Bruce Denise Morcombe speaks to the media outside the Brisbane Magistrates Court during the committal of Brett Peter Cowan. PIC: Steve Pohlner Source: The Courier-Mail
- Bruce Morcombe calls for a national cold case squad
- Decades-old cold cases should be referred, he says
- Mr Morcombe suggests the AFP investigate
A new national cold case squad is the only way to ensure unsolved crimes are re-investigated properly, says Bruce Morcombe.
The father of Daniel Morcombe, who was murdered in 2003, wants to see a national body established to review cases that state police can't solve.
Daniel was abducted from a Sunshine Coast bus stop in 2003. Brett Peter Cowan has been committed to stand trial for his murder at a date yet to be set.
In a speech prepared for a Queensland Homicide Victims' Support Group Awareness event in Brisbane today, Mr Morcombe said a national approach was needed to crack decades-old crimes.
"I would like to float an idea in the public arena here today," he said.
"I think it is time that a national cold case police unit be formed, possibly under the AFP, (where) these elite officers are tasked the job of reviewing, checking, quizzing POI's and in time solving cold cases.
"Investigators will have fresh eyes, carry no baggage from former investigators within the service and meticulously work with new strategies and powers to find the answers family members, friends and the community deserve."
Denise and Bruce Morcombe at court in Brisbane during the committal hearing of Brett Peter Cowan. Source: The Courier-Mail
Mr Morcombe told news.com.au that cold cases should be investigated by detectives who are completely independent of the original investigation.
He said police reviewing the work of mates within the service created potential conflicts.
"Within police circles we've heard the phrase 'fresh eyes on the case' many times but they were always Queensland police," he said.
"There's nothing wrong with that but can't the fresh eyes be some qualified officers who are completely removed and come into the investigation from outside Queensland?"
Mr Morcombe proposes that if state police do not solve a crime within a specific time frame, the case should then be referred to a national body.
"If you were diagnosed with a serious illness its fairly standard practice to go and get a second opinion," he said.
"I think that if the news is terribly grim and we're looking at a murder investigation, once the first group of investigators have had a go, there's no offense in wanting another group to look at it because everyone just wants it solved.
"We're not being critical - we're all on the same side. Whether a state or national body solve it - I don't care."
Bruce and Denise Morcombe reveal their new truck for their child safety awarness trips around the country in 2012. Picture: Megan Slade Source: The Courier-Mail
Mr Morcombe said he would be speaking as Daniel's father, rather than as a representative of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
"Obviously none of this will be of help to us personally but there are just so many unsolved murders," he said.
"I think a few of the 15 to 20-year-old cases are probably very solvable indeed."
Mr Morcombe suggests the Australian Federal Police might be the appropriate body.
"They look after every airport in the country," he said.
"I think they're probably the mob to run the show."
However, the country's top law enforcement agency investigates crimes against the Commonwealth rather than crimes against individuals such as homicide.
Katherine Biber, an associate professor of law at the University of Technology Sydney, questioned the need for a national review body.
"From my understanding a lot of cold case squads already consist of fresh eyes," she said.
"They may be from inside the jurisdiction but they are comprised of investigators who are independent from the original investigation.
"I think that so long as material is reviewed independently, I don't know how much difference it would make to have it reviewed by another police organisation."
Prof Biber said solving cold cases depended on the quality of evidence collected during the original investigation.
"The passage of time may improve our ability to bring new tools to the investigation but it won't improve the quality of the evidence itself," she said.
"If evidence wasn't collected properly the first time – or if it was mishandled, lost or contaminated at an early stage – science won't fix those problems.
"While there are some cases where victims' families should continue to feel some hope (of the case being solved) I don't think a new policing unit would transfer each cold case into a solved case."
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