Getting away with murder in Western Australia has become increasingly difficult, with police revealing their technological edge has created one of the highest homicide clearance rates in the nation.
WA Police haven't had an unsolved homicide case in nearly a decade, with their last cold case dating back to January 2016 when grandmother Valeria Fermendjin was killed during a violent home invasion in Melville.
The Technology Transforming Crime Fighting
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Tony Longhorn says the secret lies in WA Police's nation-leading embrace of technology and data analysis. 'I think the chances of being caught are significant,' Mr Longhorn stated. 'And I'd like to say we have the resources and the smarts to solve anything.'
The amount of data available to investigators today is staggering:
- Social media and mobile phone data
- CCTV and facial comparison capabilities
- Number plate recognition technology
- DNA profiles and historic databases
- Footage from 7,000 police body-worn cameras
'One thing that WA Police do exceptionally well is overlay and process the data, which quite often leads to an early identification of a suspect or suspects,' Mr Longhorn explained.
Real Results in Record Time
Homicide squad Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo confirmed these advances make it 'really unlikely for offenders of homicide to escape justice in Western Australia.'
She revealed that most homicides are now solved within 24-72 hours, a dramatic improvement from previous solvability rates. In one recent case in Perth's northern suburbs, police tracked down a suspect within just six hours despite the offender being unknown to the victim.
So far this year, there have been 66 homicides in WA, compared to 81 at the same time last year, showing both improved solving rates and potentially fewer incidents.
The Future of Crime Solving
Even more advanced technology is on the horizon, including genetic investigative technology that famously led to the arrest of the Golden State Killer in the United States.
'Whilst we are using it for those historical matters at the moment with some success, it's only a matter of time before the capability will be refined to use in real time investigations,' Mr Longhorn said.
WA Police was the first policing agency in Australia to use this cutting-edge method, which involves using genetic information from commercial and publicly accessible DNA databases to identify suspects through family lines.
Despite their recent success, Mr Longhorn acknowledged that dozens of unsolved cases remain, including the tragic death of Valeria Fermendjin, and promised families that police would never give up seeking answers.
Anyone with information about Ms Fermendjin's death or other unsolved crimes is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
