OnPolicing Blog

The U.S. is facing a cold-case homicide crisis. According to recent UCR data, experts estimate our nation has 250,000 unsolved murders, a staggering number that increases by about 6,000 each year. These unsolved murders represent a direct threat to public safety in communities across the country.

Law enforcement agencies do not have an endless number of resources to combat this problem. In fact, most police departments are doing more with less as retirements outpace the hiring of new police officers. Unfortunately, agencies are eliminating their cold case units as they face budgetary cuts and staffing shortages. Police departments will continue to struggle with the current economic climate as fewer funds are allocated to resolve these cases.

One facet that the police can control, however, is their approach to solving unsolved murders. Police executives should look to adopt new approaches to resolving cold-case murders when dealing with budget and staffing shortfalls.

One of the consequences of ignoring cold-case homicides is the effect it has on surviving family members of the victim. These families clamor for answers while seeking justice for their loved one. A second and lesser-known consequence is the possibility that an unknown offender commits additional crimes: history and research have shown that killers re-offend when given the opportunity.

While the research demonstrates that these numbers are low, one murder is one too many. Many agencies use a “pick it up, put it down” model of cold-case murder investigation. This means an unsolved murder case is investigated intermittently as time allows and often results in long gaps of investigative inactivity as current cases take priority. This method is neither cost-effective nor an efficient use of investigative resources.

So, what can be done? The first step is for police executives to recognize the need to resolve these cold-case murders.

Several agencies have implemented a multidisciplinary model to keep pace with the growing number of unsolved homicides. This includes the use of retired officers, college interns, and civilian analysts to supplement a primary investigator’s responsibilities. This team approach blends veteran experience with contemporary perspectives. The combination of good “old fashion” police work while incorporating new technologies has been a recipe for success for many jurisdictions.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is just one example of an agency seeing success with a multidisciplinary approach to resolving cold-case murders. As a former Seminole County investigator told me, the Office’s approach is highly effective because it combines diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives. By working jointly with forensic specialists familiar with such advanced techniques as modern DNA testing and ballistics analysis, they found that this increased solvability factors. Further, the combination of the experience of both their current and part-time retired investigators brings unique skill sets that enable them to identify new leads or connect previously overlooked clues. This ability to collaborate with individuals from different investigative and forensic disciplines supports a comprehensive case review, uncovering new angles and linking cold cases to other crimes or suspects.

Another low-cost method is the use of a standardized case review process. Departments may have hundreds of unsolved murders stretching over multiple decades without truly knowing the solvability factors associated with each of these cases. The foundation of any cold case is having a systematic process designed to review cases for solvability factors.

Case management is crucial because having such a comprehensive approach allows investigators to determine which case to prioritize to allocate available resources. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina created a successful model to ensure a systematic review of cold cases with a team consisting of both sworn and civilian staff. This robust case review process has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice as a model for other agencies.

A cold-case detective reviews each case and a briefing is provided to the entire cold-case team at a monthly unit meeting. Using a standardized, evidence-based methodology process, they prioritize cases based on solvability ratings. This involves the use of solvability review forms as case files are examined. After the presentation, unit members discuss the case as a team and assign it a solvability rating between 1 and 5 (1 = high solvability, 5 = low probability of arrest). Detectives previously assigned to the cases are also invited to participate in the review, even if they are retired. This process of screening cases for solvability factors and properly maintaining these records not only assists investigators but also aids command-level officers tasked with managing these investigations.

As Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, the lead character in author Michael Connelly’s fictional police novels, states: “Everyone counts, or no one counts.”

The victims of these unsolved murders deserve justice and police executives owe it to the surviving family members as well as the community to make these cases an investigative priority.

 

References:

Adcock, J. (2018, November 28). Fixing America’s cold case crisis. The Crime Report.

Connelly, M. (2017). Two kinds of truth (1st ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Moran, J. (2022, March 17). Applying modern investigation methods to solve cold cases. National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/applying-modern-investigation-methods-solve-cold-cases

Walton, R.H. (2017) Cold case homicides: Practical investigative techniques ( 2nd ed.). Boca
Raton, FL: CRC Press.