Bulletin Reports

A Guide for Death Scene Investigators

The U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, presents Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator, 2024. This revised and updated guide for death scene investigators results from a collaborative effort to present the most current information about issues confronting medicolegal death investigators (MDIs). It reflects changes and advances in communication, photography, and documentation technology, as well as procedural advances in drug and child- and infant-death investigations. The guide also presents a greater awareness of the importance of MDIs among professional partners, families, and the media. Further, this document addresses how MDIs must be allowed to perform independent but collaborative investigations with law enforcement, ensuring best outcomes for death and criminal investigations.  
 
The full guide, NCJ 308955, is available at https://www.ojp.gov.