Forensic Death Investigation Ethical Issues and Job-Related Stressors

Introduction

Death scene investigations are complex and challenging processes that require the collaboration of various professionals, including investigation officers, medical examiners, coroners, and mixed officers; ensuring adherence to legal and ethical requirements is paramount during these investigations. This article presents the ethical issues, and job-related stressors forensic death investigators face. It also presents three critical factors that a death investigator must consider when providing testimony in a court.

Ethical issues when investigating death scenes

During a death investigation, the investigation officers, medical examiners, coroners, and mixed officers must work together and ensure that all the activities are carried out according to the legal and ethical requirements. However, several events can occur when investigating some death scenes that lead to ethical issues. Pearsall (2010) reveals that poor communication or lack thereof can hurdle the performance of the forensic team working together to solve a particular death scene. With this in mind, the forensic team must be able to work together and share as much information as possible about the death scene. Nevertheless, sometimes it is difficult for the forensic team to determine whether they should document and share all the details of their findings given the need to adhere to different ethical principles such as respect for human dignity, informed consent, and privacy and confidentiality rights of the deceased and their family members (Rogriguez et al., 2022). This leads to an ethical dilemma in which the forensic team remains still determining whether they should document and share all the details, including images, personal information, evidence, and other sensitive information. The biggest concern in this ethical dilemma is that documenting or sharing sensitive information/images, especially without informed consent, may compromise the human dignity and privacy of those involved. On the other hand, the forensic team also becomes concerned that providing deducted details about the death scene and findings from their investigation may compromise the fairness and accuracy of the investigation.

Job-related stressors faced by the forensic death investigation team

Forensic death investigation usually involves traumatic scenes, irregular working hours, and a lot of administrative processes. Due to this sensitive nature of the work, the forensic death investigation team, including the medicolegal death investigators, crime scene investigators, and homicide detectives, often faces job-related stressors. For example, the forensic death investigation team is usually required to examine the scene of death and gruesome incidents that can lead to emotional and psychological distress (Sara et al., 2023). Sometimes the forensic investigation team must work long hours or irregular shifts, which can also disrupt their personal life, social relationship, and sleep patterns (Kelty et al., 2021). As a result of these stressors, some of the warning signs of stress that an individual should look out for among the forensic death investigation team include emotional distress such as sleep disturbance, physical symptoms such as fatigue, and social withdrawal. This can significantly impact the performance of the forensic death investigation team since they cause major health issues such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia (Sara et al., 2023). Fortunately, these job-related stressors can also be prevented through different coping mechanisms. For example, the medicolegal death investigators, the homicide detective, and the crime scene investigator in a given forensic team can seek peer support by regularly debriefing with colleagues who understand the unique nature of their work. They can also use stress management techniques such as meditation and practicing mindfulness or use training and education programs to enhance their skill and confidence in their field.

Three Critical factors for providing successful testimony in the court

When providing expert testimony to a court, death investigators play a crucial role in presenting their findings and professional opinion. However, death investigators use ethical and unbiased approaches, have effective communication skills, and have extensive expertise and knowledge to do this successfully. They must maintain all the ethical standards and principles, ensuring their testimony is objective and unbiased. For example, they must provide accurate accounts of their findings, avoid speculations and disclose any potential conflict of interest (Yadav, 2017). They must also be able to explain complex scientific concepts clearly and concisely using a language that is easy for others to understand. For example, they must be able to accurately present and interpret the findings from their investigations (Ward, 2023). Above all, they must deeply understand forensic science, medicolegal death investigation protocols, crime scene processing techniques, and relevant laws and regulations (Geberth, 2020). For example, they must stay updated with the latest changes in the legal system and in terms of technological advancement to maintain their expertise.

References

Geberth, V. J. (2020). Practical homicide investigation: Tactics, procedures, and forensic techniques. CRC Press.

Kelty, S. F., McQueen, E., Pymont, C., & Green, N. (2021). Avoiding Burnout at the Digital Forensics Coalface: Targeted strategies for forensic agencies to manage job-related stress. Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation, p. 38, 301127.

Pearsall, B. (2010). Improving forensic death investigation. Natl Inst Justice.

Rodríguez Almada, H., Borches Duhalde, F., & Iglesias Salaverría, V. (2022). Human rights and humanitarian forensic action: the experience in Uruguay. Forensic Sciences Research, 7(3), 378-382.

Sara, S., Matthew, G., Patrizia, F. T., Roberta, R., Grazia, V. M., Mara, B., … & Ignazio, G. (2023). Work-related stress among legal medical doctors: the need for systematic psychological support. An Italian perspective. Forensic Sciences Research, owad018.

Ward, T. (2023). The Forensic Ethics of Scientific Communication. The Journal of Criminal Law, 87(1), 3–17.

Yadav, P. K. (2017). Ethical issues across different fields of forensic science. Egyptian Journal of forensic sciences, pp. 7, 1–6.