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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Criminal Investigation

Introduction, general overviews.

Crime Scene Processing
Historical Foundations
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Entomology
Forensic Nursing
Forensic Science
Forensic Art and Photography
Interviewing and Interrogation
Forensic Psychology and Profiling
Fraud and White-Collar Crime
Hate Crimes
International
Internet, Digital, and Cybercrime Investigations
Terrorism and Homeland Security Investigations
Victimology

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

Education Programs in Prison
Mixed Methods Research in Criminal Justice and Criminology
Victim Impact Statements
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Criminal Investigation by Richard H. Ward LAST REVIEWED: 25 February 2015 LAST MODIFIED: 28 July 2015 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0079

Criminal investigation as a discipline within the fields of law enforcement (criminal justice) that focuses on the solution of crime at the local, state, and federal levels of government, within defined jurisdictional areas that may overlap. A crime is based on a legal definition prescribed by a governmental entity, such as a state legislature or the US Congress. The field of criminal investigation encompasses a number of cognate areas that begin with the report or suspicion that a crime has occurred, an initial or preliminary evaluation to determine that a crime has occurred, and generally an assignment to an investigator, who may be a police officer, a detective, a special agent, or other investigator, depending on jurisdictional entity: police department, prosecutor, or federal agency, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Secret Service, or one of more than a hundred federal agencies with some form of jurisdictional responsibility for conducting criminal investigations. Rapid advances in science and technology have changed the role of the criminal investigator dramatically, leading to much higher degrees of specialization than in the past, including but not limited to such areas as forensic accounting and fraud; cyber-crime, Internet stalking and child pornography; human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children; homeland security, terrorism, and international organized crime; and theft of art and cultural objects. These types of crime have also resulted in changes to the organizational structure of larger law enforcement agencies as new units have emerged. In the past, criminal investigation units normally assigned detectives to crimes against property (e.g., burglary and robbery) and violent crimes (e.g., homicide, sexual assault). Today, specialized units frequently utilize investigators who have a much narrower perspective and particular expertise. Closely related to these areas has been the role of the private sector in criminal investigations. Most large corporations now have investigative arms that focus on criminal activity within and against the organization. Additionally, the tools, both human and scientific, have placed greater emphasis on the role of the crime laboratory (forensic science) and the utilization of technology in support of the investigative function. Perhaps the best example has been the use of DNA analysis. Advances in crime analysis using sophisticated software—such as relational databases and geospatial programs—have contributed to developing patterns, identifying suspects, and linking common elements of criminal activity. Other advances in technology, such as social media, the use of drones, and digital photography and imaging are examples. Many of these techniques are under judicial examination, particularly in the areas of surveillance, interviewing and interrogation, and analytics. Court decisions and changes in procedural aspects of criminal investigation and forensic science have also led to criticism of many past practices in such areas as interagency cooperation, evidence collection and analysis, interviewing and interrogation, electronic surveillance, and political and media influence.

In addition to general introductory criminal investigation texts, there are, within the field of criminal investigation, a number of areas involving investigative support and specialized types of investigations. Public interest, the media, and high-profile cases have contributed to a growing literature, and the expansion of investigative studies in criminal justice educational programs, as well as training programs for new and specialized areas of investigation. Several areas have produced more specific publications and are covered as subsections within this bibliographic compilation. Additionally, research on various types of crime has contributed to changes in process and procedures, as well as dispelling many long-held views on criminality and crime investigation, such as the modus operandi (method of operation) of criminals, psychological profiling, interviewing and interrogation, and the use of physical evidence. An increasing number of publications of general interest provide an overview of procedural techniques and failures in the investigative process, and a growing body of knowledge on specific types of crime and investigation has produced a rich source of literature available to researchers and criminal investigators. Introductory texts focus largely on a broad description of basic criminal investigation written almost exclusively for undergraduate courses. Each of the books below provides perceptions of the investigative function over time. O’Hara 2003 was used extensively in courses in the 1960s and offers a basic view of the way in which detectives work, and in more recent times as technical and forensics have improved, Becker 2009 ; Osterburg and Ward 2014 ; and Swanson, et al. 2008 have gained greater acceptance in the field as introductory texts. Lee and O’Neill 2002 and Saferstein 2006 emphasize forensics and the methodology involved in solving a case, whereas LaFave, et al. 2009 emphasizes the basic components of case preparation. Douglas and several others have expanded the use of forensic psychology. Rossmo 2008 makes an important contribution in illustrating the mistakes that investigators have made in various cases. The journals cited here provide an overview of the research literature available to scholars and practitioners. Increasing emphasis on the criminal intelligence function has emphasized research into techniques and policies, as well as more focused studies related to national security and terrorism.

Becker, Ronald. 2009. Criminal investigation . 3d ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Emphasizes the role of the investigator in the investigative process, and the relationship between actors in various aspects of a case. Includes sections on underwater investigations and terrorism.

Brandl, Steven G. 2014. Criminal investigation . 3d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Introductory text covering the key aspects of a criminal investigation and many of the drawbacks to a successful investigation. Includes a capstone case designed for students to apply what they have learned.

LaFave, Wayne R., Jerold H. Israel, Nancy J. King, and Orin S. Kerr. 2009. Principles of criminal procedure: Investigation . 2d ed. Concise Hornbook series. St. Paul, MN: West.

This classic text in the field presents the elements and processes of criminal procedure in detail, which range from initial investigations through trial. The book focuses largely on what is necessary to prepare a criminal case for the courts.

Lee, Henry, and Thomas W. O’Neill. 2002. Cracking cases: The science of solving crimes . Amherst, NY: Promethus.

Dr. Henry Lee, a noted forensic scientist, who has consulted on hundreds of high-profile murder cases, and his coauthor provide detailed information on numerous investigations and on the importance of science and observation (deduction) in reviewing criminal cases.

O’Hara, Charles E., and Gregory L. O’Hara. 2003. Fundamentals of criminal investigation . Springfield, IL: C. C. Thomas.

One of the earlier basic texts on criminal investigation; the role of the investigator is explained in detail, from the crime scene search to preparing a case for prosecution.

Osterburg, James W., and Richard H. Ward. 2014. Criminal investigation: A method for reconstructing the past . 6th ed. Albany, NY: LexisNexis-Anderson.

A comprehensive examination of basic and advanced aspects of criminal investigation, this text includes a broader selection of different types of crime investigation, and a lengthy description of forensic science applications and investigative techniques.

Rossmo, Kim. 2008. Criminal investigative failures . Boca Raton, FL: Taylor and Francis.

DOI: 10.1201/9781420047523

The author develops case studies of errors, mistakes, and false judgments associated with many aspects of the investigative process.

Saferstein, Richard. 2006. Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science . 9th ed. Harlow, UK: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

One of the more comprehensive texts on forensic science methods and applications, designed largely for the novice or new student interested in a career as a forensic scientist.

Swanson, Charles, Neil Chamelin, Leonard Territo, and Robert Taylor. 2008. Criminal investigation . 10th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.

A popular introductory text written by authors with years of field experience, this book encompasses many of the techniques and tactics involved in general criminal investigations. A basic text of particular interest to those unfamiliar with the investigative process.

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Introduction to Criminal Investigation: Processes, Practices and Thinking

(7 reviews)

Rod Gehl, Justice Institute of British Columbia

Darryl Plecas, University of the Fraser Valley

Publisher: BCcampus

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Ann Koshivas, Professor, North Shore Community College on 11/29/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I am excited that there is a book in the OER library on criminal investigations. The principles of criminal investigation are well described and it is easy to read and understand. It is a comprehensive book for a community college criminal investigations course. There are some parts that might be confusing because the text is based on Canadian law but the general principles are explained well and applicable to the US as well.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can tell the book is accurate but I am not as familiar with Canadian Law and case precedents so I cannot speak as to those aspects of the book. From what I can tell, the book is accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

It is a relatively new book but the law frequently changes so it will need to be updated. In addition, technological advances as they relate to criminal investigations are constantly being made so the book will need to be updated based on that as well.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is easy to read and well organized.

Consistency rating: 5

There are no issues with consistency. The book is consistent in terns of use of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

This book could easily be used to assign specific chapters. Each chapter stands alone but the content follows a logical manner in its explanation of criminal investigations.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This book is well organized.

Interface rating: 5

The interface was fine. There was nothing confusing or distracting. It was well organized and easy to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no major problems with grammar. The text was understandable and easy to read.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There was nothing culturally offensive about this book.

The length of this book makes it appealing for an introductory course in criminal investigations. The author covers the areas thoroughly and is concise.

Reviewed by Richard Riner, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice/ Criminology, Buena Vista University on 12/16/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This is a short text, 203 pages versus 519 pages for the book I am currently using for the Criminal Investigations course. It covers the basics, but that is about all it does. The book takes a very broad look at the investigative process, which makes it appropriate for those with no formal introduction into police work or investigations, but for those who are familiar with the process and might be looking for an in-depth examination of specific issues that can occur within the scope of an investigation, this book does not seem to be intended for that purpose. For example, a death investigation is different enough in nature and procedure that most texts devote a chapter to examining the inherent complexities and procedural challenges that accompany the investigation into the death of another human being. This book discusses major cases, and while death investigations certainly fall within that category, there is not a lot of material devoted to them, and that material is under the topic of Forensics.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book was written by and for students in Canada, while my background in law enforcement in the United States. However, the fact that many current and former law enforcement officials were consulted for the creation of this book lead me to believe that form a policy and procedure standpoint the book is accurate. In order to do due diligence for this section, I researched Canadian procedures (a very educational exercise) and found everything in the book to be accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Because the book is written from a broader frame of reference, it's utility will outlast many books in the field. Criminal Justice is an ever-changing field, and the more specific the material the more susceptible it is to changes in the landscape with regard to policy and procedure. By staying broad in scope the book discusses issues and practices that have relevant for many years and will remain so for the foreseeable future. This book will age well.

The book is written in a straightforward language without a heavy reliance on jargon. The cases cited are not what I am used to being the book was written essentially for a Canadian audience, but the explanation of the importance and relevance of the cases would be easily understood. Anyone with an interest in investigations would be able to read this book and understand the message of the authors.

Consistency rating: 4

The voice in which the book was written remains consistent throughout. The terms used to refer to the various concepts or practices are such that once a person understands them they will be able to apply them later in the text to aid in understanding later concepts.

The text is broken down into chapters, as most texts are, but them the authors have further broken the text down into topics within each chapter. This makes locating a passage of text easily done. From an instructor stand point this is a feature I would find especially useful during the presentation of textbook material in class. Having the chapters broken down in this manner will make the task of learning easier for students as well.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

When teaching about the process of a criminal investigation, I find it helpful to address topic in the order that an investigator is likely to deal with them when carrying out an investigation, beginning with the initial response to the scene of the crime, and ending with testimony during the trial. This text is not organized in such a way. The order in which topics are presented is not inherently confusing, but for someone who "walks" students through the process means there would be a fair amount of jumping back and forth between chapters to approach the material chronologically.

There were no issues with navigating the book. I downloaded a PDF of the text so it could accessed offline. And while there not active links in the table of contents that a person could click to go directly to a specific chapter, finding a particular passage or topic was fairly easy. The charts that accompany the text were clear both with regard to the quality of the image and clarity of the concepts. There were not a great deal of photos in the text, perhaps only one of a photo array, but it was a good quality photo.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I did not notice issues with grammar within the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Since the text was created for a Canadian audience, I may not be the most qualified person to judge the cultural relevance if this particular text. However, I did not find any material that I would deem inappropriate of offensive. This text deals with material and incidents that can be upsetting or shocking to people, and does so in a manner that would not offensive to readers.

Overall, this could be a useful and instructive text for the right audience. Outside of Canada, its potential utility lessens. The text has some very good characteristics, which have been described earlier, and some that could be improves in later iterations of the text.

Reviewed by Graham Rankin, Visiting Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Western Oregon University on 7/29/21

There are extensive references including legal citations for Canadian Supreme Court decisions, and an an excellent list of study questions with answers at the end of the text. However, there is no glossary or index included which makes it more... read more

Appears to be fairly accurate. I am not familiar with Caradon law so I am assuming these sections are accurate. Because the Forensic Science chapter is very superficial some aspects, while not inaccurate, are incomplete. For instance, Ballistics is considered outmoded and Firearms Identification is preferred. Accelerant and Arson are discouraged from use as Fire Debris Analysis, Suspicious Fire and Ignitable Liquid Determination are the recommended terms. Only the jury can determine if the presence of an ignitable liquid was used by the accused as an accelerant in the commission of the crime of arson. Also Bite Mark Evidence is now considered pseudoscience and may not be presented in court.

Publication date is 2016 which is reasonably recent, however an updated edition should be considered in light of new developments in analysis of trace evidence, DNA genealogical matching, and digital evidence, especially cell phone tracing of a suspect's movements.

Clarity rating: 4

Generally very clear, except for the too brief Forensic Science chapter. Also the correct packaging of evidence needs to be included as the uniformed officer may be tasked with this at the crime scene.

With the exception of Chapter 10 it is very consistent.

Each chapter is divided into Topics with study questions at the end of each chapter.

Very good. Example forms for Crime Scene management and Evidence log are included.

Interface rating: 4

Scenarios could be expanded to encourage critical thinking by requiring the reader to formulate a hypothesis based on evidence, the test that hypothesis.

none noted.

The importance of photo and line-up procedures to include same race and general description is important for eye witness identification. Cultural issues were discussed in light of interviewing witnesses and suspects.

