What people don’t realise is that even an old murder won’t be uploaded as a matter of routine because it all comes down to an individual officer’s judgement. Some cold cases get lost in the shuffle because they lack what we call “resolution potential”.’
‘Resolution potential?’ repeated Brook, fighting a smile. ‘You’re kidding.’
‘Far from it. All the cases we look at have limited potential for reinterpretation of the available evidence.’
‘You mean there’s no DNA to test,’ said Brook.
‘And no possibility of obtaining any, right. See, priority was often given to uploading those cases where advances in DNA techniques and fingerprint retrieval might yield results in the future.’
‘And so those cases that didn’t have potential for either may not have been entered on the database,’ concluded Brook.
‘Correct,’ confirmed Copeland. ‘Rightly or wrongly, they were deemed unlikely to yield results and downgraded. We’re then left with folders full of papers and reports and maybe some artefacts in a distant warehouse.’
‘Assuming they haven’t been routinely destroyed,’ suggested Brook.
‘They often have been, unless a special request for retention from the case officer is received.’
Brook nodded. ‘So where do I come in?’
‘You assess,’ said Copeland. ‘Go through the files and update them as appropriate. Find out which witnesses are still alive then update their details – address, occupation, that sort of thing. If deceased, enter a cause and date of death on the top sheet and move on. In the unlikely event you think the case has—’
‘Resolution potential,’ muttered Brook.
‘In that case, update the file to say you’ve assessed it positively, do the paperwork to say why and then pass it on to me for uploading on to the database.’
‘Sounds simple enough,’ said Brook. If deadly dull .
‘It is,’ replied Copeland. ‘But it’s deadly dull – usually.’
Brook looked up. ‘Usually?’
Copeland shrugged, unable to meet Brook’s eye for some reason. ‘Sometimes an old case grabs you and won’t let go because you see something that no one’s ever seen before. That can happen with a fresh pair of eyes and none of the baggage investigating officers carry into a case.’ He looked at Brook, managing a smile. ‘I won’t talk down to a man of your experience. You’ll soon pick it up. I always start with the oldest case and work my way forward chronologically. You can create your own method.’
‘Do we know when and who last looked at a file?’
‘First thing you check. There should be a list of officers’ names and review dates on the front page. The second thing to do is—’
‘Check which suspects and witnesses are alive for re-interview.’
Copeland smiled. ‘You’re a natural, Brook.’
‘Next stop chief constable,’ snorted Brook. ‘Should I bother re-interviewing witnesses?’
‘If you like wasting your time. Memories fade and even if you know what to ask, you’re unlikely to get a better version of events than the one in the file. But sometimes it can bear fruit. Circumstances change and a witness who lied in the past might forget the details of what they said at the time. Or they might suddenly find a good reason to tell you the truth.’ He shrugged. ‘Either way, it can get you out of the office for a few hours, so please yourself. Otherwise just record all the information you can. Any questions?’
‘How long have you been doing this kind of work?’
‘I set up my first CCU in Nottingham about nine years ago so you can imagine how much work that was, with their murder rate.’
‘Most of those would be drug shootings though, surely.’
‘Of course,’ said Copeland. ‘But with that many guns on their doorstep, serving officers were usually too busy to look over traditional unsolveds.’
Brook nodded. ‘Do you enjoy the work?’
Copeland considered for a moment. ‘It supplements my pension and gets me out
‘Resolution potential?’ repeated Brook, fighting a smile. ‘You’re kidding.’
‘Far from it. All the cases we look at have limited potential for reinterpretation of the available evidence.’
‘You mean there’s no DNA to test,’ said Brook.
‘And no possibility of obtaining any, right. See, priority was often given to uploading those cases where advances in DNA techniques and fingerprint retrieval might yield results in the future.’
‘And so those cases that didn’t have potential for either may not have been entered on the database,’ concluded Brook.
‘Correct,’ confirmed Copeland. ‘Rightly or wrongly, they were deemed unlikely to yield results and downgraded. We’re then left with folders full of papers and reports and maybe some artefacts in a distant warehouse.’
‘Assuming they haven’t been routinely destroyed,’ suggested Brook.
‘They often have been, unless a special request for retention from the case officer is received.’
Brook nodded. ‘So where do I come in?’
‘You assess,’ said Copeland. ‘Go through the files and update them as appropriate. Find out which witnesses are still alive then update their details – address, occupation, that sort of thing. If deceased, enter a cause and date of death on the top sheet and move on. In the unlikely event you think the case has—’
‘Resolution potential,’ muttered Brook.
‘In that case, update the file to say you’ve assessed it positively, do the paperwork to say why and then pass it on to me for uploading on to the database.’
‘Sounds simple enough,’ said Brook. If deadly dull .
‘It is,’ replied Copeland. ‘But it’s deadly dull – usually.’
Brook looked up. ‘Usually?’
Copeland shrugged, unable to meet Brook’s eye for some reason. ‘Sometimes an old case grabs you and won’t let go because you see something that no one’s ever seen before. That can happen with a fresh pair of eyes and none of the baggage investigating officers carry into a case.’ He looked at Brook, managing a smile. ‘I won’t talk down to a man of your experience. You’ll soon pick it up. I always start with the oldest case and work my way forward chronologically. You can create your own method.’
‘Do we know when and who last looked at a file?’
‘First thing you check. There should be a list of officers’ names and review dates on the front page. The second thing to do is—’
‘Check which suspects and witnesses are alive for re-interview.’
Copeland smiled. ‘You’re a natural, Brook.’
‘Next stop chief constable,’ snorted Brook. ‘Should I bother re-interviewing witnesses?’
‘If you like wasting your time. Memories fade and even if you know what to ask, you’re unlikely to get a better version of events than the one in the file. But sometimes it can bear fruit. Circumstances change and a witness who lied in the past might forget the details of what they said at the time. Or they might suddenly find a good reason to tell you the truth.’ He shrugged. ‘Either way, it can get you out of the office for a few hours, so please yourself. Otherwise just record all the information you can. Any questions?’
‘How long have you been doing this kind of work?’
‘I set up my first CCU in Nottingham about nine years ago so you can imagine how much work that was, with their murder rate.’
‘Most of those would be drug shootings though, surely.’
‘Of course,’ said Copeland. ‘But with that many guns on their doorstep, serving officers were usually too busy to look over traditional unsolveds.’
Brook nodded. ‘Do you enjoy the work?’
Copeland considered for a moment. ‘It supplements my pension and gets me out
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