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Linkage Blindness
The inability of law enforcement to communicate or share information in a way that connects similar unsolved crimes. Linkage blindness is often attributed to the lack of cooperation between decentralized police departments or the lack of information-sharing technology. It is often blamed in reference to serial murderers (e.g., the Zodiac Killer). Aside from hindering arrest, linkage blindness may also delay the mobilization of police resources to investigate serious crimes because patterns go unidentified. New technology, such as the FBI's (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), alerts law enforcement to similar crimes across jurisdictions.