Law Enforcement Expert
By: Joseph Giacalone
The Long Island Serial Killer map is a work in progress. I’ve been working on it for awhile now and it’s time to let you decide what else gets added. The map included every victim from Hempstead Lake Park, to Manorville, Fire Island, and Gilgo Beach. I will add new information as it becomes available. With your help, we can make it better. Continue reading “Long Island Serial Killer Map”
By: Joseph Giacalone
Is the Long Island Serial Killer case ice cold? Yes. There has been little movement in the case. That’s all that we know. At this point in the investigation, it might be a good idea to release everything they have. Did the police record any of those call with Melissa Barthelemy’s sister? I have lots of questions. Continue reading “Is the Long Island Serial Killer Case Ice Cold?”
By: Joseph Giacalone
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is probably the most infamous of the unsolved U.S. mafia murders in history. A long standing beef between the Irish of the North side lead by George “Bugs” Moran and the Italians of the southside lead by Al Capone, effectively ended on February 14, 1929. Continue reading “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”
By: Frank Thornton
During an investigation, the Physiological Time of Death (TOD) is often critical to investigators. This is especially true in homicide cases when the investigator tries to determine the victim’s last movements and whom they might have been in contact with at a given moment in time. Digital forensics can play an important role in determining the physiological time of death. Continue reading “Digital Forensics and the Physiological Time of Death”
By: Joseph Giacalone
Is violent crime up in New York City? It depends on who ask. 2020 is in the rearview mirror, but it may take years to understand the impact it has had on society. Violent crime is on the rise in many cities. In New York City, shooting incidents were up over 97%, there were 130 more murder victims, burglaries, and GLAs have all spiked. But what are the crime apologists saying? It’s fearmongering, police propaganda, and that overall crime is still down so what are you talking about? People’s lives are what I’m talking about. 130 more New Yorkers are dead due to violence. Continue reading “Is Violent Crime Up in New York City?”
By: Joseph Giacalone
The Washington Post’s Fatal Force database tracks police officer-involved shootings in the United States. It is the only database in existence. The FBI will release one soon, but unknown when. It will be interesting to see if the FBI data coincides with the Post, or will it diverge.
The Fatal Force database has tracked over 5,000 fatal encounters with the police since 2015. Fatal encounters have remained steady: Continue reading “How to Use the Fatal Force Database”
By: Joseph Giacalone
2020 Officer-Involved Shootings for 2020 have been calculated by the Washington Post. There were 1,003 total shootings, the largest number by four incidents since they started tracking them in 2015.
Today, local politicians worry more about an officer-involved shooting than balancing their budgets. If you didn’t know better, one would think that there are packs of rogue cops all over the United States hunting down and killing people. But, then again, maybe you don’t. In the age of the Internet and access to all kinds of information, many choose to be ignorant of the facts. The statistics posted here are not opinion, but facts. Continue reading “2020 Officer-Involved Shootings”
By: Joseph Giacalone
Jumpstart the Cold Case files now! Homicide clearance rates continue to fall and violent crimes continues to rise in the United States. Now, more than ever, a focus on who is wanted for murder becomes an important task that may lead to a reduction in violence. Violence often begets violence as retaliation becomes common.
Every detective has one case that still haunts them. There were a number of cases that I wish we were able to solve during my tenure as the Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad. We had a person of interest in most, but lacked the physical evidence, forensic evidence, confession, or eyewitnesses. Continue reading “Jumpstart the Cold Case Files”
By: Joseph Giacalone
Recording the time of death can often be a tricky situation for investigators. There are a number of things that are out of the investigator’s control, Time of Death (TOD) is only one of them. The golden rule for death investigations is to treat every one as if it is suspicious until evidence proves otherwise.
Investigators have to deal with many things at the beginning of a death investigation to enable the medical examiner (or coroner) to make the proper Manner of Death classification. First and foremost, make sure that the crime scene is secured. Death investigations require a team. This team consists of: investigator, medical examiner (or coroner) and/or a medicolegal investigator (MLI). One of the most important and often confusing caveat of investigations is the TOD.
Continue reading “Recording the Time of Death”
Hello everyone,
My name is Joseph Giacalone and I am a retired Sergeant SDS from the NYC Police Department. I will be starting a new blog that will cover Cold Cases, Missing Persons, Historical U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and various topics relating to law enforcement.
In addition, I will discuss some of the stories from the Bronx Cold Case Squad. I am a firm believer that the Cold Case Squad plays one of the most important roles any police department can have. You, are the last liaison between the victim’s family and the department. A role my detectives and I took seriously.
If you’d like to know more about me, head over to the About Me page.
