Victim and Witness Considerations

Another important consideration to be made early in the process is the willingness of victims and witnesses to proceed. although many victims may continuously monitor the progress of their investigations, some choose to detach from the process over time. Reinvestigating a case may cause renewed psychological trauma to the victim and victim's family. It should not be assumed that victims and witnesses, even if they were eager to pursue the case when it occurred, are still interested in pursuing the case. A phone call from an investigator years later may not be a welcome event. Whenever possible, enlist the aid of victim service providers. If a new officer is handling the investigation, enlisting the assistance of the original investigator to make the first contact with the victim may also be helpful.

The older a case is, the more difficult it may be to locate witnesses. However, early identification of victim and witness availability may ultimately save significant resources. Consultation with prosecutors is mandatory when considering whether a witness would be necessary at trial.

Some or all of the content on this page was excerpted from the Special Report Using DNA to Solve Cold Cases, developed under an award from the Office of Justice Program's National Institute of Justice. See award product disclaimer.