This text is intended for training police officers who may be involved in crime scene investigation and interviewing suspects and witnesses. In that respect it does a very good job in developing a mindset for the officer to follow in the course of his/her duties. The major downside is this is a Canadian publication and thus will need considerable additional lecture and written information relating to US federal and state legal issues especially Chapter 2. While many of the aspects of rights of the suspect are common, the legal framework and court cases will be different. The overall approach includes case scenarios and study questions at the end of each chapter. Aside from those unique to Canadian law, these are excellent and could be used in a Crime Scene Investigation course in a Criminal Justice department. Some topics in crime scene security, collection and preservation of evidence could be included in introductory courses in Forensic Science. Chapter 10 is the only chapter relating directly to Forensic Science. Some topics like Forensic Pathology are fairly detailed whereas Forensic Chemistry is a short paragraph, mostly a listing of areas of analysis, i.e. fire debris analysis, drug analysis, toxicology. As a result this text would be unsuitable as the sole text for even an Introduction to Forensic Science course.

Reviewed by paul Zipper, Adjunct Faculty, Northern Essex Community College on 4/15/21

The Text was written utilizing Canadian law. This became problematic when addressing legal concepts in the US. There was no index or glossary of terms. The text would have benefited with an index and glossary of terms at the end. read more

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The major investigative steps in the book was accurate. However when delving deeper into the text, it was clear Canadian terminology and US terminology and laws are different and don't mesh seamlessly. There are minor spelling nuances between the US and Canada. We use the term "offense" Canadians use "offence" as an example.

The 11 chapters were organized and hit the major areas in Criminal Investigation. Necessary updates can fit into the current template.

Clarity rating: 1

The major investigative step are well written. However Canadian Jargon/laws/terminology do not translate into concepts found in US law.

The terminology and framework are consistent- yet not applicable to what we do in the US

Modularity found in this course is a strength. Having used the text the last several semesters, it is easy to use with a traditional 14 week semester. It also covers the major concepts in a manner that is not overwhelming to students. Each week of the semester a major concept is covered and additional case studies and article are utilized to support the chapter we are covering.

The book is well organized. It takes the students through a traditional investigative flow. It has a strong introduction and covers the necessary preliminary steps and investigator/student would need to know before moving on to the next one.

The text is free of interface issues; that being said the text would be enhanced by adding some images and charts to enhance the materials.

Minor grammatical errors

I found no material in the text that would in any way be considered insensitive or offensive.

I think this is an excellent OER. It is well organized and covers major investigative steps in an organized fashion. The major downside is the audience it was written for are Canadian Law Enforcement Officers. I am teaching college students in Massachusetts, USA. A majority of the investigative steps and concepts are transferrable to the US. However, Canadian law and criminal procedure are different than US Federal law and the laws in each of our 50 states and territories. This text works with supplemental materials from the jurisdiction it is taught in being inserted. The instructor needs to point out the differences during class discussion.

Reviewed by William Powers, Adjunct Faculty, Bristol Community College on 5/29/20

Comprehensive instructions from first responding Officer to crime scene preservation, documentation, interviews and interrogation plus (Canadian) legal aspects. read more

Comprehensive instructions from first responding Officer to crime scene preservation, documentation, interviews and interrogation plus (Canadian) legal aspects.

Written in a straight forward, unbiased, usually step by step progression.

Text is based on Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so legal aspects are not likely to drastically change. Text can be easily edited and updated for changes and new rulings in case law.

Wording is clear, minimal use of technical terminology. The only thing I had to research was the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for comparison to American Constitution/Bill of Rights.

Proper use of terminology, some easily understood Canadian phrasing.

Book is properly divided by chapter and sub-divided to explain more detailed subject matter.

Good progression of subject matter from Intro through legal aspects to strategic organization and tactical use of crime scene protocols.

The few charts in the book were clear and easily understood. No distortion.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

Some grammatical and punctuation errors scattered throughout the book. Ch. 7 Topic 2 Witness Types became confusing grammatically. Poorly worded in identifying direct, indirect, circumstantial evidence and witnesses. Ch 8 Note Taking. A quote (?) was opened with parentheses, parentheses were never closed.

Examples were non-offensive.

This text will be useful to a Canadian instructor and classes of prospective Police Officers, especially those that intend to pursue careers in criminalistics. The heavy but necessary reliance on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms limits the books usefulness in other countries. Officers in the United States will be unnecessarily confused by the mixture of Canadian rights and the American Bill of Rights/Constitution. (This reviewer is from the U.S.) I myself will explore the use of Ch 8 as a quality example of proper crime scene security. The chapter shows how a first responding Officer should establish proper limited access to the crime scene, how to use an Officer assigned to maintaining a Crime Scene Security Log to limit access to and document egress times at a scene, and use of an Exhibit Log by a Forensics team supervisor to protect evidence integrity.

Reviewed by Robert Engvall, Professor, Roger Williams University on 11/5/19

This book provides a comprehensive look at introductory criminal investigation. It does a nice job of laying a proper foundation through introducing basic concepts leading through to chapters on crime scene management and forensic sciences. read more

This book is entirely accurate in its portrayal of criminal investigation.

This book is particularly relevant given today's increasingly complicated criminal justice climate. Criminal investigations are under increased scrutiny (appropriately so) and this book introduces that important new reality.

This book is clear, concise, valuable to the reader.

This book provides consistency throughout.

Each chapter provides its own information and could easily stand alone as a section of study. The context is set appropriately in the beginning of the book and some basic concepts follow leading through to more complicated crime scene management.

Each chapter stands alone, and is clearly organized. The flow is appropriate as the book takes the reader from context to basics to more complicated and reality based principles.

The book is easy to read, easy to look at, well organized.

Grammar is fine.

The book is appropriate for today's world.

This book truly does provide a solid foundation for a criminal investigation student. It would be of value to any undergraduate criminal investigation course.

Reviewed by Michael Buerger, Professor of Criminal Justice, Bowling Green State University, Ohio on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text under review is written for Canadian investigators, and rests on Canadian law and case precedents. That limits its applicability to the American market, and in some ways limits the value of an assessment by an American reviewer. Many sections do not have direct applicability, despite the general similarities between the two systems. Even though there are clear parallels in the legal systems, Canadian case law under a national charter will not have broad applicability in the United States context. State laws, federal appellate districts, and Supreme Court decisions are all operant, and the applicable legal rules may differ between jurisdictions when there are no federal precedents (the Scenario #2 domestic violence example on page 53 is such an example, for instance). The overview in Chapter 1 is excellent, and can be applied equally to criminal investigations in any democratic context. Chapter 2’s discussion of “discretion” is a good example of that adaptability, for instance: the overall effect of the first two chapters is positive enough to make me wish there could be an American version.

The approach taken by the authors is a sensible and much-needed addition to the presentation of criminal investigations. Distinguishing between investigative tasks and investigative thinking is a recurring thematic guide, and it is articulated well throughout the book. Though the distinction might be made more explicitly, the authors recognize that criminal investigations begin with the arrival of the first responding unit, almost always a uniformed officer rather than an investigator, and they incorporate that perspective throughout. The roles described on page 13 are equally applicable to Canadian and U.S. criminal justice personnel.

Not all of the examples are as useful as they might be. The example on page 36 – “I really need some money. I’m going to rob that bank tomorrow.” – is far more explicit than the type of circumstantial evidence investigators are likely to encounter. While the statement is useful, it is unrealistically specific: improvements might include the addition of variations on the theme of such utterances, such as: “I really need some money. Maybe I should rob a bank” and “I really, really need money. I’m desperate.” The greater ambiguity embedded in those statements is a greater test of the thinking discipline that the authors promote.

Page 43: the issue of consent may be that simple in Canada, but American cases rest on whether or not the person giving consent has authority to do so: cohabitants, roommates with specific areas of privacy vs. general-use spaces, landlords rather than tenants, and similar variations are not addressed here.

The distinction between Tactical and Strategic responses is a valid one, but it is dragged out a bit more than it needs to be on pp. 48-51; it is laborious reading, leaning to the tendentious. The concept is clear, but the explanation drags. One of the issues related to that distinction is the role of first-responding patrol officers, and subsequent follow-up investigation by detectives

The discussion of the stabbing incident that occupies pages 55-57 is important for establishing the “step-down” requirement when an exigent circumstances scene is brought under control. It is described in Canadian terms, but has American analogs.

The presentations focus more on philosophy than technique, and the links between the two are not consistent throughout. While the overview of forensic evidence is a good introductory treatment, I expected at least some reference to collection techniques, since the lab work is dependent upon crime scene work.

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the Canadian legal components, but the elements that apply to the fundamental of the work are sound.

Relevance and longevity should be good. Changes in law, and changes in or addition to the forensic techniques will require periodic updating, but that should be accomplished easily.

The writing is clear, although repetitive in some places, leaning to the tendentious in a few spots. My only real concern would be that the some readers might get lost in the philosophy of thinking, to the detriment of understanding the associated techniques.

Consistency of approach and terminology, and associated linkages in different sections, is good.

Modularity rating: 4

The modules are a strength of the book; my only criticism is that they are more uneven in their content than I would expect. A number of one-short-paragraph modules are ripe for at least some further development.

The text is clear, and easy to follow.

I experienced no interface problems at all.

Allowing for the different systems of punctuation, the book is error-free in terms of grammar. There are some annoying proofreading errors that stand out, however: Page 62: a comma rather than a period at the end of the second sentence of the “Common Error #3” paragraph. Page 65: redundant “situation” in the third paragraph (lower case followed by a capitalized Boldface). Page 82, final paragraph: “articles of evid. . . ase” are proofreading errors Page 92: Need a space between “crime.” and “Understanding” Page 120, third line of the “Like photo lineups” paragraph: the semi-colon should be a comma. A comma after “suspect” in the second line would help clarify the subordinate clause issue.

Cultural references are mostly absent, and for good reason, I think. They are a larger element in investigations, more fragmented in their application, and deserve separate, free-standing treatment. I saw no references that raised red flags for offensive content.

The first “Interviewing” paragraph at the bottom of page 123, carrying over to page 124, begins with the premise that “In fact, the person is not even definable as a suspect at this point,” but immediately shifts to a previously-discussed point (perpetrators acting as witnesses or reporters in order to deflect suspicion) and remains on that point to the end. Far more persons are interviewed who do not fit this category than are those who are, and the narrow focus on “suspect” for this portion is disconcerting.

The main focus of the chapter is on offenders, which at some point the investigation must be, but the broader preliminary interview phases need better development. Chapter 7 deals more with typologies than techniques, so a broader treatment of non-suspect witness interviews (and recontact interviews) would be helpful.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Some Important Basic Concepts
Chapter 3: What You Need To Know About Evidence
Chapter 4: The Process of Investigation
Chapter 5: Strategic Investigative Response
Chapter 6: Applying the Investigative Tools
Chapter 7: Witness Management
Chapter 8: Crime Scene Management
Chapter 9: Interviewing, Questioning, and Interrogation
Chapter 10: Forensic Sciences
Chapter 11: Summary

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Introduction to Criminal Investigation, Processes, Practices, and Thinking is a teaching text designed to assist the student in developing their own structured mental map of processes, practices, and thinking to conduct criminal investigations.

Delineating criminal investigation into operational descriptors of tactical-response and strategic response while using illustrations of task-skills and thinking-skills, the reader is guided into structured thinking practices. Using the graphic tools of a “Response Transition Matrix”, an “Investigative Funnel”, and the “STAIR Tool”, the reader is shown how to form their own mental map of investigative thinking that can later be articulated in support of forming their reasonable grounds to believe.

Chapter 1 introduces criminal investigation as both a task process and a thinking process. This chapter outlines these concepts, rules, and processes with the goal of providing practical tools to ensure successful investigative processes and practices. Most importantly, this book informs the reader how to approach the investigative process using “investigative thinking.”

Chapter 2 illustrates investigation by establishing an understanding of the operational forum in which it occurs. That forum is the criminal justice system and in particular, the court system. The investigative process exists within the statutory rules of law, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and case law rulings adjudicated by the courts. Considering the existence of these conditions, obligations, and case law rules, there are many terms and concepts that an investigator needs to understand to function appropriately and effectively within the criminal justice system. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce some of the basic legal parameters and concepts of criminal justice within which the criminal investigation process takes place.

Chapter 3 describes the functions and terms of “evidence”, as they relate to investigation. This speaks to a wide range of information sources that might eventually inform the court to prove or disprove points at issue before the trier of fact. Sources of evidence can include anything from the observations of witnesses to the examination and analysis of physical objects. It can even include the spatial relationships between people, places, and objects within the timeline of events. From the various forms of evidence, the court can draw inferences and reach conclusions to determine if a charge has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Considering the critical nature of evidence within the court system, there are a wide variety of definitions and protocols that have evolved to direct the way evidence is defined for consideration by the court. In this chapter, we look at some of the key definitions and protocols that an investigator should understand to carry out the investigative process.

Chapter 4 breaks investigation down into logical steps, establishing a progression that can be followed and repeated to reach the desired results. The process of investigation can be effectively explained and learned in this manner. In this chapter the reader is introduced to various issues in the progression that relate to the process of investigation.

Chapter 5 examines the operational processes of investigation. In this chapter we introduce the three big investigative errors along with graphic illustrations of “The Investigative Funnel” and the “S T A I R Tool” to illustrate how each of these concepts in the investigative progression.

