Certification of medicolegal death investigation personnel

It is recommended that all primary personnel responsible for investigating deaths (coroners, medical examiners, and medicolegal death investigators) and the consultants and entities providing supportive services be certified by an accredited certifying body. Practitioners entering the field shall obtain certification within a reasonable time of employment and as soon as the employee is eligible per the requirements of the certifying agency. Adherence to a code of ethics is paramount to public confidence in the forensic sciences including death investigation. The process of individual certification by an accredited certifying body and accreditation of the office or system does include an ethical component. Medicolegal death investigators must be educated and trained so that they can properly determine the scope and extent of the death investigation and can ensure quality for each investigation. Medicolegal death investigations impact public health and public safety. There are various obstacles to ensuring that forensic science personnel are properly educated, trained, and certified and that the entities that employ them are properly accredited. Funding is one of these obstacles. A vehicle must be established to enforce universal certification for personnel and accreditation for offices in order to enhance the integrity of forensic sciences and death investigation.