A new program is going into effect at one Texas University and college students could potentially help solve some cases.

What is Officially a Cold Case?

The legal definition is after a period of three years where a case has not been officially closed but investigators have exhausted all possible options. Every few years, these files are reopened in the hopes that new information has become available. Usually, new technology that allows for a new break in the case.

Texas Attorney General Announces New Partnership with Texas State

Sometimes just getting some fresh eyes on a case can help out a lot and that is what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is hoping for with this new partnership with Texas State University's Criminal Justice program. The internship partners Texas State students with the Office of the Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit, which Attorney General Ken Paxton established in 2021.

Students Can Earn Credit, While Actually Working in the Field

The department as you can imagine is overwhelmed with cases. In the state of Texas, over 20,000 cold case homicides exist. Students will be selected in May and the program will actually take two full semesters of college, which the first of will be this fall of 2024.

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Could This Expand to Other Texas Colleges?

We will wait and see. Right now Texas State is considered one of the best criminal justice schools in America. I imagine with this new program, it will entice more students to check out the school. Plus, if you actually solve a cold case. No way you could ever fail the class, right?