Priority Action Report

Disaster Victim Identification

Crime Scene/Death Investigation SAC

Jason Wiersema, PhD, D-ABFA, D-ABMDI

January 28, 2016
Subcommittee Leadership

Position Name Organization Term Email

Chair Jason Wiersema

Harris County 

Institute of 

Forensic 

Sciences

3(*2) Jason.Wiersema@ifs.hctx.net

Vice Chair Dan Morgan

DC Office of the 

Chief Medical 

Examiner

2(*1) Daniel.morgan@dc.gov

Executive 

Secretary Allison Woody 

Harris County 

Institute of 

Forensic 

Sciences

4(*3) Allison.Woody@ifs.hctx.net

2

*years remaining on original term
Subcommittee Members

# Name Organization Term Email

1 Don Bloom U.S. National Disaster Medical System 4(3) don.bloom@hhs.gov

2 Elissia Conlon Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York 3(2) Econlon@ocme.nyc.gov

3 Joyce deJong, D.O. Western Michigan University School of Medicine 3(2) joyce.dejong@med.wmich.edu

4 Dennis Dirkmaat, Ph.D. Mercyhurst University 4(3) ddirkmaat@mercyhurst.edu

5 Benjamin Figura, Ph.D. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York 2(1) bfigura@ocme.nyc.gov

6 Elias Kontanis, Ph.D. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board 3(2) elias.kontanis@ntsb.gov

7 Raymond Miller, D.D.S. State University of New York, Buffalo 4(3) ray2thdoc@aol.com

8 Dan Morgan DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner 2 (1) Daniel.morgan@dc.gov

9 Thomas Parsons, Ph.D. International Commission on Missing Persons 4(3) thomas.parsons@ic-mp.org

10 Aaron Uhle U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 4(3) aaron.uhle@ic.fbi.gov

11 Suzanne Utley-Bobak, M.D. District 12 Medical Examiners Office, Florida 2(1) utleysuzanne@hotmail.com

12 Mark Wadhams U.S. Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory 2(1) mark.j.wadhams.ctr@mail.mil

13 Allan Warnick, D.D.S. Wayne County (Ohio) Medical Examiner 3(2) wtoothdoc@aol.com

14 Victor Weedn, M.D., J.D. George Washington University 3(2) vweedn@gwu.edu

15 Jason Wiersema, Ph.D. Harris County (TX) Institute of Forensic Sciences 3 (2) jason.wiersema@ifs.hctx.net

16 Allison Woody Harris County (TX) Institute of Forensic Sciences 4 (3) allison.woody@ifs.htx.net

17 Timothy Zolandz U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 3 2(1) timothy.zolandz@ic.fbi.gov
Discipline Description

The Subcommittee on Disaster Victim 

Identification will advance the scientific 

basis for disaster victim identification by 

assembling multi-disciplinary 

professionals from the DVI community in 

a collaborative effort to develop 

consensus standards, guidelines and best 

practices supporting mass fatality/ 

casualty management for use by 

domestic and international medicolegal

and emergency management 

practitioners. 

4
Summary of Standards/Guidelines 

Priority Actions

Priority Working Title of Document

Priority 1 (1 of 6) Standard Practices for DNA Analysis for Human Identification in Mass Fatality 

Incidents (DVI DNA)

Priority 1 (2 of 6) Standard Practices for the Forensic Pathologist in the Disaster Victim 

Identification Context (DVI Pathology)

Priority 1 (3 of 6) Mass Fatality Incident Data Management: Standard Practices for the 

Medicolegal Authority (DVI Data)

Priority 1 (4 of 6) Postmortem Impression Submission Strategy for Comprehensive Searches of 

Essential Automated Fingerprint Identification System Databases (DVI Print)

Priority 1 (5 of 6) Forensic Anthropology in Disaster Victim Identification: Standard Practices for 

the Medicolegal Authority (DVI Anthropology)

Priority 1 (6 of 6) Mass Fatality Incident Scene Processing: Standard Practices for the Medicolegal 

Authority (DVI Scene)

5
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (1 of 6)

Document Title: Standard Practices for DNA Analysis for Human 

Identification in Mass Fatality Incidents (DVI DNA) 

Scope: This document addresses the application of DNA testing to 

a DVI incident response. It provides guidance to medicolegal 

authorities for the appropriate establishment and management of 

DNA operations 

Objective/rationale: There is no existing standard pertaining to 

DNA collection and management in the DVI setting

Issues/Concerns: None. 

Task Group Name: DVI DNA 

Task Group Chair Name: Timothy Zolandz

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 703-632-8473

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 1/28/2016

6
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (2 of 6)

Document Title: Standard Practices for the Forensic Pathologist 

in the Disaster Victim Identification Context (DVI Pathology)

Scope: The intended scope of this document is to provide 

standard practice guidelines regarding postmortem data collection 

by forensic pathologists during a mass fatality incident response 

Objective/rationale: There is no existing standard pertaining to 

postmortem data collection by forensic pathologists in the DVI 

setting

Issues/Concerns: None.

