Polk County proposes 5-person cold case unit
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Polk County could get a five-person cold case unit under a proposal that will go before supervisors Tuesday.
Why it matters: It could bring dedicated attention to more than 100 cold cases identified in Polk County in 2024.
Catch up quick: The sheriff has previously relied on retired officers volunteering to revisit old cases.
State of play: Each of the five specialists would be paid about $31 an hour and budgeted for up to 500 hours annually.
- The estimated cost is about $90,000 this fiscal year, rising to around $95,000 in subsequent years.
Context: Some local law enforcement agencies already have dedicated cold case staff.
- Cedar Rapids police's unit, for example, helped secure a 2024 murder conviction for the 2007 killing of Dennis First, a 64-year-old man who was stabbed and beaten in his apartment.
Inside the room: Polk's request comes as the county prepares for tighter budgets, with a new Iowa law that generally caps growth in city and county general property tax revenue at 2%.
- The sheriff's office annual budget is currently around $102 million.
The fine print: The unit wasn't included in the county's adopted budget and would require a budget amendment.
- County documents don't specify where the money will come from or whether other spending would be reduced.
What they're saying: Sheriff Kevin Schneider said in 2024 that his office didn't have the resources to pay for a dedicated cold case team and welcomed help from the state, which was launching its own unit.
What we're watching: Which cases will receive priority and how the new team will coordinate with other departments on cases such as that of Johnny Gosch, a West Des Moines paperboy who went missing in 1982.