Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 345: Special Projects

Lu Chuan enlarged the details in the photos, comparing them with the indentation marks on the body in the case file photos.

"I asked yesterday, this kind of hook is not something an average person would use, they’re mostly used by pipe repair workers."

"I think over in Liangzhou City, we could focus on this angle and try again, for instance, checking if there were any repairs on sewage channels near the crime scene back then."

Liu Guodong held the photo from the case file and the steel hook photo on Lu Chuan’s phone. The more he looked, the more plausible it seemed.

"Hmm, I think they look quite similar. I’ll report your findings to Captain Qin. Over in Liangzhou, it’s still up to them."

Whether the case can be solved or not doesn’t rely solely on one piece of information. Clues are just an opportunity, a breakthrough point.

After all, it’s already a three-year-old case, and now only one detective who participated in the case back then is still following it.

Effectively verifying Lu Chuan’s lead isn’t something that can be done in a day or two.

As for reopening the case investigation, that’s even less likely.

Lu Chuan, while participating in a fingerprint battle organized by the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau and the provincial department, solved mostly unsolved murder cases.

After obtaining key evidence, the jurisdiction of the case would immediately launch a case reopening investigation mechanism. However, this reopening process is quite troublesome, with many procedures and reports to complete.

It’s not something that any Criminal Investigation Team or Criminal Investigation Team can reopen at will.

This is also why the fingerprint battle organized by the municipal bureau and the provincial department is set at relatively fixed times each year.

Another significant reason is that the incidence of cases occurring after the Spring Festival is relatively low. Over the years, the criminal investigation teams in cities have formed a habit, with sufficient manpower available during this period.

Reopening a murder investigation requires not only clues but also sufficient manpower.

Based on Liu Guodong’s experience, although the lead discovered by Lu Chuan is quite important, it’s not enough for Liangzhou City to reopen an investigation into a murder case from three years ago.

Unless Captain Qin’s brother-in-law makes further discoveries after receiving this lead.

Soon, Liu Guodong reported the relevant lead to Qin Yong and received a task in return.

"Lu, Captain Qin just instructed that you should temporarily put aside your current work for a while."

Hmm?

"Master, are we going on a business trip?"

"No, mainly because our team has accumulated many unsolved cases over the years. Captain Qin hopes you can take some time to focus on tackling these unsolved cases."

"Tackling unsolved cases?"

"Yes, some of our old cases, like those from over a decade ago, did have traces of footprints or fingerprints, but because too much time has passed, progress in recent years has been minimal. Since you’re quite good in these areas, give it a try, see if you can make any breakthroughs. Even if it’s just one or two cases, that would be helpful."

Lu Chuan, of course, would not refuse Qin Yong’s arrangement.

The work Lu Chuan normally does involves identifying fingerprints and sometimes checking footprints, among other things.

He had dealt with unsolved cases in the team before and had successfully solved two.

Shortly after Lu Chuan started his job, he looked into past unsolved cases of the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

To be honest, there were quite a number of cases, including murder cases, cases involving Qiang Jian, theft cases, arson cases, and various other cases.

These cases spanned a long period, with the longest ones exceeding the statute of limitations, up to over thirty years, while some were relatively recent, from about four or five years ago.

There were actually quite a few clues left in these cases, including fingerprints, footprints, DNA information, bloodstains, and so on.

About 15 years ago, there was a major cleanup of unsolved cases related to the Haizhou City Criminal Investigation Team.

That was when the DNA identification laboratory had just been established, and DNA identification technology was being fully promoted nationwide.

At that time, many cases involving DNA comparisons made breakthrough progress.

Some grassroots police stations and criminal investigation teams even achieved zero unsolved cases.

Of course, DNA identification is not omnipotent; some cases, even if they left behind DNA information, might not match any suspect.

After DNA identification technology became widely used, suspects also became smarter.

In Lu Chuan’s view, the progress of forensic technology goes hand in hand with the advancement in suspects’ techniques.

In earlier times, when fingerprint identification technology was not well-developed, few suspects wore gloves during a crime.

Now, unless it’s a crime of passion, premeditated murders rarely leave any fingerprints at the crime scene.

"Lu, I specifically requested a separate office for you."

Liu Guodong pointed to himself and to Old Yang and Old Bai: "Captain Qin specifically instructed us not to disturb you during this period."

"Master, that’s not necessary. There’s nothing disturbing about it. I can just go directly to our basement lab."

"Our lab usually doesn’t have any people; only the few of us go there. I’ll just move this computer downstairs."

Whether doing fingerprint identification analysis or footprint identification analysis, or any other kind of identification analysis, Lu Chuan felt that a quiet environment was essential.

The crime scene investigation office was suitable for fishing around, but not really for focused breakthrough work.

However, arranging for a so-called separate office did not seem necessary to Lu Chuan, as the crime scene investigation lab is usually empty, very quiet.

That place is just right.

Liu Guodong thought for a moment and agreed, "Alright, then go to the lab. Call us if anything comes up."

With that, Lu Chuan moved his computer down before lunch.

Upon opening the unsolved cases database, Lu Chuan did not choose a case at random to start with.

First of all, Lu Chuan was self-aware. These unsolved cases cannot all be solved. Even if Lu Chuan mastered all skills at an advanced level, not every case could be solved.

Moreover, some cases have already passed the statute of limitations, being from 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. Even if solved, punishing the suspect from a practical perspective holds no significant real-world importance.

Lu Chuan did not focus solely on murder cases for handling unsolved cases.

After all, during any era, a murder case would definitely mobilize the entire team for resolution. Cases unsolved back then would certainly be even harder to crack now.

After so many years, the crime scene no longer exists, and all information can only be obtained from the case files.

And these files were written by detectives handling the case back then, not just one person. Each person has different skill levels and ways of expressing themselves in writing, so the information in the files is relatively limited.

Captain Qin Yong didn’t assign Lu Chuan only to handle murder unsolved cases, either.

So, Lu Chuan decided to work backward chronologically, addressing the unsolved cases one by one.

No matter what type of case it is, if it’s within Lu Chuan’s capability, he’ll choose it.

Meanwhile, in Liangzhou City, Cheng Zihao also received a call from Qin Chuan.