 | Detective Heather Bachman is an eight-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department and is currently assigned to the Homicide section in the Crimes Against Persons Bureau. During her career she has also worked as a robbery detective, undercover narcotics detective and a patrol officer. She can be contacted at 268-4619. |
Wichita Police Department
2005-02-01 11:14:00
Is there a “cold case” team?
Is there a team that exclusively works 'cold cases' all the time for the Wichita Police Department? If so, how many of these cases have been solved?What is the percentage of cases that are solved?
ANSWER: The Wichita Police Department's Homicide Section is comprised of seven Detectives and one Lieutenant. Since 2000, two detectives have been assigned to work on cold cases on a full time basis. Since the inception of the Cold Case Unit, eight cold homicide cases have been solved.Three cold cases were solved in 2004, two of them as a result of new DNA technology. The Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS), which was activated in Sedgwick County approximately two years ago, provided suspect information on the two cases, and promises to continue to be a viable tool in the investigation and successful charging in violent criminal cases.According to the FBI, CODIS uses two indexes to generate investigative leads in crimes where biological evidence is recovered from the crime scene. The Convicted Offender index contains DNA profiles of individuals convicted of felony sex offenses (and other violent crimes). The Forensic index contains DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence. CODIS utilizes computer software to automatically search these indexes for matching DNA profiles. It is a system of pointers; the database only contains information necessary for making matches. Profiles stored in CODIS contain a specimen identifier, the sponsoring laboratory's identifier and the actual DNA characteristics. CODIS does not store criminal history information, case-related information, social security numbers or dates-of-birth. Matches made among profiles in the Forensic Index can link crime scenes together, possibly identifying serial offenders. Based on a match, police can coordinate separate investigations, and share leads developed independently. Matches made between the Forensic and Convicted Offender indexes ultimately provide investigators with the identity of the suspect(s). The Wichita Police Department can present old homicides to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution regardless of when they occurred because there is no statute of limitations for homicide cases.
