FINAL by: OSAC Program Office; Version 2, December 1, 2020 1

OSAC RESEARCH NEEDS ASSESSMENT FORM

Title of research need: Scene Safety for Medicolegal Death Investigators

Keyword(s): Medicolegal Death Investigators, Death Scene, Safety

Submitting subcommittee(s): MDI Date Approved: 2/28/2021

(If SAC review identifies additional subcommittees, add them to the box above.)

Background Information:

1. Does this research need address a gap(s) in a current or planned standard? (ex.: Field identification system 

for on scene opioid detection and confirmation)

Yes, OSAC MDI is working on a standard about investigator workloads.

2. Are you aware of any ongoing research that may address this research need that has not yet been published 

(e.g., research presented in conference proceedings, studies that you or a colleague have participated in but 

have yet to be published)?

No.

3. Key bibliographic references relating to this research need: (ex.: Toll, L., Standifer, K. M., Massotte, D., eds. 

(2019). Current Topics in Opioid Research. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88963-180-3)

Death scene investigation guidelines, Section B. section 2 (p. 24) --

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/234457.pdf

COVID-19 guideance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/medicolegal-faq.html.

4. Review the annual operational/research needs published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) at 

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/forensic-science-research-and-development-technology-working-groupoperational#latest? Is your research need identified by NIJ?

No.

5. In what ways would the research results improve current laboratory capabilities?

By equipping medicolegal death investigators with the resources and toolkit to stay safe at all death scenes, 

whether it be from infectious diseases to hostile scenes, medicolegal death investigators are able to have 

maximum focus on the death in order to provide the medical examiner/coroner with a thorough medicolegal 

death scene report.
FINAL by: OSAC Program Office; Version 2, December 1, 2020 2

6. In what ways would the research results improve understanding of the scientific basis for the 

subcommittee(s)?

Our subcommittee focuses on ways to improve medicolegal death investigations, which are led by medicolegal 

death investigators at the scene. Ensuring medicolegal death investigator safety is critical to a thorough 

medicolegal death investigation.

7. In what ways would the research results improve services to the criminal justice system?

By ensuring medicolegal death investigators of their safety, they will be able to provide better medicolegal death 

scene reports, which is critical because the “autopsy starts at the scene” and may provide critical evidence to the 

criminal justice system.

8. Status assessment (I, II, III, or IV): I

Major gap in 

current 

knowledge

Minor gap in 

current 

knowledge

No or limited

current research is 

being conducted I III

Existing current 

research is being 

conducted II IV

This research need has been identified by one or more subcommittees of OSAC and is being provided as an 

informational resource to the community.