On October 10th 2025 in Amsterdam, AMBER Alert Europe’s International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP) wins first prize for the second year running at the Dutch Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office Hackathon. A team representing ICCAP analysed several thousand pages from a real cold case. In just six hours, they used a stand-alone, offline AI model configured to simulate a cold-case investigator with 20 years of experience—delivering speed without relaxing security. The fifth-edition event gathered over 90 participants across 11 teams, with guests from Sweden, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. Overall, the outcome of the event hints at AI’s growing utility in cold-case analysis—more speed and structure, same safeguards.
Launched in 2020 under AMBER Alert Europe, ICCAP is the world’s largest international cold-case programme, bringing together 53 organisations and over 1000 students from 12 countries. By pairing police academies with universities, ICCAP gives students and young officers hands-on experience on real investigations—bridging theory and practice and helping authorities develop new leads and answers for families across Europe.
AMBER Alert Europe’s ICCAP received top recognition at the 5th Dutch Police and Public Prosecutor’s Office Hackathon. The ICCAP-representing team—led by Karsten Bettels, ICCAP Course Leader—comprised two investigators, five participants from Mittweida University of Applied Sciences for Digital Forensics, and one AMBER Alert Europe staff member, earning the award for their work on a real-cold case.
How the team’s AI-centred approach delivered a first-prize outcome
Without any prior preparation, the team had just six hours to process several thousand pages from a real cold-case. Revolutionarily, the team added a new ‘team member’: artificial intelligence in a stand-alone offline solution, configured to simulate a cold-case investigator with 20 years of experience. The AI-assisted setup supported a structured review of the case file within the six-hour window, helping the team focus on leads for verification. The controlled AI setup proved vital, compressing days of reading into hours and showcasing a responsible, innovative way to accelerate cold-case analysis.
The hackathon was organised by the Dutch Police and the Public prosecutor’s office, whilst being coordinated by Bryan Sewberath Misser and his team. Alongside two ICCAP cases, participants analysed Dutch Police files across cybercrime, missing persons and cold cases.
Meaningful AI-Driven Progress in Unsolved Cases
The back-to-back recognition of AMBER Alert Europe’s ICCAP underscores the value of cross-border collaboration between law enforcement, academia and civil society. It also highlights how a responsibly deployed, stand-alone offline AI model can support time-critical analysis in complex investigations without relaxing security requirements. Beyond this year’s award, it reaffirms ICCAP’s role as an internationally proven link between classrooms and casework, turning expertise from police academies and universities into usable leads for authorities and, ultimately, answers for families.
“Like in 2024, an ICCAP case won first prize—thanks to an excellent international team. In six hours, we analysed a decades-old case with a new teammate: AI in a stand-alone offline solution, gaining structural and case-related insights into what’s possible. Many thanks to the Dutch Police organising team and Bryan Sewberath Misser. Proud to wear the hackathon T-shirt.” Says ICCAP Course Leader Karsten Bettels.
