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

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

Increasing professional, community, and political (but less so academic) attention is being paid to the growing number of unsolved murders and other major crimes in the United States – what has been called the “cold case problem.” The police investigative function is the gateway to the criminal justice system; unfortunately, clearance rates have been declining for many years. Unsolved crimes allow offenders to escape sanctions and avoid deterrence. Victims are denied justice and community crime prevention efforts are undermined. This failure produces a cycle of mistrust and deteriorating police legitimacy, particularly in minority communities that suffer the most from crime problems. The problem is further compounded by other criminal investigative failures, including wrongful convictions and ignored crime threats. In this panel, we discuss the research, training/educational, and operation support facets of Texas State University’s new Cold Case Investigations Project. Our approach is grounded in the reality of cold case investigations while situated within the relevant scholarly criminological framework.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 41. Police Strategies, Interventions, and Evaluations

Individual Presentations

• An Academic Unit’s Quest to be Helpful - Jeffrey Bumgarner, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Texas State University

• Texas State University Cold Case Internship - H. Jaymi Elsass, Texas State University

• Establishing Guilt and Innocence with Crime Geography: Preventing and Resolving Cold Murder Cases - Kim Rossmo, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Texas State University

• Counting the Days: Exploring Post-mortem Interval Factors in Sexual Homicides - April Miin Miin Chai, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Texas State University

Discussant

• Éric Beauregard, Simon Fraser University