Cold Case University Partnership

Although successful in investigating homicides throughout the agency’s history, some cases remain unsolved. Temporary cold case teams have been successful; however, none were permanent due to cyclical staffing and budget concerns. To address cold cases within his district, Detective Sergeant Rothman spearheaded the concept of a partnership with the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Criminal Justice. He sought out faculty and students in the criminal justice program interested in assisting with cold case investigations, resulting in a partnership that developed into a 400-level criminal justice class at MSU, where students index and digitize cold case homicides, giving detectives the assistance needed in organizing cases while providing students with practical knowledge regarding homicide investigations.