CRJ 260 - Medicolegal Death Investigation

• understand the critical nature of proper interactions with federal ,state and local agencies;
• understand the importance of proper and timely communication with next- of kin, pathologists, and treating physicians;
• understand how to correctly interact with families of victims.
• understand the basic methodologies of investigation a variety of deaths;
• understand the importance and procedural process of identifying and preserving evidence;
• understand what measures are required to maintain ethical and legal responsibilities;
• understand basic forensic and medical knowledge of injuries and wounds to the human anatomy;
• understand the nature of stress and the proper coping mechanisms to deal with stress.

Objectives:

• identify and define a statute; (A)
• explain the history of death investigation systems; (A) (D)
• identify geographic parameters affecting statues; (A)
• explain the importance of obtaining medical history data; (B)
• identify what data may and may not be shared between agencies; (B)
• define and explain Chain of Custody; (D)
• define cause and manner of death; (D)
• identify importance of death certificate completion; (B) (C)
• list various strategies for identification of remains; (D) (G)
• list strategies for notification of next of kin; (C)
• define agency cooperation at a death scene; (A)
•  identify formats used for narrative reporting; (D)
• list the typical contents of an acceptable narrative report; (D)
• describe importance of telephone skills for death investigation; (B)
• identify important factors in variety of death scenes; (D) (G)
• describe difference between personal property and evidence; (E)
• describe symptoms of grief and shock; (C)
• explain process of determining scene safety; (D)
• explain variety of processes for identifying bodies; (D) (G)
• explain means of determining time of death; (D) (F)
•  identify evidence preservation techniques; (E)
• identify the methods of scene documentation; (D)
• identify potential conflicts of interest; (F)
• recognize stressors. (H)