Philadelphia Police Department revamping Cold Case Unit as violence climbs
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Police Department is reforming its cold case investigation branch that was forced into dormancy as homicides surged across the city and stretched resources thin.
"It was very unfortunate, but the cold cases ended up going by the wayside," Captain Jason Smith from the department's homicide unit told FOX 29's Kelly Rule.
There are currently more than 4,000 unsolved murders in Philadelphia dating back to 1990, and just last year the city set a historically bloody benchmark of 562 killings.
Smith said as homicides continued to pour in, he was forced to begin assigning investigators from the Cold Case Unit to probe active homicides.
MORE LOCAL HEADLINES
- City offering $20K reward for info on 3 suspects wanted in fatal South Philadelphia triple shooting
- Man shot by intruder who forced way into University City home, police say
- Police: 3 dead, multiple others injured in rash of daytime shootings across Philadelphia
"We will continue to work those investigations, but in order to do that effectively I need a team of investigators dedicated to that purpose; to work on cold case investigations," Smith said.
The department's revamped Cold Case Unit currently consists of two teams and four investigators, but Smith expects to double the unit's manpower by mid-September.
Together, the team will work off tips and pull old case files to meticulously go through the details of the thousands of unsolved murders. Smith believes DNA evidence could play the largest role.
"It could be blood from the perpetrator, we're finding that evidence can be re-tested and we can develop a suspect based off of that DNA," Smith said.
Forensic testing is part of an evolving landscape of new investigative technology that police hope will help provide closure for the families of murder victims.
"I have homicide investigators who receive weekly phone calls from the mother's of homicide victims, weekly," Smith said. "The mothers aren't giving up, why should we?"
According to the Philadelphia Police Department there have been more than 350 homicides so far this year, that number is currently outpacing the deadliest year in Philadelphia's history.