The burden of dealing with tragedies associated with the day-to-day duties of police officers, coroners, and medicolegal death investigators, often remains unspoken and follows the officers into their off-duty and personal lives. Failure to recognize and provide an acceptable outlet for the disappointment and frustration felt by officers and investigators  at the end of their…

It is believe by many, and often lived out in reality, that entering the death investigation field is not easy. In fact, its not even a ‘start at the bottom and work your way up system’.  I understand that some agencies, like Clark County NV. are doing it right and has a bottom up training program.  However,…

Secrets to Handling Cultural Diversity Effectively When you hear complaints, resolve not to tune out, but to tune in. Respond positively and productively — don’t allow yourself to become sucked into a defensive attitude or emotional altercation. Communication and understanding are salvaged and restored when we listen fully, with ears, eyes, and heart. Excellence is doing…

What is Culture Culture includes the beliefs, customs, and arts of a particular society, group, or place. Cultural background, as well as individual personalities, directly affects how people respond to death and dying. Sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, religious, gender, personality, and language diversities will help you as you. strive to work effectively with families who…

Can BlueStar be used to solve a 50 year old case? In this episode I talk with Karen Smith of Bare Bones Forensics about her work in a cold case murder. Karen has had her research published in the Journal of Forensic Identification. The overview of that research and how BlueStar played a role can…

  Professional Ethics Professional Ethics encompass the personal, organizational and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals. Professionals, and those working in acknowledged professions, exercise specialist knowledge and skill. Most professions have internally enforced codes of practice that members of the profession must follow to prevent exploitation of the client and to preserve the integrity of…

“The FingerSCAN DecedentID application has enabled us to identify decedents within hours of the death, rather than the following day, as was the case with inked prints. As the application has been moved to its current version, it’s actually possible for me to email a print card to the fingerprint technicians electronically from the scene…