Human identification: a review of methods employed within an Australian coronial death investigation system
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Human identification: a review of methods employed within an Australian coronial death investigation system Soren Blau 1
&
Jeremy Graham 1 & Lyndall Smythe 1 & Samantha Rowbotham 1
Received: 18 August 2020 / Accepted: 5 November 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Whilst many identification methods have been widely described and discussed in the literature, and considered in disaster and humanitarian contexts, there has been limited reporting and evaluation of the identification methods used in domestic medicolegal death investigation contexts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the identification methods utilised at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), which forms part of a coronial medico-legal death investigation system. The method of identification and time taken to complete the identification were reviewed for all cases admitted to the VIFM over a five-year period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2020. The majority, 91%, of individuals admitted to the VIFM were visually identified. The remaining 9% of cases required identification by primary methods (i.e. fingerprints, DNA or dental) or, when those methods were not possible, by secondary methods (i.e. circumstantial). Visual identifications were the timeliest, taking an average of 1.5 days, whilst primary identification methods required an average of 5 days to complete. The triaging of identification methods, dependent on the case context, body preservation, availability of ante-mortem data, legal requirements and admissibility of the method, are determined by identification coordinators within the Human Identification Service (HIS) to ensure the most appropriate and timely method is employed. This review of human identification methods provides the foundation for future analyses to compare workflow processes and improve identification methods utilised in domestic medico-legal contexts. Keywords Human identification . Visual identification . Primary and secondary identification . Coronial death investigation
Introduction It has long been argued that human identification, that is, the ability to assign a name to an individual, is essential for the proper functioning of society [1]. The word “identification” derives from the Latin “idem”, meaning “the same”, and is defined as “the action of making or proving to be the same” [2]. The necessity to identify a deceased individual not only fulfils obligations which may be set down in law [3], but it recognises the fundamental right of all individuals to have an identity both in life and after death, and the right of families to know the fate of missing relatives [4].
* Soren Blau [email protected] 1
Human Identification Services, Department of Forensic Medicine, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Southbank, Victoria, Australia
The process of identification in medico-legal contexts involves comparing information provided by someone who knew the deceased when they were alive, typically a family member, but may also include professio
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