As homicides here have swelled to 125 so far this year — a 27 percent increase over 2015 — detectives have watched caseloads grow to five or six apiece, and have become accustomed to phones ringing at 3 a.m. bringing more bad news.
“I’ve got a lot of tired people,” Lieutenant McGrath said.
The pace of the killings has been relentless, even for veteran detectives, who have seen the number creep steadily upward, from 84 in 2012, and are spending more of their time at crime scenes.
April was especially violent, with 24 homicides, the most in any month in the city’s history. While the pace has slowed somewhat, the count this year may surpass the 157 killed in 2006. The city’s worst year was 1996, when 167 people were murdered.
The homicide clearance rate for Las Vegas remains a point of satisfaction for investigators even as they are swamped with cases. Last week, the unit added two detectives to bring the total to 21, in order to help with the caseload, Lieutenant McGrath said.
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