An Academic Unit’s Quest to be Helpful

• In Event: The Texas State University Cold Case Investigations Project: Research, Training, and Operational Support

Abstract

In an era of defunding, de-policing, and demoralization, concern for the investigative enterprise of law enforcement, particularly at the local level, has attracted some attention. Clearance rates are down for a myriad of reasons, including less community cooperation, fewer investigative and human resources, and investigative failures due to inexperience or experience-based recalcitrance. While policing and investigations have undergone a metamorphosis over the past few years, the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Texas State University has experienced a bit of a metamorphosis itself. There has been a recent push among many faculty and students in our school to pursue applied research, teaching, and partnerships in areas directly addressing criminal investigative practices and failures. These efforts have manifested themselves in grants, new advanced courses related to investigations, the creation of a cold-case internship program with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the pursuit of a new applied research center, the establishment of a cold case investigations project, and the exploration of establishing a new peer-reviewed journal focused on case studies with implications for practice. This presentation will highlight these efforts and the challenges that have accompanied them.

Author

• Jeffrey Bumgarner, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Texas State University