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Why Policy Matters: How Lawmakers Influence the Future of Cold Case
Why Policy Matters: How Lawmakers Influence the Future of Cold Cases
Angela Mew, Executive Director
September 2026
When a cold case is solved decades after a crime occurred, the breakthrough is often attributed to new DNA technology, a determined investigator, or a previously unknown piece of evidence. But behind many of these successes is another factor that receives far less attention: public policy. Lawmakers have enormous influence over whether law enforcement agencies have the funding, technology, staffing, and legal framework necessary to revisit cases that have remained unsolved for years. As forensic science continues to evolve, policy decisions made today will help determine how many cold cases have another opportunity to be solved tomorrow. Federal Policy Helped Build the DNA Infrastructure We Rely on Today The relationship between legislation and forensic DNA testing stretches back decades. The DNA Identification Act of 1994 authorized the creation of the National DNA Index System, or NDIS, which became the national component of the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, commonly known as CODIS. The law also provided federal funding to help build DNA analysis capacity. Congress took another major step with the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, which authorized federal grants to help state and local laboratories process DNA samples and increase their capacity. That legislation was expanded through the Debbie Smith Act of 2004, named for sexual assault survivor Debbie Smith. Smith waited more than six years before DNA evidence identified her attacker. The law expanded federal support for processing DNA evidence and reducing forensic backlogs. These laws demonstrate an important lesson: scientific advances alone do not transform the criminal justice system. Policy determines whether agencies have the resources to actually use them. Congress Continued Expanding the Role of DNA in Cold Cases As DNA technology became more powerful, lawmakers increasingly recognized that forensic evidence could do more than help investigate recent crimes. It could reopen cases that had been dormant for years or even decades. Congress continued refining federal DNA programs through measures including the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016, which reinforced federal investment in DNA analysis and backlog reduction. The Justice Served Act of 2018 went even further by specifically directing a portion of Debbie Smith program funding toward increasing the capacity of state and local prosecutors to address violent cold cases in which suspects had been identified through DNA evidence. The Debbie Smith Act of 2019 also emphasized prioritizing DNA samples from homicides and sexual assaults, demonstrating continued congressional recognition of the importance of forensic testing in serious violent crimes. More recently, Congress again reauthorized the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program through fiscal year 2029, continuing a federal framework that has supported DNA testing and laboratory capacity for decades. The progression matters. Federal policy has gradually moved from simply creating DNA databases toward addressing laboratory capacity, evidence backlogs and the use of DNA to help resolve long standing violent crimes. Technology Has Changed. Policy Must Change With It. Traditional forensic DNA testing transformed criminal investigations, but today’s technology can go significantly further. One of the most important developments has been forensic genetic genealogy, or FGG. Unlike a traditional CODIS search, which generally looks for a direct match to an existing forensic profile, FGG can use more extensive DNA analysis combined with genealogical research to develop investigative leads. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice issued its first comprehensive guidance governing the federal use of FGG. The policy established criteria for when the technique could be used while attempting to balance its investigative potential with privacy and civil liberty concerns. DOJ recognized that FGG could help identify unknown suspects as well as unidentified homicide victims when traditional methods had been exhausted. This represents the next major policy challenge. Technology has advanced faster than many government funding structures. A case may contain biological evidence capable of producing a lead through advanced DNA testing, but that possibility means little if an agency cannot afford the testing or lacks the personnel necessary to pursue the results. Funding Remains One of the Most Powerful Policy Tools Cold case investigations are resource intensive. Investigators may need to locate decades old evidence, review thousands of pages of case files, interview witnesses again, submit evidence for advanced testing, work with forensic genealogists and pursue new investigative leads. Smaller departments can face an especially difficult choice: devote limited resources to crimes occurring today or reopen cases from decades ago. Federal programs have attempted to close some of that gap. Since fiscal year 2019, the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program has made 70 awards totaling more than $35 million through FY2024. Those investments have produced measurable results. BJA reported outcomes including dozens of previously unknown suspects identified, cases charged or indicted, convictions and cold cases resolved or closed. The program also reported suspects identified through forensic genetic genealogy. But federal funding is only part of the equation. State lawmakers determine appropriations for crime laboratories, attorneys general, public safety agencies, medical examiners, prosecutors and specialized investigative units. Legislatures can also create dedicated cold case programs or funding streams that allow agencies to access advanced forensic technology without sacrificing resources needed for current investigations. That means a budget decision made inside a state capitol can ultimately affect whether evidence sitting in an evidence room receives another look. A Growing Trend: Treating Cold Cases as a Capacity Issue One of the most important shifts in the conversation around cold cases is recognizing that many unsolved cases are not simply the result of a lack of evidence.Sometimes the technology available when the crime occurred simply was not capable of producing an answer. A biological sample collected in 1985, 1995 or even 2005 may have possibilities today that investigators at the time could not have imagined. The challenge becomes ensuring agencies can afford to reexamine that evidence. That changes the policy question from “Why hasn’t this case been solved?” to “What resources would investigators need to give this case another opportunity?” Federal forensic policy increasingly recognizes capacity as a critical issue. The Department of Justice lists increasing forensic service provider capacity so evidence can be processed quickly and investigations concluded without unnecessary delay among its forensic science priorities. For cold cases, that capacity can include laboratory resources, advanced DNA testing, forensic genetic genealogy, specialized investigators, prosecutors, training and public awareness resources capable of generating new information from the community. State Lawmakers Have an Increasingly Important Role The next chapter of cold case policy will not be written exclusively in Washington. State legislatures are uniquely positioned to identify gaps within their own criminal justice systems. They can ask whether agencies have adequate funding to review older homicide and sexual assault cases, whether crime laboratories have sufficient capacity, whether investigators can access advanced DNA technology and whether smaller jurisdictions have the same opportunities as larger metropolitan agencies. Lawmakers can also bring together stakeholders who do not always operate within the same system: law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, forensic laboratories, medical examiners, victim advocates, researchers and nonprofit organizations. Policy can create the infrastructure that allows those groups to work together. The Future of Cold Cases Is Also a Policy Question No single technology will solve every cold case, but history shows what can happen when public policy keeps pace with forensic innovation. National DNA databases, federal investment, and advances like forensic genetic genealogy have created opportunities that did not exist when many of these crimes occurred. The question now is whether laws and funding will continue to keep pace. Investments in crime laboratories, advanced DNA testing, and cold case units can lead to something tangible: a new test, a new lead, an identification, or a case moving closer to resolution. That is why policy matters. When lawmakers invest in cold cases, they create new opportunities for answers, accountability, and justice.
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