Chapter 6 provides the reader the opportunity to work through some investigative scenarios using the S T A I R Tool. These scenarios demonstrate the investigative awareness required to transition from the tactical investigative response to the strategic investigative response. Once in the strategic response mode the reader is challenged to practice applying theory development to conduct analysis of the evidence and information to create an investigative plan.

This chapter presents two investigative scenarios each designed to illustrate different steps of the S T A I R tool allowing the student to recognize both the tactical and the strategic investigative responses and the implications of transitioning from the tactical to the strategic response.

Chapter 7 illustrates the investigative practices of witness management. Witness statements will assist the investigator in forming reasonable grounds to lay a charge, and will assist the court in reaching a decision that the charge against an accused person has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

It is important for an investigator to understand these practices as they allow an investigator to evaluate witnesses and collect witness evidence that will be acceptable to the courts.

Chapter 8 describes crime scene management skills. These skills are an extremely significant task component of investigation because evidence that originates at the crime scene will provide a picture of events for the court to consider in its deliberations. That picture will be composed of witness testimony, crime scene photographs, physical exhibits, and the analysis of those exhibits, along with the analysis of the crime scene itself. From this chapter, the reader will learn the task processes and protocols for several important issues in crime scene management.

Chapter 9 examines the interviewing, questioning, and interrogation techniques police use to aid them in investigations. The courts expect police to exercise high standards using practices that focus on the rights of the accused person, and minimize any physical or mental anguish that might cause a false confession. In meeting these expectations, the challenges of suspect questioning and interrogation can be complex, and many police agencies have trained interrogators and polygraph operators who undertake the interrogation of suspects for major criminal cases. But not every investigation qualifies as a major case, and frontline police investigators are challenged to undertake the tasks of interviewing, questioning, and interrogating possible suspects daily. The challenge for police is that the questioning of a suspect and the subsequent confession can be compromised by flawed interviewing, questioning, or interrogation practices. Understanding the correct processes and the legal parameters can make the difference between having a suspect's confession accepted as evidence by the court or not.

Chapter 10 examines various forensic sciences and the application of forensic sciences as practical tools to assist police in conducting investigations. As we noted in Chapter 1, it is not necessary for an investigator to be an expert in any of the forensic sciences; however, it is important to have a sound understanding of forensic tools to call upon appropriate experts to deploy the correct tools when required.

Chapter 11 summarizes the learning objectives of this text and suggests investigative learning topics for the reader going forward. Many topics relative to investigative practices have not been covered here as part of the core knowledge requirements for a new investigator. These topics include:

Major Case Management Informant and confidential source management Undercover investigations Specialized team investigations

About the Contributors

Rod Gehl , is a retired police Inspector, and an instructor of criminal investigation for International Programs and the Law Enforcement Studies Program at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. These ongoing teaching engagements are preceded by 35 years of policing experience as criminal investigator and a leader of multi-agency major case management teams. From his experiences Rod has been a keynote speaker at several international homicide conferences and has assisted in the development and presentation of Major Case Management courses for the Canadian Police College. For his contribution to policing he has been conferred the Lieutenant Governor’s Meritorious Service Award for homicide investigation. Rod’s published research on the “The Dynamics of Police Cooperation in Multi-agency Investigations”, was followed by his article, titled, “Multi-agency Teams, A Leadership Challenge”, featured in the US Police Chief Magazine. Rod retains a licence as a private investigator and security consultant and continues to work with regulatory compliance agencies in both public and private sector organizations for the development of their investigative training and systems.

Darryl Plecas is Professor Emeritus at University of the Fraser Valley where he worked for 34 years, most recently holding the Senior University Research Chair (RCMP) and Directorship of the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. As Professor Emeritus he continues to co-author work with colleagues and supervises graduate students. He also serves as Associate Research Faculty at California State University – Sacramento, and as an annually invited lecturer to the Yunnan Police College in Kunming, China. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 research reports, international journal articles, books, and other publications addressing a broad range public safety issues. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including UFV’s Teaching Excellence Award, the Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology Award from the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning, the Order of Abbotsford, the CCSA Award of Excellence, and the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Public Safety. His most recent co-authored book “Evidenced Based Decision Making for Government Professionals” was awarded the 2016 Professional Development Award from the Canadian Association of Municipalities.

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Forensic Sci Int Synerg

Psychological contributions to cold case investigations: A systematic review

This article presents a systematic review of the available literature on ‘what works’ in cold case investigations, with a specific focus on psychological evidence-based research. Long-term unsolved and cold cases present their own unique set of challenges, such as lack of hard evidence, recall accuracy, and witness credibility. Therefore, this review provides a collated base of research regarding preventative methods and investigative tools and techniques developed to highlight gaps in the literature and inform best practice in cold case investigations. The review features victim and crime characteristics that may contribute to a case becoming cold and displays contributing factors to cold case clearance. Although promising, at present, psychological research in this field is insufficient to inform evidence-based guidance. Future research should aim to explore the wider psychological and criminal justice-based literature (e.g., memory retrieval and cognitive bias) to investigate what could be applicable to cold case investigations.

1. Introduction

Over the past couple of decades, there has been an increasing fascination with cold cases in popular culture. We see this in the emergence of true crime podcasts, documentaries, best-selling books, and even CrimeCon, an annual convention for true crime fans hosted in various countries [ 75 ]. Although we are generally more aware of these types of cases, currently there is no clear, universal definition of a ‘cold case’ [ 2 , 18 ]. In the UK, a ‘long-term case’ is defined as one that is open for twenty-eight days or longer [ 24 ]. Whereas a ‘cold’ case is often used to describe a case which has not been cleared by arrest or prosecution [ 14 ]; however, there is no specified point in time whereby an unsolved long-term case becomes a cold case. With this in mind, it is generally recognized that a case becomes cold when it is deemed that no further progress can be made (i.e., when all viable leads have been exhausted [ 16 ]). This effectively recategorizes the case from a long-term active to a long-term inactive, or cold, case.

It is difficult to estimate the number of cases that are unsolved, and thus deemed cold. However, this figure is likely to be substantial. For example, in the United States, The Murder Accountability Project reports 34% (roughly 331,000) of homicides reported between 1965 and 2020 as unsolved [ 67 ]. Similarly, in England and Wales, 33% of all initially recorded homicides between April 2018 and March 2019 saw no suspects charged [ 44 ]. These figures demonstrate a high proportion of homicide cases likely to go cold. However, in the whole category of cold cases there is a breadth of other crimes that must be considered.

Research has ascertained that long-term missing person inquiries are an important contributor to cold cases [ 9 , 78 ]. In fact, it is estimated that in the United Kingdom there are over 5000 unsolved missing person cases over one year old and over 1000 unidentified body cases [ [58] , [65] ]. In addition, although sexual assault is one of the most common violent offenses [ 21 ], it is also one of the most underreported and most difficult to prosecute [ 15 ], leading to many reported cases remaining unsolved and more recently, an influx of delayed allegations. Most recent figures from the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice show a decline in the rate of resolution for these cases, with less than 2% of rape cases resulting in suspects being summonsed or charged [ 12 ]. Thus, although we are unable to provide a singular number that defines how many long-term and cold cases exist, it is evident that these cases form a large proportion of police investigations.

Compared to current and active investigations, cold cases present a unique set of challenges to investigators. New investigative leads are needed, but they are often time-critical and become more difficult to find as time passes [ 3 ]. Research has suggested that the framing of a cold case as being one that is difficult, if not impossible, to solve, can create a cognitive response in investigators based on pessimism [ 74 ]. This mindset can in turn have a detrimental impact on the motivation and effort to continue searching for more leads, resulting in unfruitful outcomes. Exacerbating this further, many police forces are under-resourced due to budget cuts, meaning that cases are prioritized according to their likelihood of resolution, with cold cases naturally scoring lower on such prioritization matrices [ 31 , 57 , 89 ].

In many criminal investigations, witness accounts play a central role in informing the police about what happened and who was involved [ 37 ]. It is therefore important to obtain reliable information promptly, that is sufficiently detailed, to develop investigative lines of enquiry that ultimately help find, arrest, and bring perpetrators to justice. Psychological research has shown that the quality of witness accounts is time-critical [ 45 ]. As the delay increases, so too does the likelihood of forgetting, meaning that potentially critical leads from witnesses become less available over time. The passing of time can also pose a serious threat to recall accuracy, as there is greater opportunity for a witness's memory to be contaminated by inaccurate information encountered between the time of the event and the time of providing an account to the police [ 32 , 59 ]. Exposure to post-event information from co-witnesses, friends, family, local or national news, and social media, can also negatively influence a witness's original memory for what happened and who was involved [ 36 ]. Furthermore, research has shown that greater emotion can increase people's susceptibility to false memories [ 49 ], suggesting that memory recall could be especially at risk of contamination from the loved ones of a cold case victim. In sum, a sizable challenge for cold-case investigators is their ability to obtain a reliable account from witnesses about a crime that happened in the past.

Although there are important obstacles to consider in cold case investigations, advances in forensic science have helped develop new methods, tools, and techniques to aid the investigation process. For example, the introduction of DNA testing was a turning point in criminal investigations, enabling suspects to be identified from biological traces such as blood, saliva, and hair [ 50 ]. More recently, genetic genealogy, using direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies such as 23andMe or AncestryDNA, has been successfully used to infer genetic relationships in both active and cold cases [ 40 ]. In recent years, psychological research has also been central to informing policy and procedures surrounding effective evidence gathering techniques such as investigative interviewing [ 62 ] and identification procedures [ 88 ]. In the context of investigative interviewing, this has led to the development of scientifically informed training and practice of core skills such as rapport building, retrieval facilitation techniques, and the use of effective questions [ 26 , 38 , 63 , 85 ]. For example, the UK based College of Policing has a ‘What Works Centre for Crime Reduction’ that collects and shares research evidence on crime reduction and supports its use in practice [ 25 ]. In short, psychological research has, and continues to, support evidence-based practice within many areas of criminal investigations. However, the current body of knowledge is yet to be collated to inform and support cold case investigations.

To understand how psychology can best contribute to the investigation of cold cases, it is imperative to start by reviewing the literature and identifying relevant empirical research. In the last few years, greater attention has been paid to how we can bridge the gap between police working on cold cases and academics researching ways to assist investigations [ 52 ], however we still know relatively little. Therefore, this article presents a systematic review of the available literature on ‘what works’ in cold case investigations, with a specific focus on psychological evidence-based research. This review is both practical and timely given the rise in the number of cold cases (34% of reported homicides between 1980 and 2000 compared to 43% of reported homicides between 2000 and 2021 [ 67 ]), and the associated challenges with cold case investigations. Furthermore, it is the first to collate, synthesize and evaluate the findings of empirical research regarding methods, investigative tools and techniques developed to prevent, solve, and inform best practice in cold case investigations.

2. Methodology

2.1. search strategy.

In January 2022, three academic databases (EThOS: e-thesis online service, PsycInfo, Web of Science) were searched to identify studies that reported on preventative methods, and investigative tools and techniques relevant to cold case investigations. The following Boolean search string was used, where all words must appear in the abstract: (“cold case*” OR “unsolved case*” OR “long-term case*” OR “long-term unsolved”) AND (“investigat*” OR “police” OR “law enforcement”). Upon finding no results in our EThOS search, we decided to exclude non-peer reviewed papers. In addition, we conducted a manual search of papers' bibliographies relevant to the topic.

2.2. Criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies

Studies were included if they examined psychologically informed preventative methods, investigative tools and/or techniques intended to prevent or improve the efficacy of cold case or long-term investigations. Both quantitative and qualitative research was included. Studies were excluded if they: (1) did not focus on cold case or long-term investigations; (2) did not come from within the field of psychology (e.g., forensic science); (3) did not include an evaluation of preventative methods, or investigative tools or techniques, and; (4) were written in languages other than English. Finally, we excluded reviews, non-peer reviewed papers, and non-empirical books and book chapters.

2.3. Search results

Our initial search yielded 265 results (this included 263 results from our chosen databases and two results from manual searching, no grey literature was found). Duplicates were then removed, leaving 250 articles for title and abstract screening. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow chart outlines the steps we followed throughout the screening process, including the number of articles we found, included, excluded and common reasons for exclusion (see Fig. 1 ).

Prisma flow chart outlining key phases.

2.4. Screening and study selection

Screening is the practice of determining eligibility by reviewing the initially identified studies against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used a two-step screening process that comprised: (1) title and abstract screening, and (2) full-text review. During the first step, titles that had no relevance to cold case or long-term investigations were eliminated. Abstracts were also inspected to determine whether each study reported on preventative methods, tools, and/or techniques, were psychologically informed, and were evaluated for use in cold case investigations. Studies that did not meet these criteria were removed. Studies that passed the title and abstract screening, or were deemed unclear at this stage (e.g., due to insufficient information presented in the abstract), were included in the second step of the screening process.

During the second step, articles were determined to be ineligible if the study did not investigate specific preventative methods, or investigative tools or techniques, it was not psychologically informed, and/or it did not evaluate the methods, tools, or techniques for use in cold case investigations. Twelve articles passed the second step of the screening process and were reviewed to determine their goal or focus (e.g., victim or crime characteristics) and methodological approach.

The first step of the screening process was undertaken by multiple researchers who had all received relevant training. The statistical test Cohen's Κ was performed to determine the level of agreement between researchers during the abstract screening process, and there was a substantial level of interrater agreement with the given inclusion and exclusion criteria, Κ = .681, p < .001 [ 61 ].

