Submitted by: Forensics Committee
Co-sponsored by: Police Investigative Operations Committee

WHEREAS the process of medicolegal death investigation has important implications for
criminal justice, public health, public safety communities; and

WHEREAS United States (US) medicolegal death investigation system structures (coroner and
medical examiner offices) vary by state, county, and city; and

WHEREAS law enforcement roles in medicolegal death investigation vary by state, county, and
city; and

WHEREAS the law enforcement and medicolegal death investigation systems have independent
but overlapping responsibilities; and

WHEREAS medicolegal death investigation officials are responsible for determining cause and
manner of death, and thereby responsible for identifying deaths which may be criminal in nature; and

WHEREAS medicolegal death investigation quality may hinder or aid law enforcement efforts to
investigate deaths that are criminal in nature; and

WHEREAS efforts to the improve and standardize US medicolegal death investigation includes
development of standards, certification of medicolegal death investigators, and accreditation of medicolegal death investigation offices; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) encourages all law enforcement agencies to facilitate cooperation and collaboration with their local medicolegal
death investigation systems in a manner that ensures the best possible outcome of all medicolegal death investigations, including criminal investigations; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that law enforcement agencies should consider encouraging coroner and
medical examiner offices to have all medicolegal death investigators certified and all coroner
and medical examiner offices accredited in order to promote and support the highest possible
quality of medicolegal death investigation in all cities, counties, and states.