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The purpose of this paper is to suggest two things: first, that the scientific and technological developments and increased regulation that have shaped homicide investigations in England and Wales over the last few decades have provided today’s investigators with opportunities not available to their predecessors, and play a key role in solving unsolved homicides. Second, however, the authors suggest that such developments have created new challenges for investigators, challenges that impede current investigations, potentially creating the future unsolved cases.

This paper draws on two qualitative studies that comprised over eight months of ethnographic research, observations, interviews with serving and retired homicide detectives and case file analysis.

The widespread changes to homicide investigations in England and Wales have been valuable in many respects, notably, they have allowed detectives to look back in time and bring longstanding unsolved cases to a close. However, change, although well intentioned, might actually be creating future cold cases as detectives endeavour to manage the volume of information now generated during investigations, fast evolving scientific and technological techniques and an increase in bureaucracy.

This study is helpful for: improving investigative practice; learning from change; reducing unsolved homicides vs a rise in new cold cases; and innovative and entrepreneurial investigators.

Utilising qualitative research, this paper contributes to the academic literature exploring homicide investigation in England and Wales, offering insight into the challenges facing detectives and the potential impact of these upon solving past and present homicide cases.

Teacher attrition/retention seems to be a wicked issue: it has strong face validity and common-sense meaning, but the literature does not provide a clear definition. In the first section, the author analyzes the different ways in which the issue of teacher attrition and retention is problematized as the basis for a definition: as an educational issue teacher attrition and retention refers to the need to prevent good teachers from leaving the job for the wrong reasons. Arguing that teacher attrition/retention constitutes both a problem and a challenge, he continues in the second part to foreground lessons learned. The conclusion outlines an agenda for teacher education, teacher induction, and school development to positively deal with the challenge to keep the good teachers in teaching.