3. Results and discussion

Of the twelve studies that met the inclusion criteria, six were quantitative, five were qualitative, and one was mixed methods. Through a thorough review of these studies, we found that two themes of focus emerged: (1) preventative methods, 1 which comprised of six studies (five quantitative and one qualitative), and analyzed crime and victim characteristics in solved and unsolved cases to identify factors that may lead to a case going cold; and (2) investigative tools and techniques, which comprised of six studies (five qualitative and one mixed methods), and explored ‘what works’ in already cold cases.

3.1. Preventative methods

Six studies examined the solvability of cases to better understand the characteristics associated with a case being unsolved and by extension going cold. Articles in this theme examined the crime characteristics to provide insight into the qualities of the perpetrator and offense before, during, and after the crime; and/or the victim characteristics to understand what attributes of a victim are more likely to be associated with unsolved cases. Table 1 summarizes the key features of the studies included within the systematic review categorized as preventative methods. Four studies [ 17 , [19] , [20] , [21] ] examined criminal offenses with a sexual motive (sexual homicide, rape, and other sexual offenses), one focused on contract killings [ 13 ] and one [ 73 ] investigated general homicide.

Summary of key points from articles categorized within preventative methods.

3.1.1. Crime characteristics

Crimes can be split into three phases, namely pre-crime, crime, and post-crime. These phases reflect the lead-up to the crime, the crime itself, and the events after the crime, respectively. Given the complexity of the topic, most studies provided insight on more than one of these phases.

With regards to the pre-crime phase, Chopin et al. [ 21 ] examined behaviors that rape offenders utilize to avoid police detection and found that the likelihood of a case being solved increased if the victim was initially targeted by the offender and the offender used a ruse or con to approach the victim. In contrast, they found that the case was more likely to remain unsolved when the victim and offender were strangers, and the offender used a surprise attack. Chiu and Leclerc [ 19 ] performed a regression and conjunctive analysis to identify predictors of solved and unsolved sexual crimes. They discovered that the offender consuming alcohol or drugs prior to the offense was strongly associated with the solvability of the case. This is presumably due to intoxication often leading to more reckless behavior and less forensic awareness (e.g., leaving more evidence and/or witnesses). Alcohol is known to impair decision-making and can lead to taking more risks [ 39 ]. Previous research has indicated that alcohol increases the solvability to a crime due to lower forensic awareness [ 6 ]. It is possible that in sexual offenses, alcohol consumption can influence arousal to a sub-optimal level, thereby impairing their forensic awareness [ 6 ]. In the context of general homicide, the presence of known pre-crime factors, such as an argument, increases the odds of a case clearance [ 73 ]. A lack of understanding of pre-crime circumstances often indicates a lack of information or evidence. An argument before a homicide has taken place would, for example, have given a viable lead for the police to follow in the beginning stages of an investigation.

Proceeding to the crime phase, Chai et al. [ 17 ] investigated body disposal patterns in sexual homicide and examined whether offender's behaviors differ between solved and unsolved cases. Identifying behavioral patterns associated with body disposal can potentially assist police investigators in narrowing down a possible suspect list by providing information about the nature of the crime, an offender's criminal experience level, and whether there might have been a relationship between the victim and the offender (see also [ 66 ]). In this study, the only crime phase variable they found associated with unsolved cases was evidence of stabbing. In other words, a case was more likely to remain unsolved when an offender stabbed their victim in a sexual homicide. Similarly, Regoeczi et al. [ 73 ] found that homicides involving a knife were solved less frequently than homicides involving physical violence using one's own extremities. Previous research has indicated that such personal weapons (i.e., hands and feet), are often characteristic of intimate partner violence [ 77 , 79 ], which is known to have higher clearance rates [ 43 ].

With regards to the location of the crime during the crime phase, Chopin et al. [ 21 ] discovered that rape cases occurring in a residence are more likely to be solved. Instead, if a rape occurs in a deserted area, outdoors, or in a parking lot, the chances of it being solved decrease. Similar findings have been reported by Regoeczi et al. [ 73 ], whereby homicides that took place in residences were more likely to be cleared. These findings could be explained by a more significant presence of potential eyewitnesses and CCTV footage within residential areas. Chiu and Leclerc and Chopin et al. discovered that if the entire offense (including contact with the victim) took place in a single location, the offender's chances of going undetected, and therefore the case not being solved, significantly increased [ [19] , [20] , [21] ]. With regards to strategies used by offenders to avoid police detection, it was discovered that, while the same number of strategies were employed by offenders for both solved and unsolved cases, cases where offenders used a condom, wore a mask, or gloves, were more likely to remain unsolved [ 21 ]. Instead, offenders who threatened the victim or disabled the victim's phone were more likely to be identified and see their cases solved.

In an exploratory study, Brolan et al. [ 13 ] examined the locations of contract killings executed by professional hitmen. They gathered articles about ‘hits’ from global newspapers, analyzed the locations of said hits, and conducted a series of semi-structured interview with an informant; an ex-offender with convictions relating to firearm offenses. They concluded that a specific modus operandi (MO; the method used) of a highly experienced hitman includes a hit taking place at the victim's doorsteps, with only a few bullets fired at close range. If a gun is left at the scene, it will not contain any useful evidence for investigators. When this pattern emerges, it is suggested that, due to the lack of forensic evidence officers will find at the scene, they will need to rely on other efforts, such as monitoring cars and other modes of travel to and from the location of the crime, and national databases [ 13 ]. Therefore, a pattern as outlined in this study could be recognized earlier, whereby forensic efforts should be redistributed to more successful avenues to prevent similar contract murder cases from going cold.

Last, with respect to the post-crime phase, cases where semen was left at the crime scene were more likely to be solved [ 21 ]. An understandable finding, as it provides officers with a DNA sample of the offender [ 6 ]. With regards to the location of the body, it was found that offenders who were in a relationship were more likely to transport the victim's body post-homicide, to ensure that their partners do not suspect their involvement in the crime [ 7 ]. Additionally, Chai et al. [ 17 ] demonstrated differences between solved and unsolved cases through factors regarding the found body. Factors such as whether the victim's body was concealed, lying faced down, found outdoors, or there was an attempt to destroy evidence, were all associated with the offender being detected rather than the case remaining unsolved. Such findings can inform police investigators to pay attention to the presence (or absence) of these behaviors when assessing a body disposal crime scene.

3.1.2. Victim characteristics

Along with crime characteristics, the articles in this section of the review additionally explored whether victim characteristics were associated with case solvability. Chopin et al. [ 21 ] discovered that cases involving female rape victims were less likely to be solved. In contrast to this finding, Regoeczi et al. [ 73 ] saw that female homicide victims were associated with a faster case clearance. This difference in findings could potentially be ascribed to the different nature of the crimes, one being a sexual crime and one a homicide. Rape cases have notoriously low clearance rates to begin with [ 68 ]. One of the challenges to solving rape cases is that they often lack witnesses or physical evidence [ 82 ]. Instead, female homicides are more likely to result from intimate partner violence or are committed by a family member, in a residence, leading to a limited number of suspects in an investigation [ 55 , 56 ].

With regards to the age of the victim, cases involving younger victims seemed to be positively related to solvability [ 21 , 73 ]. Instead, cases with older victims were associated with lower solve rates [ 73 ]. This difference might be attributed to younger people more likely to be victimized by relatives or people they know, following the pattern of leaving the police with a limited number of suspects [ 1 , 73 ]. Furthermore, Chopin et al. [ 21 ] found that within rape crimes with white victims, victims who are in a relationship, and who are physically disabled, have better chances to see their cases solved.

Chai et al. [ 17 ] explored whether victim characteristics could predict body disposal patterns. They found that in both solved and unsolved cases, there were two victim characteristics that were significantly related to whether the body was moved: (1) the victim was a prostitute, (2) the victim was a street person or homeless person. However more importantly, they found that the pre-crime phase had the most value for predicting body movement for unsolved cases, and the post-crime phase had the most predictive value in solved cases. This suggests that the victim characteristics, i.e., whether they were a sex worker or homeless, was more likely to lead to body movement patterns congruent with unsolved crimes, and that the offender has likely taken additional steps to remain undetected.

The rational choice perspective present in the offender pre-crime phase to target sex workers, homeless people, and other marginalized groups is not new. According to this perspective, individuals are active and rational decisionmakers, identifying the risks and benefits of committing a crime before deciding to act upon it [ 23 ]. Members of marginalized communities, such as female sex workers are particularly vulnerable, due to the nature of the services they provide and locations they provide them in [ 76 ]. Following the rational choice perspective, targeting sex workers, homeless people, and other marginalized groups might pose less risk for the offender to get caught by law enforcement. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime [ 84 ], female sex workers have the highest homicide victimization rates out of all female groups. In fact, female sex workers are 18 times more likely to become a homicide victim compared to women not engaged in sex work [ 71 ]. Despite their high risk of victimization, social attitudes and stigmas surrounding sex work create the narrative of sex workers being less than an ‘ideal’ victim [ 90 , 92 ]. The term 'ideal victim' refers to a victim who is seen as completely blameless for their victimization, outlined by a set of characteristics which includes acting virtuously, being weaker than the offender, and not knowing the offender [ 22 ]. When meeting these criteria, this victim will then be granted true victim status and supported with the appropriate resources by law enforcement and the public [ 11 ]. While most of society has since evolved from this point of view, some remnants of this belief remain. For example, police and public response towards sex workers reflect their status as a non-ideal victim. Sex workers experience greater victim-blaming when reporting a crime than people not involved in sex work [ 15 , 81 ]. Perhaps more notably, male officers tend to be more lenient towards the offender if their victim is a sex worker [ 92 ]. Previous research has also found that sex workers are less likely to be believed when reporting a rape [ 33 ], and are thus questioned on their victimhood.

With marginalized groups such as sex workers, but also people with an ethnic minority background or without homes, considered ‘lower status’ in society and not meeting the criteria of an ideal victim, police decision-makers may allocate more resources towards cases with high-status victims [ 28 , 30 , 80 ]. This could be due to own biases or pressure from the media and public, where sex workers, homeless people, and others from various marginalized groups receive a lack of attention in the public eye [ 72 ]. Inversely, the above findings by Chopin et al. [ 21 ] whereby younger victims, white victims, victims who are in a relationship, and who are physically disabled, are more likely to see their cases solved, can cautiously be attributed to the ideal victim narrative as well. Young victims and physically disabled victims are more likely to be seen as weak and virtuous [ 53 ]. Additionally, Black individuals are more likely to be attributed offender-status, directly opposed to white victimhood [ 41 , 60 ]. White victims are, for example, considered more newsworthy in traditional media than Black victims in western countries, and is reflective of the institutional racism seen in the media [ 41 , 47 ].

While cases involving victims from marginalized groups are less likely to be solved or given the attention that similar cases with non-marginalized victims receive, Chopin et al. [ 21 ] interestingly had a different finding involving rape victims who were involved in sex work. They found that rape cases involving sex workers were more likely to be solved. This discrepancy can be explained by the outcome of the crimes in the two studies contrasted in this review. Chai et al.[ 17 ] examined body disposal patterns, meaning the victims were already deceased. Instead, Chopin et al. [ 21 ] studied rape cases, whereby rape victims are alive after the crime occurred, and are able to provide any information they might hold. Additionally, sex workers may be familiar with the offender, as they are often their own clients [ 4 ].

The victim's behavior before and during a rape crime seems to be associated with its solvability as well. Results from Chopin et al. [ 21 ] indicate that when victims were engaged in domestic activities, sleeping, visiting friends, playing, or sex work at the time of the offense, these cases were more likely to be solved. Cases were more likely to remain unsolved when instead, victims were jogging or walking when the offense occurred. Chiu and Leclerc [ 20 ] replicated these findings in the context of sexual offenses. They further found that if the victim physically resisted, the chances of the offender responding by fleeing and/or desisting increased, which in turn was related to the crime remaining unsolved [ 19 , 20 ].

Given the above information, identifying factors relating to ‘solvability’ can aid police investigators in determining which cases are more likely to be solved and which ones require additional resources. Together, these studies, and the wider literature examining crime and victim characteristics, can be useful as a method to inform investigative decision-making and attempt to uncover new lines of enquiry. Identifying relevant crime characteristics and modus operandi can therefore be promising in developing leads in investigations. Additionally, more understanding of the relationship between factors that predict whether a crime is solved can be valuable in directing resources to diminish the chances of a case going cold. The articles discussed identified crime and victim characteristics associated with crimes remaining unsolved, such as the victim walking or jogging at the time of the offense, the offense taking place outdoors, or only one location used for the encounter and the crime. If researchers are able to identify crime characteristics associated with a higher chance of solving a crime, evidence-based guidelines could be developed to meaningfully inform law enforcement officers where to put additional efforts, in turn, lowering the chances of a case going cold in the first place.

3.2. Investigative tools and techniques

Six studies examined ‘what works’ in already long-term and cold cases. One article within this theme provided a useful exploration of factors which led to successful cold case clearances, and the remaining articles examined the utility of media and expert collaboration in the solving of cold cases. Table 2 summarizes the key features of the studies included within the systematic review categorized as investigation tools and techniques.

Summary of key points from articles categorized within investigative tools and techniques.

