In the United States, there are as many as 100,000 people who might be missing on any given day. Some of these people have gone missing for a long time, and it is not clear where they went.
If the police don’t know where someone has gone, sometimes family members will want to find them themselves. Cold cases are when criminals have been caught, and it is hard to find new clues or witnesses.
Detectives and crime victims feel frustration and disappointment when there is no new lead in a trial.
The evidence gets examined repeatedly until new information comes up, which might require more scientific analysis.
A cold case can get reactivated in different ways. For example, the police might find something new that makes them want to look at the point again.
Sometimes there is missing persons investigator who will give cold cases a chance to be solved.
The U.S. has about 18,000 law enforcement agencies, but only 7% have dedicated cold case units, according to 2016 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and NIJ-sponsored research.
A criminal who has never been caught before might still be alive. That would be a crisis. There are over 180,000 people that haven’t been caught in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for homicide or non-negligent manslaughter from 1980 to 2019.
The working panel is made up of professionals who make recommendations about how to investigate cold cases.
The National Best Practices for Establishing and Sustaining a Cold Case Investigation Unit has been published.
In some cases, there are whole squads of people who work on cold files. They look at the old cases to see if anything might have been missed and if new information is available. If so, they will try and find out what it means and how it can help them.
Missing Person Investigator Jobs
Investigators are people who find missing people. They might be hired by someone to find their loved ones. They can search for them in any way they want to, even if the law says not to do it.
If someone is missing, then they can’t be found. Investigators look for them. If the person is not legally a missing person, then they help find them. If the person is an active case, then they help find them too.
- The person may work with current missing person search cases.
- They may start a case and do a search for someone before law enforcement does.
- They can help families find lost members.
- They might help families find more answers about missing people.
- They might help find missing people that are not considered “missing” in the eyes of the law.
The number of jobs for missing person investigators is expected to grow by about 8% between 2018 and 2028. There will be 2,600 jobs in the U.S. during that time period.
Investigators need to be ready for different types of work, like when someone is missing because they are lost or kidnapped, but it can also be very rewarding and exciting if you get to help find them.
People who are missing need to be found. In some cases, the person is lost and needs help. In other cases, they need help because someone might have done something to them.
A person called a “missing person investigator” tries to find these people and figure out what happened to them.
Missing person investigators use a lot of resources to find missing people. They search the internet and other databases and read police records.
They also ask witnesses questions and may use surveillance techniques to find where the person went.
Many people turn to missing-person investigators because they have skills. They have a lot of resources, and they are very dedicated.
Becoming a Missing Persons Investigator
To become a missing person’s Investigator, you have to have good communication skills. You need to be able to write and speak.
You also need to be good at thinking about things critically. And you should notice details well.
But it is also critical for you to go to school because people usually want someone with a degree when they hire someone for this job.
The police often give people training. They can go to school. Then they know about the law and how to use technology. They can find what they need on their own too.
Private investigators have a few degrees to choose from.
- Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice
- Associates of Science in Legal Studies
- Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration
A degree in criminal justice gives people a foundation in how the criminal justice system works. It also teaches them about ethics and criminal law.
When someone becomes a private investigator, they need to know the laws in that state. They can take a written test to see if they know enough about the practice of private investigation in that state.
A person who investigates a missing person must be licensed. You need to go to school and have experience.
It is common that you will have a background check, fingerprinting, and supervised experience as a condition of your license.
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It is also common for states to renew licenses every year if the person has been doing their job well.