folks in the command staff.”

11 Investigates requested a sit-down interview with Mayor Ed Gainey multiple times for this story. Most recently, the mayor’s office said Monday the mayor was unavailable due to his schedule. He provided the following statement.

“Regardless of the number of detectives, the PBP continues to pursue justice for all victims and their families, diligently working to resolve both current and cold cases. The Bureau’s commitment to justice remains steadfast, and the clearance rates reflect the effectiveness of its ongoing efforts.”

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