Actionable Open-Source Intelligence Architecture for Cold Case Investigations

The number of unsolved homicides in the Netherlands has gradually stacked up over the past few decades resulting in more than 1700 “cold cases” as of 2024. To tackle this problem, this paper presents a socio-technical system that facilitates the semi-automated collection and derivation of actionable intelligence from publicly available information for cold case investigations. The proposed system is designed using a multi-disciplinary approach by integrating solutions from the domains of homicide, ethics and philosophy, intelligence studies and computer science. Additionally, existing requirement engineering literature was used to identify the necessary requirements needed to design the proposed system. Thereby ensuring the safety, security and responsible use of OSINT for cold case investigations. We hope that the proposed socio-technical system can help mitigate cold cases and thus contribute towards the social good