The National Cold Case Center: Where Hope Never Grows Cold

In today’s criminal justice system, it is hard to find anyone committed to helping real victims of crime.  Over the past several years we have seen grants and dollars flow out of victim services and into defendant services.  We have seen district attorneys fight for the rights of the accused and ignore the rights of the victim.  And we have seen horrible senseless murders occur with little or no recognition by the media or our key local decision makers.  So, it is nice to see people like former District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, longtime prosecutor, Mindy Montford, and victim advocates, Angie and Shawn Ayers, step up to ensure victims are not only protected, but also that they get a real chance at justice.

Last week, Schubert, who is currently CEO and President of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, announced the creation of a new criminal justice organization called Nation Cold Case Center (NC3).  According to Schubert, this new organization will be comprised of what she calls, “an extraordinary group of experts from law enforcement, prosecutors, scientists, genealogists, technology and victim advocates to help find long overdue answers for families.”

According to the newly launched website National Cold Case Center will provide the following:

• Funding for forensic testing and investigative resources
  Financial support to law enforcement agencies to fund testing for DNA analysis, digital evidence recovery, biometrics, advanced ballistics, and other cutting-edge technology.
  
• Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG)
  Dedicated casework pipelines connecting detectives with elite genetic genealogists with experience building comprehensive family trees to identify unknown human remains and resolve decades-old investigations.
  
• Low-Cost and Free Law Enforcement Training
  Accessible, high-level training program opportunities across the country for local police departments. Curriculums focus on cold case triage, modern evidence preservation techniques, emerging forensic technologies, and investigative workflows.
  
• Cold Case Roundtable Reviews
  Intensive multidisciplinary case review panels. Cases are systematically evaluated by seasoned prosecutors, experienced investigators, forensic scientists, medical examiners, criminal intelligence analysts, and other practice area experts to uncover potential new leads and establish investigative pathways.
  
• Experienced Prosecutors & Investigators
  Direct access to a nationwide network of veteran prosecutors and detectives. These experts provide hands-on procedural, investigative, and legal guidance.
  
• 24/7 Victim & Family Peer Support Portal (coming soon)
  A password-accessible portal offering 24/7 support resources. Connects grieving families with advocates and peer support, media communication specialists, and trauma-informed services.
  
• National Cold Case Database (in planning stage)
  The development of a secure, CJIS-compliant encrypted repository for law enforcement use only. Features an automated AI pattern detection engine that scans incident reports into in-house database, identifies patterns, and links similar cases across jurisdictions to potentially identify serial offenders.
  

We hope that you will check them out at https://www.nationalcoldcasecenter.org and offer your support.