The Flow of Murder Cases Through the Criminal Justice System in a Brazilian City

• Published date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767920917727
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Author: Ludmila Ribeiro,Alexandre M. A. Diniz
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767920917727

Homicide Studies

2020, Vol. 24(3) 242 –267

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DOI: 10.1177/1088767920917727

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Article

The Flow of Murder Cases

Through the Criminal Justice

System in a Brazilian City

Ludmila Ribeiro1 and Alexandre M. A. Diniz2

Abstract

The flow of homicide cases in Brazil can be described as a funnel, as numerous events

are reported to the police but only a few are convicted. This article aims to identify

the variables influencing time to clearance and time to conviction for murder cases

in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) by examining a sample of police investigations

(uncleared cases) and criminal proceedings (cleared cases) closed between 2003 and

2013. Using Cox proportional hazard model, we found that time to clearance is

affected by crime attributes and police procedures although time to conviction is

affected only by arrest in flagrante delicto.

Keywords

Brazil, homicide, clearance, conviction, length of time

Introduction

With approximately 63,000 intentional violent deaths in 2017, Brazil presented a rate

of 30 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, the largest ever recorded (Fórum Brasileiro de

Segurança Pública [FBSP], 2019). These figures are part of an increasing trend in the

country (Murray et al., 2013) and “the collapse of legal deterrence” has been pointed

as a major explanation (Bergman, 2018, p. 3). Out of every 100 murders recorded by

the police, it is estimated that 20 are cleared (Instituto Sou da Paz [ISP], 2019), and

only nine are convicted (L. Ribeiro, 2010). As the likelihood of punishment is very

low, retaliatory deaths and police killings are recurrent, leading to rampant growth

rates (Arias, 2019; Willis, 2015).

1Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Corresponding Author:

Ludmila Ribeiro, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Centro de Estudos de Criminalidade e Segurança Pública

(CRISP). Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627—Unidade Administrativa III, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil.

Email: ludmila.ribeiro@gmail.com

917727HSXXXX10.1177/1088767920917727Homicide StudiesRibeiro and Diniz

research-article2020

Ribeiro and Diniz 243

Few studies are devoted to understanding the decision-making process through-

out the Brazilian criminal justice system, let alone those exploring the variables

affecting time to clearance and time to conviction for homicides (Vargas, 2014).

The lack of official data and the absence of adequate theoretical frameworks avail-

able in Portuguese are some of the elements preventing more in-depth analyses

(Costa & Lima, 2018). Research on this subject is critical not only for the improve-

ment of public policies but also for the reduction of homicide rates (Azevedo &

Sinhoretto, 2018).

Studies on the decision-making process for homicides cases is concentrated in the

United States, Canada, and Europe (Liem et al., 2019; Pastia et al., 2017; Ulmer,

2012), with few analyses from Latin American (Bergman, 2018; Martínez et al., 2007).

Most of these analyses are based on Donald Black’s (1976) theory, which conceptual-

izes the law as a quantitative variable that ought to be explained by five dimensions—

stratification, morphology, culture, organization, and social control.

Previous studies in the United States showed that Donald Black’s theory is an

important departure point for the comprehension of clearance (Regoeczi et al., 2020)

and conviction (Fagan & Geller, 2018). However, some of its predictors remain con-

tradictory, especially those regarding the role played by the characteristics of victims

in each outcome (Kurlychek & Johnson, 2019). Revisions of this theory showed that

certain factors—such as seriousness of the offense, use of a firearm, the location of the

body, and the moment that the crime was perpetrated—also affect the likelihood of

clearance and conviction in murder cases (Addington, 2007; Albonetti, 1997; Borg &

Parker, 2001; King & Light, 2019). Recently, some researchers have focused on the

role played by the procedures adopted by police forces to clear the crime (Bergman,

2018), which might influence not only the length of time of this phase, but also the

likelihood of conviction in later stages (Baumer et al., 2000).

This article assesses whether Donald Black’s predictions explain time to clearance

and time to conviction for homicides in Brazil when controlling for crime attributes

and police procedures. To do so, we examine a sample of cleared and uncleared cases

shelved in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil) between 2003 and 2013.

Criminal Justice Decision-Making: The Importance of

Donald Black’s Theory

The behavior of law theory relies on the assumption that the quantity of law varies in

time and space, according to the social geometry of the citizens involved in a given

conflict. Consequently, each decision taken throughout the criminal justice system

(arrest, clearance, and conviction) represents a quantity of law that ought to be mea-

sured and explained by quantitative factors.

Support for Black’s theory remains somewhat mixed (Regoeczi et al., 2020; Spohn,

2000; Ulmer, 2012; Wong, 2010), with few studies using this framework to understand

the decision-making process in the Criminal Justice System in Brazil (Graham et al.,

2013; T. R. Oliveira, 2018). In the following paragraphs, we summarize the five

dimensions interfering with the behavior of law (Black, 1976). As our focus is on the