Task Group Name: DVI Forensic Pathology

Task Group Chair Name: Joyce deJong

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 269-337-6173

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 01/28/2016

7
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (3 of 6)

Document Title: Mass Fatality Incident Data Management: 

Standard Practices for the Medicolegal Authority (DVI Data)

Scope: The intended scope of this document is to provide 

standard practice guidelines for the management of DVI data 

(antemortem and postmortem) 

Objective/rationale: There is no existing standard pertaining to 

the management of DVI data 

Issues/Concerns: None.

Task Group Name: DVI Data Management

Task Group Chair Name: Jason Wiersema

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 713-796-6747

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 01/28/2016

8
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (4 of 6)

Document Title: Postmortem Impression Submission Strategy for 

Comprehensive Searches of Essential Automated Fingerprint 

Identification System Databases (DVI Print)

Scope: The intended scope of this document is to provide 

standard practice guidelines regarding postmortem fingerprint 

impression evidence during a mass fatality incident response 

Objective/rationale: There is no existing standard pertaining to 

postmortem fingerprint collection that adequately addresses the 

mass fatality context

Issues/Concerns: None.

Task Group Name: DVI Fingerprint

Task Group Chair Name: Aaron Uhle

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 703-632-7137

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 01/28/2016

9
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (5 of 6)

Document Title: Forensic Anthropology in Disaster Victim 

Identification: Standard Practices for the Medicolegal Authority (DVI 

Anthropology)

Scope: The intended scope of this document is to provide 

standards regarding the application of forensic anthropological 

methods in the mass fatality context

Objective/rationale: There is no existing DVI specific standard 

pertaining to the application of forensic anthropological methods in 

the mass fatality context

Issues/Concerns: None.

Task Group Name: DVI Anthropology

Task Group Chair Name: Dennis Dirkmaat

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 814-397-3771

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 01/28/2016

10
Standards/Guidelines Development

Priority 1 Document (6 of 6)

Document Title: Mass Fatality Incident Scene Processing: 

Standard Practices for the Medicolegal Authority (DVI Scene)

Scope: The intended scope of this document is to provide 

standards for the management of human remains recovery from a 

mass fatality incident scene

Objective/rationale: There is no existing standard pertaining to 

management human remains recovery following a mass fatality 

incident

Issues/Concerns: None.

Task Group Name: DVI Scene Processing

Task Group Chair Name: Dennis Dirkmaat

Task Group Chair Contact Information: 814-397-3771

Date of Last Task Group Meeting: 01/28/2016

11
Task Group/Subcommittee Action 

Plan

Planned Actions

OSAC Process 

Stage (e.g., 

SDO 100) 

Assignee Estimated

Completion Date

Submit documentation to 

request SAC approval to 

initiate SDO submission

SDO-100 Wiersema 1/29/2016

Identify relevant SDO (AAFS 

ASB)

SDO-200 Wiersema Upon receipt of 

SAC approval of 

SDO-100

Submit packet to AAFS ASB SDO-300 Wiersema Upon completion 

of SDO-100 and 

200

Priority 1: 6 documents identified as Priority 1 (DVI DNA, DVI Path, DVI Data, 

DVI Print, DVI Anthropology, DVI Scene)

12
Summary of Standards/Guidelines 

Priority Actions

13

Priority Working Title of Document

Priority 1 (1 of 6) Standard Practices for DNA Analysis for Human Identification in Mass Fatality 

Incidents (DVI DNA)

Priority 1 (2 of 6) Standard Practices for the Forensic Pathologist in the Disaster Victim 

Identification Context (DVI Pathology)

Priority 1 (3 of 6) Mass Fatality Incident Data Management: Standard Practices for the 

Medicolegal Authority (DVI Data)

Priority 1 (4 of 6) Postmortem Impression Submission Strategy for Comprehensive Searches of 

Essential Automated Fingerprint Identification System Databases (DVI Print)

Priority 1 (5 of 6) Forensic Anthropology in Disaster Victim Identification: Standard Practices for 

the Medicolegal Authority (DVI Anthropology)

Priority 1 (6 of 6) Mass Fatality Incident Scene Processing: Standard Practices for the Medicolegal 

Authority (DVI Scene)
Research Gaps Identified (3)

1. There is a lack of understanding of the degree of cognitive bias that 

may be associated with high throughput disaster victim identification 

operations. There are two closely associated research needs:

• Determine if cognitive bias exists in current DVI operations 

• Develop effective mitigation strategies 

2. There is currently no means to anticipate the volume and variety of data 

that result from, and must be managed following a mass fatality incident. 

The existing assumptions are anecdotal and based on a small number of 

incidents. The volume of data (missing persons call centers, victim 

information centers, hospitals, law enforcement etc.) available from 

previous incident after action reports should be used to systematically 

develop reliable expectations for medicolegal operations

3. There is currently no means to quantify the individualistic value of 

contextual identifiers, and thus no measure of confidence associated with 

contextual decedent identifications. There is a need for development of 

population-level likelihood values for human characteristics/circumstances 

that are regularly used in support of scientific identification methods 

(including scars/marks/tattoos, body location, etc)

14
Priority Action Report

Disaster Victim Identification

Crime Scene/Death Investigation SAC

Chair: Jason Wiersema PhD DABFA, DABMDI

January 28, 2016
16