Science of Crime Scenes Chapter 8.1 - PowerPoint Presentation

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Science of Crime Scenes

Chapter 8.1

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Disaster and Mass Fatalities

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Disaster and Mass Fatalities

A disaster involving mass fatalities creates a specific problem that only forensic science can solve: Who died?

Hurricanes, floods, airplane crashes, bombings, spree killings, and other tragediesrequire the combined efforts and resources of multiple agencies to tackle the issues of

scene management,

disaster victim identification (DVI),

possible criminal investigation

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A mass fatality incident

an event where the number of deceased individuals who must be located, identified, and released for final disposition exceeds the local or regional resources

no standard threshold for what constitutes a “mass fatality.”No one agency can manage a mass fatality without assistance from other agencies.

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Coordination

events that cross jurisdictions, like pandemics or coordinated but unconnected attacks, may be managed as separate incidents or multiple individual incidents

a centralized command may be created to coordinate responses once the incidents are connected

The incident command will vary depending on the type of disaster:

the region’s chief medical examiner,

the Department of Public Health,

the state police or equivalent,

a federal agency (FEMA or CDC, for example)

a federal law enforcement agency, such as the FBI.

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Communication

coordination of the following activities is required for effective disaster event response

Information management with status updates and analysisIdentification, allocation, and provision of required personnel and material resources

Implementation of operational plans for victim management

Provision of accurate information regarding the identification of previously missing victims to families and local authorities

Electronic media, like text messaging or email, can be good for

information

but tend to lack the necessary context and emotion for

communication

Do not ignore the power of a face-to-face conversation

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The Disaster Scene

Perimeter security is even more important in large-scale events simply due to their size. A two-zone perimeter may be required.

The inner perimeter would include all areas in which victims, evidence, or property would be contained

An

outer

perimeter will be established by law enforcement at the maximum distance from the event that can be secured.

If the incident involves hazardous materials, hot, warm, and cold zones (in increasing ranking of safety) will be established.

A data management system must be established to log, track, and update evidence, remains, contacts, personal effects, and disposition

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Transition to CSI

The transition from search-and-rescue to CSI functions—searching for and recovering evidence and bodies—is a major shift in operations

transitions are always difficult, particularly in intense situations where command may shift from one agency to anotherA completely or partially new team of professionals may be needed in the evidence search phases

Establish staging areas,

separate

from those used for survivor recovery, to facilitate evidence processing

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Mass fatality primary functions

Body recovery

, including bodies and body parts, marking and documenting the location of remains, and transporting them to the next stage of processing, either decontamination or the morgue

Evidence recovery

, as per normal CSI protocols

Decontamination

, removing chemical or biological contaminants, if necessary, to render remains or evidence safe for further handling and examination

Examination

Remains: triage for identification methods (fingerprints, odontology, anthropology, etc.) and autopsy in the morgue

Evidence: documentation, collection, packaging, preservation

Identification and death certification

Processing for final disposition

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Human remains

Each unit of human remains is tagged, numbered, and removed from the site by authorized personnel

Each human remain is placed into a separate body bag and given a separate number.

All personal effects found on a body or in association with human remains are not removed and stay with the body when it is placed into the body bag.

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An event morgue

Facility to conduct autopsies specifically from the incident

The site may be at the OCME or another location closer to the incidentThe operational areas may include areas for

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decontamination,

admitting,

forensic pathology,

forensic photography,

personal effects,

fingerprinting,

odontology,

radiology,

anthropology,

DNA,

release of remains

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Facility requirements

Secure perimeter

Hot and cold running waterElectricityDrainage

Biohazardous waste disposal capacity

Parking

Restrooms

Communications

Refrigerated space for storage of remains

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