In order to solve homicides, there are a number of important factors that contribute to the police’s likelihood of success, such as the amount of time the investigation requires, the presence of witnesses and witness cooperation, the type of weapon, and the relationship between the offender and the victim. Some of these issues are more critical to success when the homicide is gang related, such as having witnesses and others cooperate with police investigators. In a gang related homicide, the absence of cooperation frequently makes identifying a chargeable suspect much more difficult when compared to a non-gang related homicide (Statistics Canada, 2010; Trussler, 2010; Roberts, 2008; Litwin, 2004; Silverman and Kennedy, 1997).
