Finding the missing and unknown: Novel educational approaches to warming up cold cases

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Criminal Justice Education
• Investigative Psychology

Background:

• Academic institutions and police academies globally are increasingly collaborating on cold case analyses, including long-term missing persons cases.
• Three European organizations (PEN-MP, AMBER Alert Europe, Locate International) established the International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP) in 2020 to facilitate cross-border collaboration.
• ICCAP aims to unite educational bodies for collective cold case analysis (CCA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP) in enhancing student competence.
• To assess the impact of authentic, interdisciplinary collaboration on professional skill development and knowledge exchange.
• To share best practices for national and international collaboration in cold case investigations and unidentified remains identification.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a learning objective-based evaluation employing Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI).
• Administered pre- and post-review questionnaires to 76 participating students from German and international ICCAP teams.
• Focused on self-assessment of competence development in victim information collection, crime reconstruction, and trace control investigation.

Main Results:

• Participants reported significant increases in competence across all evaluated areas.
• The study demonstrated that authentic and relevant collaborations enrich the learning environment.
• Found that these collaborations promote professional skill utilization and foster knowledge exchange between academia and industry.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative cold case analysis projects effectively enhance student learning and professional skill development.
• Interdisciplinary and international cooperation is crucial for advancing investigations into missing persons and unidentified remains.
• The ICCAP model offers a valuable framework for other institutions seeking to adopt innovative approaches to cold case investigations.