3.2.1. Case clearance

A study conducted by Davis et al. [ 30 ] investigated cold case solvability using cases from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). At the MPD the general homicide review timeline is as follows: 1 day, 15 days, 30 days, and 60 days, at which points there is an emphasis on determining what actions are needed from investigators. In this jurisdiction, cases are considered cold when they have remained unsolved for 36 months. Davis et al. [ 30 ] compared cold cases, cleared cases (solved either by arrest or by exceptional means) and unsolved cases. In total they sampled 189 homicides and found that new information from existing witnesses or information from new witnesses was the most prevalent reason for case clearance. Additionally, they identified factors from the initial investigation that would improve the solvability of a cold case, for instance, if a prime suspect or a disclosed motivation was present. The odds of case clearance were also affected by the reason by which the cold case was reopened, where it was found that if it was initiated due to family request or routine protocol the odds of clearance were significantly reduced. Davis et al. [ 30 ] clearly highlight the importance of finding new, tangible leads or perspectives as being the most prevalent reason for cold case clearance. The following papers provide interesting tools and techniques to discuss alongside these findings.

3.2.2. Media

Bennett [ 8 ] used qualitative analysis to identify themes relating to media in cold case investigations. The study reports the results of a seven-month observation period with a two-force collaborative cold-case team in England and was supplemented with interviews with 12 experienced cold-case detectives. In general, participants agreed that media involvement had proven to be useful in obtaining information, especially when paired with memory cues such as strategically employing media on anniversaries of cold cases [ 8 ]. Providing media coverage of anniversaries relating to the case demonstrates law enforcement's dedication to solving the case and reminds members of the public that the case remains unsolved [ 8 ]. Additionally, media usage can incentivize witnesses who may otherwise be reluctant to disclose information. It may provide a level of anonymity and therefore the confidence necessary to come forward and share potentially important details. In the case of drug or gang related crimes, using media several years later to encourage witnesses can be especially useful, as alliances may have changed since the occurrence of the crime.

However, media usage must be strategic, as negative, or inappropriate portrayals of the crime or victim can at best discourage members of the public with information and at worst hinder investigation efforts. For example, one participant described a media appeal emphasizing victims' drug abuse, which led to members of the public viewing them as a ‘glue-sniffer’, resulting in a lack of interest and response [ 8 ]. Unfortunately, psychological literature has shown time and time again that bias can be a detrimental factor in police investigations, especially cognitive biases within law enforcement. For example, confirmation bias, whereby an officer will search for evidence to support their favored theory [ 86 ] or the availability heuristic [ 42 ] whereby an officer may use a recent example to inform their decision-making (e.g., they recently arrested a young black male for drug offenses, therefore the next drug offense is likely to be committed by a young black male). Without strategic use of media, it is easy to see how these biases could permeate public dialogue and opinion, to affect not just an investigation but also a trial [ 70 ]. With this is mind, another risk is that it can be difficult to control the extent of coverage a case receives. In some cases, a victim's family members have learned about their passing through media coverage of the case, so participants emphasized that a victim's family should be consulted or at least informed before media involvement [ 8 ].

Last, media could be an important tool for use of largescale memory retrieval. The wider investigative psychological literature has shown the importance of selective and context-based retrieval [ 5 ], i.e., that selective memory retrieval can reactivate the retrieved memory's temporal context during the event, facilitating recall of other items with a similar context. Therefore, strategic use of media could potentially facilitate multiple people's memory retrieval and possible new witnesses for cold cases. It is abundantly clear that used correctly, media can be an incredibly useful tool to promote information elicitation both throughout ongoing cases and in long-term and cold cases. This systematic review also outlined one other clear investigative technique, collaboration with experts in different fields.

3.2.3. Interdisciplinary collaboration

Four papers in this review highlighted the importance of the collaboration between law enforcement and experts in other relevant fields of the criminal justice process [ 10 , 14 , 34 , 91 ].

Yaksic [ 91 ] introduced the Investigative Journalist/Expert Field Micro Task Force (IJ/EF MTF) model in order to improve evidence-based practice in the offender profiling process in unresolved serial homicides. Offender ‘profiling’ has been met with resistance over recent years due to its tendency for exaggeration and inconsistent accuracy. However, Yaksic states that this model is not intended to deliver a suspect, but instead to describe the possible offender, and that expectations as to ‘who’ should be tapered as soon as possible. Similar to Bennett [ 8 ], Yaksic recognizes the importance of media in an investigation. They state that joint cooperation with journalists is critical as they provide an invaluable service, broadcasting necessary information to the public in order to garner a response and keep an investigation moving forward. There are three stages to the model: (1) an investigative journalist takes on a particular cold case, interviews relevant parties for information and contacts the Atypical Homicide Research Group (AHRG), (2) the AHRG then reviews and agrees to help, and finally, (3) law enforcement organizations are contacted, and a relationship is built among the two teams. The model was tested in 17 instances, and it was found that profiling alone does not result in the capture of a serial homicide offender but can help to narrow down a suspect pool and that the collaborative efforts between journalists and officers is a positive contributing factor. The model is based on the efforts of investigative journalists to locate and research cases which have the highest likelihood of solvability if reopened, and then to employ a behavioral analyst to assist with research. Therefore, we can see that this model not only helps find new avenues with which to progress a cold case but can help with the limited resources law enforcement organizations themselves experience. Finally, the paper advocates for educating law enforcement officers on what can be gained from collaborating with not just investigative journalists, but also academics which is a key factor in the other three identified papers.

The following three papers have all explored the value of strategic interdisciplinary collaborations between law enforcement investigators and academic partners. For example, Byers and DuBois [ 14 ] report the outcome of three projects involving students working on cold case investigations in collaboration with Crime Stoppers and multiple law enforcement agencies. Students were taught the relevant aspects of a cold case investigation, such as the importance of confidentiality, interpreting previous video footage, management of case files, open-source intelligence training (e.g., searching newspaper articles and use of online platforms), etc., after which they were tasked with producing a cold case report. There were multiple obstacles throughout these projects, most notable was how to manage the expectations of both the victims' survivors and the students. Many loved ones of victims experience a negative ‘Halo Effect’, a cognitive bias whereby in some cases they've felt disheartened at the progress made by law enforcement thus far and therefore have negative expectations of what progress could be made with expert collaboration, even forming the impression their loved one isn't a ‘worthy’ victim [ 64 , 83 ]. This can increase frustration and reduce cooperation with criminal justice officials, a common issue especially in cold cases. They also had to manage students' own ‘unbridled enthusiasm’. Often students thought they would be able to solve the case throughout their 15-week project, in part due to the media effect of major crimes, whereby a crime is solved within 40 min of television. Where this happened, students were reminded that cases were ‘cold’ because of a reason and that the intention is not to solve, but to assist investigators by amalgamating information and showing commonalities, and searching for new leads. Despite these challenges, it was found that producing detailed cold case reports (1) helped survivors of cold cases by alleviating previous frustrations and showing attention to their case, (2) assisted law enforcement by giving summaries of the cases which officers may not have had the time or resources to complete and (3) in one case led to the arrest of the responsible individual.

Fox et al. [ 34 ] also highlighted the benefits of police collaboration with academic partners in relevant fields; in this instance forensic anthropologists, forensic psychologists, and criminologists. They advocated that by engaging relationships with these experts, it would be possible to use cutting-edge scientific research to inform practice and gain unique perspectives to aid in the development of new leads. Fox et al. [ 34 ] report a case study whereby criminology students carefully reviewed all cold case materials in a real-life case and identified what turned out to be a highly significant lead, eventually leading to the addition of new evidence critical to the investigation. Once again, we see the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives on crime, and the gift of additional resources to a struggling area of the public sector.

Most recently, Bettels et al. [ 10 ] outlined how the collaboration technique between academics and law enforcement can increase the quality of investigation and competency of those involved. This study focused on international academics and police who participated in the International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP), and their experiences completing the program. The ICCAP was designed with the cooperation of several British, Australian, and German universities and the charity Locate International and has three main objectives: (1) to collect necessary information about the victim, (2) reconstruct the crime, and (3) investigative trace control (evaluate all investigative leads). An additional benefit to this project compared to the previous papers is the international aspect, where it was hoped that individuals from various cultural, institutional, and disciplinary backgrounds would enrich and expand investigative opportunities. ICCAP focused on locating or identifying missing persons and encouraged students to contemplate beyond the boundaries of their own specialism. Participants reported increased competency in their ability to understand case facts and apply their own academic knowledge in the evaluation of existing leads to give a new perspective, thus demonstrating the benefits of academic and police collaboration with the ICCAP.

The advantages to the academic field are evident in all four of these papers, students and experts have gained experience in which to apply their knowledge and gain insight into real-world practice. Additionally, it is suggested that the cold cases analyzed in these publications generated new lines of enquiry from the collaborative efforts between students and investigators. This is in part due to the production of structured summaries and presentations with comprehensive reviews of the victim, pre-crime phase, main-crime phase and post-crime phase, and an evaluation of all leads up until the present. This facilitates further advancement of the case via the highlighting of contradictions, commonalities, and the ability to cross reference [ 10 ]. Similarly, a recent literature review sought to identify and synthesize available theories and methods for cold case homicide evaluation and solvability to guide future research [ 69 ]. Their review outlines suggestions for cold case investigation that directly support the work of all four of the interdisciplinary papers discussed [ 10 , 14 , 34 , 91 ]. It is reported that cold case investigations should be regarded as a team effort involving a mix of investigators, civilians, and forensic specialists. Furthermore, psychological literature has shown that working in multidisciplinary teams, identifying the type of collaboration required and building interpersonal relationships with those teams is important for successful collaboration and outcomes [ 27 ].

A final example of multidisciplinary success in cold cases comes from the work of the previously mentioned charity Locate International. It operates in partnership with law enforcement agencies, police forces, universities, and the families of those that have gone missing, and is comprised of expert volunteers from many relevant fields. Their aim is to consider unsolved cases collectively, to better understand how missing persons investigations can be advanced. In recent months this has involved a partnership with psychologists to investigate ways in which to obtain new leads and witnesses by developing information elicitation tools that could be applied in cold case investigations. For example, tools such as The Self-Administered Interview [ 35 ], which was originally designed to obtain statements from cooperative witnesses following a critical incident and is used by police forces throughout the UK, have recently been modified for use in cold case investigations. Moving forward, if multidisciplinary teams of experts can begin to develop evidence-based tools that can be applied for use in cold case investigations, we are much more likely to find new leads, increasing the odds of solvability [ 30 ].

3.3. Implications for future research

One of the most important findings of this review is the notable lack of currently available psychological research examining how best to prevent, solve, and inform best practice in cold case investigations. Psychological research has been integral to the development of other areas of evidence-based investigative practice (e.g., cognitive and interpersonal techniques to enhance information elicitation); therefore, it is imperative that more psychological research is conducted with specific reference to long-term and cold cases. For example, we have touched upon how memory retrieval facilitation could be used to help with witness long-term memory retrieval in cold cases, however it may also be useful to look at the field of research within delayed allegation cases. In recent years, we have seen an influx of delayed allegations, especially accusations of sexual assault, which come with distinct challenges, for example, lack of hard evidence and less witness credibility [ 54 ]. Similarly, the nature of a cold case means that there was likely a lack of hard evidence at the time of the original investigation and there has not been enough evidence obtained since to reopen the case. Recently developed techniques, such as the ‘Timeline Toolkit’ [ 51 ] have sought to address this very issue by finding new ways to analyze investigative data. Therefore, perhaps comparing methods of evidence re-evaluation within delayed allegation research could be helpful towards improved solvability in cold cases. Furthermore, the issue of witness credibility could be explored both within memory and delayed allegation research. Previous literature has debated how we retrieve memory (e.g., recovered) and its influence on how witnesses are perceived in delayed cases and suggests there is a need to bridge the gap between scientific research and its use in the courtroom [ [93] , [94] ]. There are many avenues of research that could be called upon to test their application in the field of cold case investigation, and it is impossible to predict which will have the most positive outcome. However, what is evidently clear, is that further research is required to understand how to best elicit information gathering, memory retrieval, witness credibility, many other unique challenges that emerge in long-term and cold cases.

Third, as an initial step in understanding the literature, studies in this review were limited to the field of cold case investigation, whereas the wider literature might also be useful to consider. For example, research in memory has highlighted the importance of context retrieval in selective memory retrieval [ 5 ] and has suggested promising techniques providing environmental support to improve episodic performance in a criminal justice context, such as, the Self-Administered Interview [ 35 , 46 ] and the Sketch Reinstatement of Context [ 29 ]. It is likely these techniques, and those from other relevant fields can be modified and applied to the field of cold-case investigations.

3.4. Limitations

Conducting a systematic review has enabled us to thoroughly analyze the extant literature on ‘what works’ in cold case investigations with reference to psychologically informed methods. However, it is important to acknowledge that other relevant articles may have been missed or overlooked because of the variations in terminology and the lack of a clear universal time-point when a case becomes cold. Furthermore, the studies included in this review were all conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Western Europe, and therefore represent western educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) countries. As such, the findings presented are culturally specific and further research is necessary in other non-WEIRD countries.

Furthermore, although our search has presented some promising ideas, and has provided a clear structure upon how to interpret and categorize the different methods, tools, and techniques (i.e., into preventative methods which generally center around crime and victim characteristics and investigative tools and techniques which generally focus on the use of media and collaboration between experts), our review was limited by the scarcity of psychological research. With only twelve articles, we have highlighted an evident gap in the literature, showing that this is an area in desperate need of more research and replication. Additionally, most of the articles investigating crime and victim characteristics focused on sexual crimes and homicide, but as previously highlighted in this review, many other crimes can fall under the category of cold cases. Therefore, there is insufficient research to offer conclusive evidence-based recommendations at present.

