Toronto police’s dedicated cold case unit has already added files for 2020

 

There are hundreds of unsolved criminal investigations in Toronto. The cold case unit is working to ensure that killers don’t get away with murder.

• Toronto police’s cold case unit was formed in 1996.
• There are four officers assigned to the unit.
• There are currently between 680 and 700 cold cases in Toronto.
• The oldest cases date back to the 1920s.

 

What is a cold case?
A cold case is an unsolved criminal investigation which remains open pending the discovery of new evidence. The cold cases unit within the Toronto Police Service was formed in the late 1990s. Today four officers work in the unit which has between 680 and 700 cold cases. The oldest cold cases date back to the 1920s.

Police say a case usually becomes cold around the four-year mark and it is one of two things that usually cracks a cold case — changes in science or changes in relationships. They believe in all their unsolved cases someone out there knows who committed the crime and it is just a matter of whether or not he or she is willing to come forward.

Join 680 NEWS as we learn more about these cases in and around the Toronto area.