Over the past two decades 'cold case review conferences' have become an established component of how police forces respond to long-term unsolved major crimes. This article examines the place of cold case major crime reviews in UK policing in an age of austerity. In particular, it focuses on examining how police justify expending resource on these reviews, considering why particular motivations have been advanced and in turn what these reveal about modern policing. Informed by empirical data collected during an eight-month ethnographic study of a Major Crime Review Team and interviews with key actors involved in managing and conducting cold case reviews, the article suggests a typology of motives used to justify the continued investment in reviewing historic unsolved major crimes. The discussion concludes by considering what these motivations and their invocation reveal about the current policing practice.

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Investigating Cold Cases: DNA, Detective Work, and Unsolved Major Crimes, analyses how long-term unsolved murders and unsolved stranger rapes are investigated years after the crimes were committed. The book examines how and why cold case investigations have become an established component of police investigative practice, the role of specialist expertise used, in particular DNA profiling techniques and technologies, and the investigative skills required to finally detect cold cases. The book is based on original fieldwork with one major crime review team as they investigated cold case murders and cold case stranger rapes, interviews with a variety of experts involved in cold case investigations, and analysis of police case files. Above all else, the book will examine the reliance on advances in DNA profiling techniques, to identify previously unknown offenders and suggests that alongside these technological advances it is traditional detective skills that are also necessary to finally detect these crimes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest two things: first, that the scientific and technological developments and increased regulation that have shaped homicide investigations in England and Wales over the last few decades have provided today’s investigators with opportunities not available to their predecessors, and play a key role in solving unsolved homicides. Second, however, the authors suggest that such developments have created new challenges for investigators, challenges that impede current investigations, potentially creating the future unsolved cases. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on two qualitative studies that comprised over eight months of ethnographic research, observations, interviews with serving and retired homicide detectives and case file analysis. Findings The widespread changes to homicide investigations in England and Wales have been valuable in many respects, notably, they have allowed detectives to look back in time and bring longstanding unsolved cases to a close. However, change, although well intentioned, might actually be creating future cold cases as detectives endeavour to manage the volume of information now generated during investigations, fast evolving scientific and technological techniques and an increase in bureaucracy. Practical implications This study is helpful for: improving investigative practice; learning from change; reducing unsolved homicides vs a rise in new cold cases; and innovative and entrepreneurial investigators. Originality/value Utilising qualitative research, this paper contributes to the academic literature exploring homicide investigation in England and Wales, offering insight into the challenges facing detectives and the potential impact of these upon solving past and present homicide cases.