The underlying problem is impunity.
Accountability is as American as apple pie. Indeed, some 90% of Americans support doing more to catch a greater percentage of people who commit crimes. By the same token, the explosive reaction to the shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti demonstrates that the public also demands accountability for those with a badge.
Law enforcement is a core government function, but officers are subject to human nature just like the rest of us. When a criminal or an officer believes there will be no serious consequences for egregious conduct, the predictable result is more egregious conduct and more tragedy. Yet impunity largely persists, whether it’s for the 90% of nonfatal shootings that continue to go unsolved or for what appears to be a growing number of excessive force cases involving federal immigration agents.
Impunity is a political loser and a policy nightmare, but in different contexts it’s embraced by the most extreme elements of the right and left. One side insists that those with a badge can do no wrong; the other too often underestimates the role of police visibility in the right place and at the right time in deterring and solving crime.
But both positions miss the mark. Neither law enforcement officers nor street criminals can be unleashed to violate the law without consequence. Either scenario invites impunity, eroding the social compact through which we form and fund government to protect us.
Of course, when comparing street crime with abuses by law enforcement, the causes of impunity are largely different. In the former case, police are too often unable to identify and arrest the culprit. In the latter, as we’re seeing with the two Minneapolis shootings, investigations often suffer from a lack of will and independence. But if we keep accountability as our north star in both contexts, we can do better.
A related challenge is low clearance rates — a measure of the share of reported crimes that are solved. In 2024, 35% of homicides went unsolved by the Minneapolis Police Department, as did some 77% of non-fatal shootings. While many other cities had a worse record, these figures mean that many perpetrators were left free to commit additional offenses. When criminals believe they won’t be identified, arrested and prosecuted, they have little reason to refrain from violent acts.
We need a strategic approach to end that impunity. Research suggests there are real crime-reduction dividends to focusing more on increasing clearance rates than on the severity of punishment. A review by the National Institute of Justice finds that the likelihood of being caught has a stronger preventive effect than harsher penalties. Likewise, economists analyzing changes in arrest probabilities have found that increases in the risk of apprehension are associated with measurable reductions in violent crime.
This means departments across the country should invest aggressively in detectives, forensic labs and investigative technologies that improve the prospects of solving violent crimes. A city that solves a greater share of its murders, shootings and armed robberies sends a clear and tangible message: Violence will not go unpunished.
States are increasingly recognizing that they have a role as well. In their 2026 legislative sessions, Pennsylvania and Utah are looking to enact grant programs that boost crime-solving capacity at the local level, especially in under-resourced rural areas. Texas and Missouri took this step last year, although Texas still needs to fund its grant program.
The cooperation of the community also plays a role in the quest to boost clearance rates. Research indicates that too often, victims and witnesses hesitate to come forward because they don’t trust police, don’t think police can protect them from those they are “snitching” on or believe nothing will change even if they do. This illustrates the value of policing strategies that build relationships with community members, as well as procedural justice training that ensures officers treat those they encounter with dignity.
Just as we must hold a greater percentage of offenders accountable for their actions, we must shine the lens of accountability on excessive force used by the very agents sworn to protect our lives and liberties. The Minneapolis shootings and their aftermath are a powerful case in point. The Good and Pretti cases are not being independently investigated, as federal authorities boxed out state investigators. One analysis found that in 6 of 12 shootings by federal immigration officers since September, there has been no investigation by local police.
Indeed, perhaps because ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents often lack the same training and protocols as officers in local police departments, their excesses risk surrendering recent gains in public trust in police. Gallup found that 51% of Americans in 2024 had confidence in police compared with 43% in 2023. Though it is challenging to pinpoint the reasons for this uptick, many states, cities and law enforcement agencies embraced transparency accountability measures after the murder of George Floyd. Now, many police chiefs are rightly worried that their hard-earned gains could be eroded insofar as undocumented immigrants and people of color are less likely to report crime and the reality or perception of local police collaboration with ICE and CPB.
When it comes to earning public confidence, there is no substitute for holding officers of all types accountable, but how do we do it? We at the Council on Criminal Justice have provided a blueprint. In addition to requiring independent investigations of officer-involved shootings, the national database of officers decertified for proven misconduct should be revived. This ensures that the small percentage of officers who chronically abuse their authority cannot simply obtain work at another department that is unaware of their past.
We must also make better use of body-worn cameras. Though 80% of law enforcement agencies regularly use the devices, fewer than a quarter of ICE and CBP agents wear body cameras,. Even so, the policing task force found that they are often inactive and that the public faces excessive barriers to obtaining footage.
Another critical step is to rein in broad qualified immunity that shields officers from consequences when constitutional rights are violated. Such immunity makes it almost impossible to successfully sue the officers who shot Petti, even if the evidence demonstrates their conduct was objectively unreasonable. This is primarily because the plaintiff must prove the conduct was clearly established as unlawful by a published court opinion in that jurisdiction involving almost the exact same fact pattern. In 2020, Colorado took a balanced approach by removing this requirement and at the same capping the amount any officer would pay out at $25,000 in the absence of criminal intent. Though police agencies across the nation indemnify officers in more than 99% of cases, reforming qualified immunity provides a financial disincentive through indemnification and risk-based insurance rates to hire and retain officers with a chronic history of abuses and settlements.
Confronting impunity on both sides of the badge brings us closer to a justice system that protects the safety of every American while also earning their trust.