4. Conclusion

This systematic review, although limited, has highlighted encouraging avenues of research to build upon: (i) preventative methods sourced from crime and victim characteristics [ [13] , [17] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [73] ] and, (ii) effective investigative tools and techniques for use in cases already categorized as ‘cold’ [ [8] , [10] , [14] , [30] , [34] , [91] ]. From the available research on crime and victim characteristics, it appears promising to examine how such case characteristics can help inform new potential leads or predict the likelihood of solving a case. One of the ways the systematic review aimed to inform ‘what works’ in cold case investigations from a psychological perspective, was to gain an understanding on certain characteristics that are associated with solved and unsolved cases, such as location, gender of the victim, and type of weapon used. Research comparing solved and unsolved cases is a sensible place to begin examining the task of case clearance by highlighting the ‘risk’ factors of a case going cold. Such knowledge can in turn inform police decision-making, for instance, by allocating additional resources to the cases with a higher probability of remaining unsolved.

Moreover, while cold case approaches and strategies differ widely, the results of the systematic review also reveal common features which have been found to be effective. Collaborative efforts, such as between academics and police, or between a number of specialists from different domains, including media, have been found to be particularly effective in increasing internal competency through exchange of academic and practical information and experience, and also case clearance [ 8 , 10 , 30 , 69 ]. This is a promising model for Cold Case Investigation Units, and one that has already been adopted by Locate International.

Declaration of competing interest

Confirm there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement

This work was completed by the Cold Case Investigation Team at Goldsmiths, University of London. The authors would also like to thank fellow members, Ena Bajic, Celine Brouillard and Emmanuella Fadire for their contribution.

1 In the context of this article, ‘preventative methods’ solely refer to the category of studies that highlight reasons as to why a case may have gone cold.

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Using Research to Improve Hate Crime Reporting and Identification

Hate crimes harm whole communities. They are message crimes that tell all members of a group—not just the immediate victims—that they are unwelcome and at risk.

The damage that bias victimization causes multiplies when victims and justice agencies don’t recognize or report hate crimes as such. In addition, in cases for which law enforcement agencies fail to respond to or investigate hate crimes, relationships between law enforcement and affected communities can suffer, and public trust in police can erode. [1]

While it is known that hate crimes are underreported throughout the United States, there is not a clear understanding of exactly why reporting rates are low, to what extent, and what might be done to improve them. An even more elementary question, with no single answer, is: What constitutes a hate crime? Different state statutes and law enforcement agencies have different answers to that question, which further complicates the task of identifying hate crimes and harmonizing hate crime data collection and statistics.

See "Hate Crimes: A Distinct Category."

A recent series of evidence-based research initiatives supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is helping to narrow this critical knowledge gap and illuminate a better path forward. The study findings fill in vital details on causes of hate crime underreporting in various communities, including

hate crime victims’ reluctance to engage with law enforcement;
victims’ and law enforcement agencies’ inability to recognize certain victimizations as hate crimes;
a very large deficit of hate crime reporting by law enforcement agencies of all sizes; and
variations in hate crime definitions across jurisdictions.

Significant insights to emerge from those studies include the following: [2]

A growing number of members of the Latino community, particularly those who recently immigrated to the United States, reported experiencing bias victimization. (But Black communities endure more hate crimes than any other racial or ethnic group.)
Many Latino individuals, especially immigrants, tend to report bias victimization only to friends and family. They are often highly reluctant to share incidents with law enforcement or other authorities.
LGBTQ+ community members also reported an elevated rate of bias victimization. Some victims hesitate to report hate crimes to authorities out of fear of reprisals from law enforcement or because, among other reasons, they don’t want their sexual orientation or gender identity exposed.
Many hate crimes, particularly those targeting the LGBTQ+ community, are the product of mixed motivations—for example, hate and theft. This likely results from a perception that certain victim groups are vulnerable and less likely to report the crimes.
Law enforcement officers often lack the training and knowledge needed to investigate, identify, and report hate crimes. The presence of a dedicated officer or unit enhances a law enforcement agency’s ability to identify, respond to, and report hate crimes.
Law enforcement agencies with policies in place that support hate crime investigation and enforcement are more likely to report investigating possible hate crimes in their jurisdiction.

In the end, knowledge gained from the NIJ-supported research on bias victimization and hate crime can strengthen hate crime recognition, reporting, and response.

See "Hate Crime vs. Bias Victimization."

Hate Crime Reporting Deficit Driven by Fear, Lack of Knowledge

Federal data captures roughly 1 in 31 hate crimes.

The disparity between the number of hate crime victimizations that actually occur and the number reported by law enforcement is vast and long-standing. As hate crimes continue to rise in the United States, especially in vulnerable populations, the search for ways to reduce that disparity becomes more urgent.

A representative sample of hate crime victimizations across the United States, collected from the National Crime Victimization Survey, revealed that only a small portion of all hate crimes find their way into official hate crime reporting. [3] An annual average of 243,770 hate crime victimizations of persons 12 or older occurred between 2010 and 2019. [4] In the same period, law enforcement agencies reported an annual average of 7,830 hate crimes to the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics program. Those figures suggest that roughly 1 of every 31 hate crimes is captured in U.S. federal statistics.

The FBI has published hate crime statistics provided by law enforcement since 1996. However, submitting hate crime data to the FBI is voluntary, and many state and local law enforcement agencies either report that their jurisdictions experience no hate crimes or do not report any hate crime data. [5]

Three Conditions for a Hate Crime to Enter National Statistics

The overall investigation and prosecution of hate crimes suffer from the prevalence of inaccurate hate crime data. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act of 2021 acknowledges that incomplete data from federal, state, and local jurisdictions have hindered our understanding of hate crimes. [6] Without a full, data-informed understanding of the problem, law enforcement and communities will be unable to provide an adequate response.

Three steps must occur for federal statistics to capture a hate crime incident.

A victim, a victim’s friend or family member, or another person with knowledge of the incident must report the incident to law enforcement.
Upon receiving an incident report, law enforcement must recognize and record it as a hate crime by establishing sufficient evidence through an investigation. [7]
The law enforcement agency must report the hate crime to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Reporting barriers are present at each step of the process, which results in chronic and acute underreporting of hate crimes.

Dealing With Divergent Hate Crime Definitions

Although the FBI has a definition for hate crimes, their definition only affects state data-reporting obligations. The FBI definition has no impact on states’ own criminal code definitions. State and local hate crime definitions vary widely in terms of whom they protect and the types of offenses they include. [8] The varying hate crime definitions make it challenging to obtain an even-handed and reliable summary of hate crime statistics across jurisdictions. When recording cases for the FBI, law enforcement agencies are required to adhere to the federal definition of offenses and protected groups. [9] An offense that constitutes a federal hate crime may not constitute a hate crime in a state or local jurisdiction; the reverse could also be true. As a result, hate crime counts based on jurisdiction-specific definitions are not always comparable to counts reported by the FBI.

Understanding Victim Reluctance to Report Hate Crimes

NIJ-sponsored research on hate crimes that affect Latino and LGBTQ+ communities suggests that many factors influence whether individuals who experience or witness hate crimes report them to law enforcement. Those factors vary across communities.

Researchers at Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the University of Texas Medical Branch, and the University of Delaware conducted a study of victimization bias affecting three large, geographically diverse Latino populations. The study found that victims who experienced bias victimization overwhelmingly sought help from friends or family and not from formal authorities, particularly law enforcement. [10] The report rates to formal authorities by nonimmigrant and immigrant Latinos were similar, though nonimmigrant Latinos were more likely than immigrant Latinos to report experiencing bias victimization. It’s important to note that the Latino community is large and varied in the United States, and victimization bias varies by nature and degree across Latino communities. Many Latino study participants said that their past experiences as victims of personal or indirect discrimination have made them less willing to report their bias victimization to authorities or to trust those outside of their community.

Among Latino populations, several factors influenced their reluctance to contact law enforcement about hate crimes, including concern over retaliation by the offending party, harassment by police, and worries over the victim’s immigration status.

Florida International University conducted a study of LGBTQ+ Latinos in Miami, Florida, that established an additional factor that inhibited victim reporting of hate crimes to law enforcement: concern about the consequences of revealing their sexual orientation or gender identity. [11] The study also found that friends’ encouragement to report a crime was “by far” the strongest predictor of hate crime reporting, which increased the likelihood of the victim reporting the crime at least ten-fold.

Multiple Sources of Initial Hate Crime Reporting to Law Enforcement

Although it is vital for victims to report hate crimes, it is not the only way that law enforcement finds out about these types of crimes. The National Hate Crime Investigation Study found that, of all incidents reported to law enforcement in a nationally representative sample, victims reported 45 percent of those hate crimes and other individuals reported 52 percent. [12]

The Miami-based study reported that criminal justice practitioners perceived that law enforcement initiates most hate crime cases in response to media coverage of bias-motivated events rather than in response to victims’ reporting. 13

Low rates of formal reporting obscure the significant impact that hate crimes have on victims. Bias victimization can be just as, or more, damaging to Latino victims than other types of victimization, such as assault or theft. Among the three large metro Latino communities that the Latino bias research study examined, bias victimization had more of a mental health impact on community members than other forms of victimization. [14] In fact, bias victimization is unique in its negative impact on mental health. This has notable implications for both prevention and intervention within the community.

The Miami-Dade study of LGBTQ+ Latino individuals reported these other consequences of bias victimization (perhaps influenced by mental health impacts):

Victims began to avoid LGBTQ+ venues or friends (13 percent).
Victims had to change their housing (23 percent).
Victims tried to act more “straight” (35 percent).

The strongest predictor of a victim changing their housing was that the victim experienced a hate crime involving the use of a weapon.

Recognizing Hate Crime Incidents

It isn’t enough for a law enforcement agency to receive a report of a hate crime incident if the agency doesn’t recognize and report the incident as such. But identifying a bias motivation can be challenging. It’s not always clear what motivated a person to commit a crime, and other factors unrelated to bias may mask an incident’s hate-based status. Further, it’s not typical for law enforcement to be required to identify a motive.

Mixed-Motive Hate Offenses: Choosing Victims for Their Vulnerability

Bias motives can emerge during disputes or incidents that are unrelated to bias, which potentially complicates law enforcement’s ability to identify a motive. NIJ-sponsored research by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a research center at the University of Maryland, found that these mixed-motive hate offenses are common. [15] START developed a database known as BIAS (the Bias Incidents and Actors Study), which collected information from 960 adult individuals who committed hate crimes from 1990 to 2018.

BIAS found that almost a quarter of hate crimes targeting victims due to their sexual orientation or gender had mixed motives. Additionally, nearly all hate crimes that targeted persons because of their age or physical or mental disabilities had mixed motives, such as a combination of hate and theft. The researchers noted that, in those cases in particular, the crime likely results from the fact that the person committing it perceives that certain victim groups are vulnerable and less inclined to report incidents to authorities. The study also found that mixed-motive hate crimes were more likely to be spontaneous or otherwise unpredictable than crimes motivated only by bias.

Varying Hate-Based Forms of Messaging – How to Identify a Crime as Hate-Motivated

A University of New Hampshire research team identified the top four indicators of hate motivation that law enforcement identified and reported in the National Hate Crime Investigation Study (NHCIS):

Hate-related verbal comments (reported by victims in 51.83 percent of hate crimes in the NHCIS database)
Victim belief that they were targeted because of hate or bias (28.96 percent)
Hate-related written comments (24.75 percent)
Hate-related drawings or graffiti found at the crime scene (23.39 percent) [16]

Characteristics of Primary Suspects in Hate Crime Investigations

The NHCIS examined characteristics of suspects from a sample of 783 hate crime investigations in 2018 where law enforcement identified a suspect. [17] The primary suspects were white in nearly three-quarters (73.69 percent) of those cases. See Table 1 for a breakdown of characteristics of primary suspects.

Table Note: Percentages for primary suspect gender, race/ethnicity, and age presented for cases in which information was known. Unknown/missing data: gender=59, 7.27% (weighted); race/ethnicity=145, 18.41% (weighted); age=221, 29.9% (weighted).

Varying Traits of Those Who Commit Hate Crimes

The START database study, BIAS, found that the behaviors, experiences, and characteristics of those who commit hate crimes in the United States varied significantly.

Some offenders were fully engaged in the world of bigotry and hate when they committed a bias-based offense, while others were acting on bias themes that pervade U.S. communities.
Some committed crimes of opportunity, while others carefully premeditated their acts.
Some were susceptible to negative peer influences or were struggling with mental health issues or substance abuse. [18]

The study also established that the characteristics of persons who commit hate crimes also varied considerably, depending on the nature of the prejudice involved. For example:

Those who committed hate crimes based on their victims’ religious beliefs were often older, better educated, and had higher rates of military experience than those who committed hate crimes based on other motivations.
Those motivated by religious bias displayed high rates of mental health concerns and were most likely to plan or commit hate crimes.
Those motivated by bias based on sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity were often young, unmarried, and unemployed. They were also most likely to commit hate crimes with accomplices and while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Agency Reporting of Zero Hate Crimes

Data analyses from the NIJ-supported NHCIS showed that many U.S. law enforcement agencies, regardless of size, reported that they conducted no hate crime investigations within 2018. This is consistent with the FBI’s assessment from hate crime statistics provided by law enforcement agencies. According to the FBI, generally, around 85 percent of law enforcement agencies said that no hate crimes occurred in their jurisdiction. [19] That is good news if no hate crimes occurred, but it is problematic if hate crimes are occurring without being reported or investigated as such.

