Cold cases further.

A little while back I started to get really into cold cases and unsolved murders. I started to think about how one might start investigating them.  I started to think about how you might investigate them and find out the person who did the case.  So far I have written a number of things on this matter (Usually about private investigators and how many cold cases they have on this matter), but this is one that has gotten my attention because is something that I was not expecting.

A little while back I got in touch with the Home Office the following questions:

1) What is the guidance given to police authorities, by your department, to the investigation of unsolved murders in the UK

2) How is the guidance given to Police authorities in storage of evidence in relation to unsolved murders

3) How much was allocated money to solving unsolved murders from 01/01/15 to 01/01/16

The reasons for these questions are simple. Money is a great indicator of how serious a matter is. Also finding the information on how to look into cold cases is interesting because it also shows us what we ( as amateurs) can do.  If we know their procedures, then we can follow them. So what did I find?  Well here goes.

First off the home office were really nice on this matter. They really did take section 16 to the limit of what they could and could not do (And I do appreciate this). Firstly they stated that they do not give out guidance regarding the conduct of officers, but that this was a Chief officer decision.  The thing that the did give me was the The College of Policing conduct guidelines.  It's also interesting to note that this is a Police Chief commissioner decision.

Secondly, the guidelines for storage are available in the public domain. Interesting this this isn't it?  Didn't know how much there was, did you? So what about questions 3? The response:

Home Office does not hold the information you have requested. Decisions around the management, resourcing and financing of police investigations sit with the Chief Officer of each force. You will need to direct your request to the National Police Chiefs Council for response.

So I did ask them. I have yet to hear from them, but it would be very interesting to see what they say on this.   

So why did I find this interesting?  Simply put , it's interesting because the amount of guidance that we have got from this. Section 16 was put to the test here.  The home office guided me to who needs to be address and what needs to be asked. I am interested in this because it shows where to go to next on this journey of cold cases. I wonder what else I can gather and what other things that FOI can being up on this matter. Stay tuned.