I’ve units that solely specialize in solving these

I’ve always wondered about the way murdercrimes were solved but more specifically if the victims were ever discoveredand identified and if the perpetrators were apprehended. For this essay, I willbe discussing “ cold” cases and how they can negatively affect acommunity. Moreover, how it affects an individual. With that in mind,” cold” cases are defined as unsolved cases, usually involvinghomicide, on which police work has ceased. Unsolved cases do not provide anysort of closure for the victim’s loved ones and if they remain unsolved, are atrisk of allowing the offender to continue to commit homicidal crimes. Thesecases add up to the already overwhelming amount of cases detectives must solve.

But alas, there is still hope for these cases to be solved. In some policestations, there are units that solely specialize in solving these kinds ofcases. Despitethis, there is a one in three chance that the police won’t identify the killer. The national “ clearance rate” for homicide today, is 64. 1% but 50 years ago, itwas more than 90%.

What’s worse is that this “ clearance” doesn’t necessarilyequal a conviction. Notably, it just means that these cases lead to either anarrest or the offender died. Additionally, having an excessive amount ofunsolved cases can increasingly hinder the performance of police officers andother professional employees such as medical examiners.

It can slow down theprocess of solving the cases in a satisfactory and timely manner and can imposegreat stress on the already stressed officers. Criminologists have estimatedthat at least 2, 000 murders have gone unsolved since the 1960s. This, in turn, leaves family and friends holding on to false hope.  However, what many people don’t realize or don’t consider, is that solving homicidal caseshave become increasingly difficult over the years.

This is evident in theamount of “ cold” cases police are presently plagued with. VernonGeberth, a retired NYPD police officer states that DNA analysis has helped butthat it has also contributed to worsening relationships between the public andthe police. There is also a lack of trust between the officers and these scientificapproaches to solving cases. If this continues then these methods willconclusively cease in aiding with criminal investigations.

There is also thelack of assistance from the public itself. Nowadays, most people, if not all ofthem, are wary of the police and offer little to no help in solving cases. Thisin thus, leaves the police “ in the dark”. Onthe other hand, police officers are still capable of solving certain murdercases such as those that are considered “ the hardest kind of homicide tosolve” because they typically occur in areas that have low clearancerates.

In addition to that, they are stranger-to-stranger homicides that have ahigh retaliation percentage among witnesses. Nonetheless, they are almostalways cleared. Giventhe circumstances, there is still a good chance that the amount of” cold” cases will decrease due to the development of cold casesquadrons and with the ongoing improvement of technology. These new methods canhelp shed light on those cases that did not have the appropriate resources tosolve them.

These unidentifiable victims and their equally unidentifiablemurderers will have an opportunity to finally be discovered and the affectedloved ones’ will finally receive the peace and assurance they deserve.