Abstract
We review the literature on the general solvability of homicides to learn if characteristics pertaining to the victim, the event and the investigating agency may help predict which unresolved or ‘cold’ cases are likely to be ultimately resolved. We utilize two definitions of when a case becomes ‘cold,’ the conventional or Traditional (unresolved after a year) and the Alternate (unresolved after 30 days). We use binomial logistic regression (BLR) to analyse data collected from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the Law Enforcement Management System. Several factors (e.g., child victim, location of residence of victim, location where body was found, region of agency, type of investigating agency, agency salary level and educational requirements) are suggestive and need to be examined further.
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