The Cold Case Task Force was created to:
• Review procedures used by law enforcement agencies in investigating and preserving cold case homicides.
• Review procedures used by law enforcement agencies in investigating recent homicides.
• Receive comment from members of victim’s families and members of the public.

It was decided that this report should focus upon the current practices of Arizona’s law enforcement community regarding cold case homicides, establishing a baseline that would allow for measured review as law enforcement progresses with the unique challenges that “cold case” homicides present.

Many Arizona street-level police officers and sheriff’s deputies report that they are skeptical of the ability of Arizona’s “pro-arrest” policy to reduce domestic violence, frustrated by a perceived lack of follow-up from prosecutors, and often at odds with victims whose predicaments they may not fully understand.

Domestic violence is a major social problem throughout Arizona, and a major daily challenge for law enforcement officers. Every day in Arizona, domestic violence injures victims, damages property, destroys families, breeds further crime and anti-social behavior, and perpetuates itself in younger generations. Like most states, Arizona has "criminalized" domestic violence (DV) by adopting laws and policies that bolster law enforcement officers’ arrest powers and require them to arrest suspects under certain circumstances.