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                            Funding & Awards
 Evidence-Based Model Programs for Cold Case Units
Award Information
Awardee
              RAND Corporation
Award #
              2007-DN-BX-0014
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Santa Monica, CA
Congressional District
              33
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2007
Total funding (to date)
              $358,353
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 07 ORE on Cold Cases
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2007, $358,353)
"Cold cases" are among the most difficult investigators confront.  For a variety of reasons'lack of evidence, strained resources, ineffective investigation'a case becomes cold when initial efforts to solve it prove futile.  In recent years, rates of clearance for all types of crime have plummeted.  Lackluster rates of solution, combined with new technologies such as DNA and automated fingerprint matching, have prompted the police to form 'cold case' units, designed to address cases that stubbornly resist solution.  Despite the growing popularity of 'cold case' units and the expenditure of significant resources to fund them, we know virtually nothing about the return on this investment.  The current study will generate information in the following areas: a) current practices with regard to cold case investigations; b) those variables, especially existing DNA technologies, DNA database systems, and other forensic evidence, that enhance the solvability of cold cases; c) the level of resources required for successful cold case investigation; and d) further inquiry into an area that suffers from a general lack of evidence-based research'the entire investigative process.
ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Policies and practices in cold cases: an exploratory study
                  Working Smarter on Cold Cases: Identifying Factors Associated with Successful Cold Case Investigations
                  Cold Case Investigations: An Analysis of Current Practices and Factors Associated with Successful Outcomes, Executive Summary
                  Cold-Case Investigations: An Analysis of Current Practices and Factors Associated with Successful Outcomes
                  Helping Local Police Departments Solve Cold Cases

  
Date Created: September 10, 2007
    
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