The hate crime investigations study authors noted that although over half of large agencies (100+ officers) reported no hate crimes investigations in 2018, several large agencies reported more than 50 hate crimes investigations that year. Based on an assessment of case summaries, the researchers concluded that better documentation increased the number of investigations. They also found that agency policies and procedures increased the number of hate crime investigations.

Implications and Recommendations: How Research Can Enhance Hate Crime Reporting, Investigations

NIJ-supported hate crime research identified several proposals to improve hate crime investigation and reporting. One promising area is for agencies to implement certain hate crime policies and practices. The NHCIS surveyed agencies on whether they had implemented five specific policies and practices. The study found four of the five were significantly related to an increased number of reported hate crime investigations, even when controlling for agency type and size: [20]

Assigning a dedicated officer or unit to investigate hate crimes.
Reviewing procedures for cases with possible hate or bias motivation.
Developing written policy guidelines for investigating hate crimes.
Conducting outreach to local groups on hate crimes.

Researchers found no significant differences in hate crime reporting rates between agencies that had provided officers with training on hate crime investigations, and those that had not; however, the study did not look at the nature and quality of the hate crime training the officers received. The NHCIS noted that officers with minimal training are often tasked with identifying hate crimes based on their state’s legal definition. The report also noted that bias-based crimes are often hard to classify, even with good training. More information is needed to determine the optimal type and focus of hate crime training. The Latino bias studies identified a need to both identify hate crimes and increase community education on hate crimes. The research team identified the following policy and process needs, among others, to improve identification and reporting:

Enhance police training about risks associated with bias victimization in Latino communities.
Increase education and awareness about bias victimization among Latino population groups.
Build support for community-based agencies to facilitate the formal process of helping victims and reporting hate crimes to law enforcement. [21]

The study of LGBTQ+ Latinos in Miami identified the following recommendations to improve how law enforcement agencies report and identify anti-LGBTQ hate crimes:

Establish a hate crime detection protocol for emergency dispatchers, patrol officers, police detectives, case screeners, and prosecutors.
Develop a specialized workforce to identify, tackle, and prevent hate crimes; the workforce should be composed of prosecutors, detectives, patrol officers, victims’ liaisons, emergency dispatchers, researchers, and community experts.
Create a dedicated support center for hate crime victims.
Recruit police officers and prosecutors from the LGBTQ+ community.
Develop formal policies to affirm and support transgender colleagues, victims, and witnesses.
Encourage cooperation by pursuing victim engagement alternatives to subpoenas. Train criminal justice practitioners to improve victim engagement and hate crime detection, evidence gathering, and case screening.
Engage in effective communication and awareness-building campaigns, such as initiatives to encourage victims to tell friends about the incident, as well as encouraging friends to persuade a victim to report the crime. [22]

It is critical for both communities and law enforcement to improve their methods of reporting and identifying hate crimes. Only then will they be able to prevent and respond to incidents and link victims to services they need. Doing so will also enable the field to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the scope and nature of the problem. The current gap between the number of hate crime victimizations and the number of hate crimes that law enforcement reported and investigated threatens the relationship between law enforcement and targeted communities. Chronic, widespread underreporting of hate crimes also greatly reduces the likelihood of justice for victims.

Findings from NIJ-supported research provide important insight into the causes of underreporting and under-identification of hate crimes. These studies also offer policy and practice recommendations to improve how law enforcement agencies report and identify hate crimes.

Sidebar: Hate Crimes: A Distinct Crime Category

The codification of hate crime laws began in the 1980s, as jurisdictions acted to redress the harm, beyond victim impact, that bias-based victimizations inflict on society. [23] In a 2022 solicitation for further hate crime research, NIJ noted,

Hate crimes are a distinct category of crime that have a broader effect than most other kinds of crime because the victims are not only the crime’s immediate target but also others in the targeted group. [24]

Hate crimes are traditional criminal offenses with an added element of bias motivation. They are not limited to crimes against persons; the crimes can target businesses, religious institutions, other organizations, and society at large. Additionally, hate crimes are not limited to one type of motivating prejudice. The FBI defines a hate crime as:

a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, ethnic or national origin group, or sexual orientation group. [25]

Hate crimes can be violent or nonviolent, but the acts must be recognized criminal offenses even if the bias element is set aside. Yet the wide net cast by hate crime laws has not resulted in high rates of hate crime prosecution or punishment. As noted in an NIJ-sponsored report on findings from the National Hate Crime Investigations Study, only 4 percent of hate crimes investigated by law enforcement resulted in someone being criminally charged. [26]

Return to the text.

Sidebar: Hate Crime vs. Bias Victimization

Hate crimes are a form of bias victimization. A criminal offense is a core element of every hate crime. However, not every bias victimization is a crime. In simple math terms, hate crimes are a subset of all bias victimizations.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) defines a hate crime as a “committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es)” against a

sexual orientation
gender identity27

State and local jurisdictions have their own hate crime statutes proscribing some or all of those or other types of bias. An act of bias victimization can be, but need not be, a criminal offense.

Return to text.

[note 1] International Association of Chiefs of Police, Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer’s Guide to Investigation and Prevention (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Administration, 1999).

[note 2] The five NIJ-supported hate crime study reports covered in this article are: Carlos A. Cuevas, et al., Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos , October 2019, NCJ 253430; Carlos A. Cuevas, et al., Longitudinal Examination of Victimization Experiences of Latinos (LEVEL): Extending the Bias Victimization Study , August 2021, NCJ 30167; Michael A. Jensen, Elizabeth A. Yates, and Sheehan E. Kane, A Pathway Approach to the Study of Bias Crime Offenders , February 2021, NCJ 300114; Besiki Luka Kutateladze, Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in Miami: Research Summary and Policy Recommendations , September 2021, NCJ 302239; Lisa M. Jones, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Heather A. Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics: Findings from the National Hate Crime Investigations Study (NHCIS) , December 2021, NCJ 304531.

[note 3] Grace Kena and Alexandra Thompson, Hate Crime Victimization, 2005–2019 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 2021).

[note 4] Erica Smith, Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement, 2010–2019 (Washington, DC: U.S. DOJ, BJS, 2021.

[note 5] Smith, Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement .

[note 6] COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, Pub. L. No. 117-17, 123 Stat. 2835 and 135 Stat. 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271 and 272 (2021).

[note 7] Global Law Enforcement Support Section (GLESS) Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics Unit (CLESU), Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Manual (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation: Criminal Justice Information Division Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2022).

[note 8] U.S. Department of Justice, “ Laws and Policies .”

[note 9] GLESS CLESU, Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Manual.

[note 10] Cuevas, et al., Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos ; Cuevas, et al., Longitudinal Examination of Victimization Experiences of Latinos (LEVEL) .

[note 11] Kutateladze, Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in Miami .

[note 12] Jones, Mitchell, and Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics .

[note 13] The practitioners were prosecutors who handled hate crime cases in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department, one victim liaison from the police department, and one from the prosecutor’s office; Kutateladze, Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in Miami .

[note 14] The three-community bias study survey sampled Latino community members generally, not limited to self-identified bias victims. Respondents reported on their own bias experiences. Overall, 52.9 percent of participants experienced some form of bias event in their lifetime.

[note 15] Jensen, Yates, and Kane, A Pathway Approach to the Study of Bias Crime Offende rs .

[note 16] Jones, Mitchell, and Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics .

[note 17] Jones, Mitchell, and Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics .

[note 18] Jensen, Yates, and Kane, A Pathway Approach to the Study of Bias Crime Offenders .

[note 19] Smith, Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement .

[note 20] Jones, Mitchell, and Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics .

[note 21] Cuevas, et al., Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos ; Cuevas, et al., Longitudinal Examination of Victimization Experiences of Latinos (LEVEL) .

[note 22] Kutateladze, Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes in Miami .

23 Ryken Grattet and Valerie Jenness, Making Hate a Crime: From Social Movements to Law Enforcement (New York, NY: Russel Sage Foundation, 2001).

[note 24] NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Hate Crime (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 2022).

[note 25] FBI, “Defining a Hate Crime.”

[note 26] Lisa M. Jones, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Heather A. Turner, U.S. Hate Crime Investigation Rates and Characteristics: Findings from the National Hate Crime Investigations Study (NHCIS) , December 2021, NCJ 304531.

[note 27] FBI Hate Crime Statistics Reports, UCR, “Definition of a Hate Crime.”

About the author

Kaitlyn Sill, Ph.D. is a Social Science Research Analyst at the National Institute of Justice. Paul A. Haskins, JD, is a contract Writer-Editor supporting the National Institute of Justice.

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Federal criminal investigation opened into Key Bridge crash

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on the massive container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month — a probe that will look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious system problems, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Authorities are reviewing the events leading up to the moment when the Dali, a 985-foot Singapore-flagged ship, lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore and slammed into one of the bridge’s support pillars, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.

Just after dawn Monday, dozens of law enforcement officials dressed in all black began arriving at the Dali — where the crew has remained since the crash — pulling up to the ship’s bow in numerous boats and climbing aboard using a ladder. The FBI later confirmed that agents were on board, and the Justice Department said authorities were conducting a “court-approved search.”

Baltimore bridge collapse

The news of the criminal investigation, which one official said is being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, came the same day that multiple private law firms separately announced that they had been retained to represent the Baltimore mayor’s office and some of the men who were working construction on the bridge when it collapsed. The moves signal an escalating effort to seek accountability and determine what caused the crash that left six of the eight men dead, a question that both the independent National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation have been working to answer in separate inquiries since the collapse March 26.

Jennifer Gabris, an NTSB spokeswoman, said that the board’s investigation would continue and that a preliminary report was expected in early May.

The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation will pause evidence collection, but it will still be able to analyze evidence it has already gathered to inform safety efforts such as new regulations or inspection campaigns, according to a Coast Guard official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigations.

An attorney representing Grace Ocean Private Ltd., which owns the Dali, and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the ship’s manager, did not respond to a request for comment.

President Biden and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) have both previously said that they intend to hold accountable any parties deemed potentially liable for the destruction of the bridge, but they have yet to announce any legal action. Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott said the city has hired DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky Trial Lawyers to work with the city’s own legal team to take “decisive action” against the owner, charter, operator and manufacturer of the Dali and “any other potentially liable third parties.”

Erek L. Barron, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, said his office does not comment on criminal investigations but asserted in a statement that “the public should know, whether it’s gun violence, civil rights abuse, financial fraud, or any other threat to public safety or property we will seek accountability for anyone who may be responsible.”

His office did not respond to questions about what issues the Dali may have experienced before its port departure and how the actions of the crew might be criminal.

Systems issues on vessels such as the Dali can become the basis for criminal charges if they are discovered by those responsible for the ship but not properly remedied before a ship departs, said Todd Lochner, an Annapolis-based admiralty attorney. Lochner said investigators could be trying to weight the legal standard of whether the Dali was “reasonably fit for the intended voyage” when it left the Port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka.

“You may not send a vessel to sea in a known unseaworthy condition,” Lochner said, though what exactly constitutes as “unseaworthy” in this case would probably be debated in court.

“There are all kinds of things that can lead to an unseaworthy condition,” he said.

On Capitol Hill last week, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said her investigators were focusing on the Dali’s electrical issues, adding that her team believes there may be a connection between the ship’s lights going out and the power loss to its engines in the moments before the crash.

Homendy said Hyundai, the South Korea-based company that manufactured the engine-room equipment used on the Dali, sent experts to the United States to download electrical data from the ship and look at its circuit breakers.

Attorneys from Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys and Kreindler & Kreindler said Monday they will be conducting their own independent investigation into the Key Bridge collapse on behalf of the victims they are representing: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, José López and Julio Adrian Cervantes Suarez. Fuentes and López died after they fell into the Patapsco River when the bridge collapsed. Cervantes, who also fell into the frigid waters, is the only person to survive the fall.

The attorneys said they intend to fight the petition filed in federal court on April 1 by the Dali’s owner and manager, asking a judge to cap how much money responsible parties could be asked to pay in liabilities. One of the attorneys, Justin Miller, said their probe is intended to complement those conducted by the NTSB, the Coast Guard and the FBI. “The details that we need are not the details that they need,” he said.

L. Chris Stewart, another lawyer for the three victims, said that in past cases, the existence of a federal criminal investigation has proved “very effective” in the pursuit of civil accountability. “It leaves no stone unturned,” Stewart said.

The victims’ lawyers said they take issue with the Dali’s owner and operator seeking to limit their liability to about $43.6 million.

“Imagine telling that to grieving families,” Stewart said, “that while they are planning a funeral, the owner of the boat is in court trying to stop the city, state and victims from filing claims.”

In the three weeks since the Dali crashed into the Key Bridge, dive teams have been able to recover four of the six people who died in the collapse, including Maynor Suazo Sandoval , Dorlian Castillo Cabrera and Fuentes. A fourth person was recovered over the weekend, officials with Unified Command announced Monday, but he was not identified per the request of his family.

Authorities had previously identified the three other missing members of the construction crew as López and two other men, Miguel Luna and Carlos Hernandez, all of whom are presumed dead.

The recovery mission was paused after days of searching the Patapsco River’s cold and murky waters. Officials have said they are now focusing on clearing the river of debris and relocating the Dali to shore, but at still looking for those who died among the wreckage.

James Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority and a member of the Unified Command, said Monday the cleanup is proceeding on the timetable laid out in recent weeks.

He said officials plan to have a 35-foot deep temporary channel open in the coming weeks and clear the entire shipping channel by the end of May. Harkness said crews have removed 1,000 tons of debris from the river. He said 31 ships have used two small temporary channels to get into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Justin Jouvenal and Ian Duncan contributed to this report.

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Ship that caused bridge collapse had apparent electrical issues while still docked, AP source says

FBI agents were aboard the cargo ship Dali as a criminal investigation opens into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Attorney L. Chris Stewart, representing some of the victims, said their deaths were preventable and said the families appreciated the federal investigation.

People are seen aboard the container ship Dali, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

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FBI agents get on board the cargo ship Dali on Monday, April 15, 2024 in Baltimore. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that is focused on the circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed, according to someone familiar with the matter. (WJLA via AP)

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lays on top of the container ship Dali, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

FILE - The container ship Dali is stuck under part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge that is focused on the circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed. The FBI says Monday, April 15 it was present conducting court authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

FILE - This satellite image provided by Maxar shows the bow of the container ship Dali remains stuck underneath sections of the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge, in Baltimore, April 8, 2024. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge that is focused on the circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed. The FBI says Monday, April 15 it was present conducting court authorized law enforcement activity. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP, file)

Salvage work continues on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

People work on a standing section of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lay on top of the container ship Dali, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris removal vessel The Reynolds works near the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Baltimore. The FBI confirmed that agents were aboard the Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Hours before leaving port, the massive container ship that caused the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge experienced apparent electrical problems, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday, the same day FBI agents boarded the vessel amid a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the catastrophe.

The Dali departed Baltimore’s port early on March 26 laden with cargo destined for Sri Lanka. It lost power before reaching open water and struck one of the supports for Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River and sending six members of a road repair crew plummeting to their deaths. Two of the victims are still unaccounted for.

Authorities announced Monday evening the recovery of a fourth body from a construction vehicle in the underwater wreckage. The person’s identity wasn’t released per their family’s request, officials said.

While the ship was docked in Baltimore, alarms went off on some of its refrigerated containers, indicating an inconsistent power supply, according to the person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to publicly comment and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

A group of barges sit pinned against the Emsworth lock and dam in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, April 13, 2024. More than two dozen river barges broke loose from their moorings and floated down the Ohio River, damaging a marina and striking a bridge. (WTAE via AP)

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board have said their investigation will include an inquiry into whether the ship experienced power issues before starting its voyage.

Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said last week the investigation is focused on the ship’s electrical system generally. The ship experienced power issues moments before the crash, as is evident in videos that show its lights going out and coming back on.

Homendy said information gleaned from the vessel’s voyage data recorder is relatively basic, “so that information in the engine room will help us tremendously.”

The FBI is now conducting a criminal investigation into the bridge collapse that is focused on the circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed, according to a different person familiar with the matter. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

FBI agents were aboard the cargo ship on Monday conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity, the agency said in a statement. It didn’t elaborate and said it wouldn’t comment further on the investigation, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Scott issued a statement Monday announcing a partnership with two law firms to “launch legal action to hold the wrongdoers responsible” and mitigate harm to the people of Baltimore. He said the city needs to act quickly to protect its own interests.

Scott said the city “will take decisive action to hold responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy,” including the owner, operator and manufacturer of the cargo ship Dali, which began its journey roughly a half-hour before losing power and veering off course.

The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both of Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali.

Synergy and Grace Ocean filed a court petition soon after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability — a routine procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. Their joint filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6 million. It estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.

“Due to the magnitude of the incident, there are various government agencies conducting investigations, in which we are fully participating,” Synergy spokesperson Darrell Wilson said in a statement Monday. “Out of respect for these investigations and any future legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

The companies filed their petition under a provision of an 1851 maritime law that allows them to seek to limit their liability to the value of the vessel’s remains after a casualty.

Attorneys for some of the victims and a worker who survived the collapse argued Monday that the companies that own and manage the ship are taking advantage of an “archaic law” in attempting to protect their assets.

“Imagine telling that to grieving families … while they’re planning a funeral, the owner of the boat is in court,” attorney L. Chris Stewart said during a news conference in Baltimore.

The road crew “absolutely had zero warning” in the moments before the collapse, Stewart said, even though a last-minute mayday call from the ship’s pilot allowed nearby police officers to stop traffic from trying to cross the span. Three of the workers’ bodies are still missing, as crews continue the dangerous work of removing massive chunks of steel from the river.

Julio Cervantes, who survived falling from the bridge, narrowly escaped drowning by rolling down his work vehicle’s window and fighting through the frigid water despite being unable to swim, attorneys said. He clung to debris until he was rescued.

“This was all preventable,” Stewart said. “That is why we were brought in to investigate and find out what has happened and give these families a voice.”

The investigations come amid concerns about the safety of thousands of U.S. bridges and days after more than two dozen river barges broke loose and struck a closed span in Pittsburgh.

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FBI launches criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse

Probe will examine circumstances leading up to cargo ship’s collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sources say.

Dali cargo vessel that crashed into Baltimore bridge

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a criminal investigation into the collapse of a Baltimore bridge last month, the United States law enforcement agency announces after its agents raided the Dali cargo ship.

The Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The FBI said on Monday that it had boarded the ship to conduct “court-authorised” law enforcement activity regarding the crash, an agency spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.

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There is no other public information available, and the FBI will have no further comment, the spokesperson said.

The cargo ship crashed into the bridge about 1:30am (05:30 GMT) on March 26 and caught fire. In a spectacular moment of destruction caught on video, the bridge buckled and collapsed into the water and onto the ship.

Six people who were working on the bridge at the time of the collision were killed. Divers have recovered three of the six bodies.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with the FBI investigation, The Associated Press news agency reported the inquiry would centre on the events leading up to the crash and whether all federal laws were followed.

The Washington Post also reported that the investigation would “look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious systems problems”, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.

INTERACTIVE_US_Baltimore_bridge_recovery_APRIL_1_2024 copy 2-1712047797

News of the FBI investigation came as Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced that the city was partnering with two law firms “to launch legal action to hold the wrongdoers responsible” and mitigate harm from the bridge’s collapse.

Scott said the city “will take decisive action to hold responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy, including the owner, charterer, manager/operator, and the manufacturer of the M/V Dali, as well as any other potentially liable third parties”.

“We are continuing to do everything in our power to support everyone impacted here and will continue to recognize the human impact this event has had,” the mayor said in a statement on Monday morning.

The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, both of Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali to sail to Sri Lanka.

“Due to the magnitude of the incident, there are various government agencies conducting investigations, in which we are fully participating,” Synergy Marine spokesperson Darrell Wilson said in a statement Monday.

“Out of respect for these investigations and any future legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Safety investigators have recovered the ship’s “black box” recorder, which provides data on its position, speed, heading, radar, bridge audio and radio communications as well as alarms.

Last week, the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board separately told Congress that its investigators had interviewed key cargo ship personnel as part of its investigation.

Work to clear the wreckage and restore traffic through the port’s shipping channel continues.

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a large ship with many brightly colored metal containers and mangled white metal pieces of a bridge in a body of water

FBI reportedly opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse

Agents reportedly looking into the events leading up to the Dali ship colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March

The FBI has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, with agents looking into the events leading up to the Dali ship colliding with the bridge.

The Washington Post first reported on the existence of the criminal investigation into the collision and collapse, with the investigation beginning in earnest on Monday morning.

Two unnamed sources familiar with the inquiry told the Post that the investigation will also look into whether crew members knew of any serious problems with the ship before attempting to leave the Baltimore port.

Early Monday, federal investigators appeared to board the Dali ship, the Post reported. Shortly after, more people arrived in boats and joined investigators onboard.

Officials have provided little public information on the investigation. In a statement to the Post, the FBI only confirmed that federal investigators had boarded the Dali.

“The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity,” read the agency’s statement. No further information was provided about the FBI’s activities or what a potential investigation would look into.

Erek L Barron, the US attorney for Maryland , also declined to confirm the investigation to the Post.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading its own investigation into the cause of the Key Bridge collapse and other relevant safety issues.

The Baltimore bridge fell on 26 March after the Singapore-flagged Dali ship lost power and struck the bridge on its way to Sri Lanka.

There were 22 crew members onboard the ship at the time of the crash.

Six people died as a result of the bridge collapse. All six victims – workers originally from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador – were making repairs on the bridge at the time of the crash.

Two people survived the collapse.

In a statement at the time of the collision, shipping company Maersk, which charted the Dali, said: “We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected.”

The Dali ship had been in a previous accident. The vessel was involved in a collision in 2016 in Antwerp, Belgium, according to Vessel Finder and the maritime incident archive Shipwrecklog.

The ship was attempting to leave port when its stern scraped along the quay. No injuries were reported.

The Baltimore bridge collapse has also forced the port of Baltimore to close in the interim. Officials have opened alternate channels to reroute port traffic.

The US army corps of engineers also tentatively announced that the port would be reopened at “normal capacity” by the end of May, the Baltimore Sun reported .

Baltimore bridge collapse

FBI opens criminal investigation into Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: Sources

A cargo ship lost power and slammed into the bridge last month.

The FBI is investigating whether there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The probe will look at whether the crew left port with the knowledge something could be wrong with the ship, according to a source.

MORE: Baltimore bridge collapse has dockworkers in fear for their future

On Monday morning, agents from the FBI were aboard the ship, according to the Justice Department.

"The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity," the FBI Baltimore said in a statement.

PHOTO: A crane works on the debris of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 29, 2024 in Baltimore.

The FBI did not offer further comment.

"Federal agents today are conducting a court-approved search of the Dali," according to a DOJ spokesperson. "We have no further comment at this time."

MORE: Foreign adversaries could exploit Baltimore Key Bridge collapse: Intelligence report

The container ship Dali struck one of the piers on the Key Bridge early on the morning of March 26, causing the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the span. Two other workers survived the incident.

No one on the cargo ship was injured in the collision, though several containers fell into the channel.

President Joe Biden, who visited the collapse site on April 5 , has pledged to fully support Baltimore's rebuilding efforts. He said during his visit its his "intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstruction of that bridge."

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Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology, 7th Edition
Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science 9th edition
The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice (6th
Criminal Investigation 8th edition
Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology 10th edition
Introduction to Criminal Investigation: Processes, Practices and

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COMMENTS

Improving Efficiency and Understanding of Criminal Investigations
The last three articles of this special issue focus on this vital part of criminal investigations (Izotovas et al.; Otgaar et al.; Van Beek et al.). In the first study, Izotovas et al. step away from the much common laboratory-based research to examine a sample of real-life police interrogations with suspected sex offenders.
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The importance of forensic evidence for decisions on criminal guilt
1. Introduction. Forensic evidence has been thought to be some of the strongest evidence admitted and judged in the courtroom [17], [34], [29], [35], [44].DNA evidence in particular has been considered the gold standard for forensic techniques for jurors [11], [19], [26].In fact, DNA has been found to have a greater effect on guilty verdicts than other types of non-DNA forensic evidence ...
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency: Sage Journals
The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency (JRCD), peer-reviewed and published bi-monthly, offers empirical articles and special issues to keep you up to date on contemporary issues and controversies in the study of crime and criminal-legal system responses.For more than sixty years, the journal has published work engaging a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches ...
Cognitive Biases in Criminal Case Evaluation: A Review of the Research
Psychological heuristics are an adaptive part of human cognition, helping us operate efficiently in a world full of complex stimuli. However, these mental shortcuts also have the potential to undermine the search for truth in a criminal investigation. We reviewed 30 social science research papers on cognitive biases in criminal case evaluations (i.e., integrating and drawing conclusions based ...
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The Impact of Investigation Strategies and Tactics on Homicide
In the United States, cases are considered cleared when the police arrest and charge offenders with a criminal offense and turn them over to the court for adjudication, or when exceptional circumstances such as the death of the offender preclude apprehension (Riedel, 2008).Nationally, clearance rates have declined from the 90% range in the early 1960s to the 60% range presently (Braga ...
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Introduction. Criminal investigation as a discipline within the fields of law enforcement (criminal justice) that focuses on the solution of crime at the local, state, and federal levels of government, within defined jurisdictional areas that may overlap. A crime is based on a legal definition prescribed by a governmental entity, such as a ...
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Alexis Rain Rockwell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at the University of South Alabama. Alexis received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Her research interests include police culture and police policies, including body-worn camera and use of force policies.
Introduction to Criminal Investigation: Processes, Practices and
About the Book. Introduction to Criminal Investigation, Processes, Practices, and Thinking is a teaching text designed to assist the student in developing their own structured mental map of processes, practices, and thinking to conduct criminal investigations. Delineating criminal investigation into operational descriptors of tactical-response ...
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FBI opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse, AP
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a criminal investigation into the collapse of a Baltimore bridge last month, the United States law enforcement agency announces after its ...
FBI reportedly opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge
The FBI has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, with agents looking into the events leading up to the Dali ship ...
FBI opens criminal investigation into Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse
Show More. The FBI is investigating whether there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, according to two sources familiar ...
Technological innovation in policing and crime prevention: Practitioner
Research article. First published online December 10, 2021 ... Internet privacy concerns and beliefs about government surveillance-An empirical investigation. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems 17(3): 214-233. Crossref. Google Scholar. ... European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 13(1-2): 109-137. Crossref.