Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Motivations, money and modern policing: accounting for cold case reviews in an age of austerity

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 23; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10439463.2013.782211

1477-2728

Cheryl Allsop,

Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

AbstractOver the past two decades 'cold case review conferences' have become an established component of how police forces respond to long-term unsolved major crimes. This article examines the place of cold case major crime reviews in UK policing in an age of austerity. In particular, it focuses on examining how police justify expending resource on these reviews, considering why particular motivations have been advanced and in turn what these reveal about modern policing. Informed by empirical data collected during an eight-month ethnographic study of a Major Crime Review Team and interviews with key actors involved in managing and conducting cold case reviews, the article suggests a typology of motives used to justify the continued investment in reviewing historic unsolved major crimes. The discussion concludes by considering what these motivations and their invocation reveal about the current policing practice.Keywords: cold case reviewsmurderstranger rapemajor crimesmotivationsausterity Notes1. For a journalistic account of the case see Stallard, K. (Citation2011).2. At the time of writing the most high-profile investigation to be progressed following a cold case review is that conducted by the Metropolitan Police into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The trial is receiving widespread media reporting, in particular, in relation to the scientific evidence being relied upon to connect the two defendants to the 1993 murder.3. See the article in full in Myers, R. (Citation2010).4. The Homicide Index contains details of all homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales since 1977.5. For journalistic accounts see Cassidy, K. (Citation2010). This is Nottingham.co.uk, Citation2009.6. For a greater understanding of the sheer volume of information gathered during a standard murder investigation readers are referred to Innes, M. (2003), in which the huge volume and type of information collected during a murder investigation is well documented.7. For comprehensive accounts of the place of forensic science in policing readers are referred to Williams, R. and Johnson, P. (Citation2008).8. This is the categorisation given in a murder investigation and is dependent on the circumstances of the crime so, for example, a high-profile murder or the murder of a child will most likely be category A. This in turn can also determine the seniority of the investigating officer and the level of resource given to the investigation.9. See the article in full This is Bath.co.uk, 2009.