Best Practices for Handling “Cold Hits”

Communicating Cold Hits

The FBI has a 30-day notification requirement on hits. Both the offender sample and casework laboratories are encouraged to prioritize hit notifications, as these indicate a potential perpetrator.

Delays in reporting hits can put a laboratory in the untenable position of being the only organization to hold important case information. Hit information could mean the release of an innocent person from jail, the apprehension of a criminal or the prevention of future crimes.