Fort Myers Cold Case Review Team

The purpose and intent of the Fort Myers Police Department seeking funding is to adopt a proactive approach by assembling a Cold Case Review Team (CCRT) to identify, review, prioritize, investigate, and solve existing close contact cold case Homicides through the utilization of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) analysis, diligent investigative means, and collaboration with the judicial system, and the community. The goal is to utilize dedicated personnel, and their expertise, to bring offenders to justice, reduce community fear of violent offenders, and provide closure to the victims' families. The objective is to dedicate time to conduct case reviews, locate evidence, and evaluate biological evidence from the identified cold cases that may be reasonably expected to contain DNA. It would allow for DNA analyses to be performed on such biological evidence. The Multi-Agency CRT will allow for all areas of expertise and training, to analyze the cases in a collaborative and proactive manner to increase the likelihood of solving the cases previously thought to be unsolvable, through DNA analysis, to include locating an analyzing biological evidence associated with the identified cases. The Department anticipates not only acquiring new leads through DNA analysis on cold case Homicides, where all significant leads had been exhausted, but actually solving cases utilizing funds to hire two part-time experienced Homicide investigators, overtime for detectives working cold cases, and DNA analysis. ca/ncf