Development Methodology
As first responders, we function in guideline-driven professions. Whether it be protocols, standard operating procedures, or standard operating guidelines, we refer to these important documents to guide our day-to-day practices.
As the AICSI founding members began to develop the idea of a program to teach Postmortem Interval and maintaining evidence on crimes scenes and those scenes that involve an unattended death, it became clear that no comprehensive set of guidelines were available for First Responders to refer to when dealing with many of these common emergency response scenes.
With a goal of developing a comprehensive set of guidelines, the American Institute of Crime Scene Integrity was formed and an advisory committee was established to create a comprehensive set of guidelines for first responding organizations and their members, giving them the tools they need to preserve evidence at these often difficult scenes.
As the process of developing these guidelines continued, the subject matter contained in the guidelines grew far beyond just the information needed to maintain the integrity of evidence on a scene. A review of the Table of Contents will illustrate the comprehensive nature of the guidelines and the subject matter they cover.
- Introduction of Postmortem Interval
- The Changes in the Body After Death
- The Mortises
- Other Noticeable Signs of Death
- Declaration of Death
- General Provisions
- Conduct of the First Responder
- Scene Safety on a Crime Scene
- Victim Resuscitation
- Declaration of Death
- Do Not Resuscitate Orders
- Medical-legal Considerations
- Evidence Preservation
- Motor Vehicle Collision Scenes
- Suicide Scenes
- Sudden Unexplained Infant Death
- Drug Overdose Scenes
- Sexual Assault Scenes
- Mandatory Reporting
- Mass Casualty Scenes
- Active Shooter Scenes
- Fire Scenes
- Public Transportation Accident Scenes
- Military Accident Scenes
- Secondary Crime Scene – Hospital
- Secondary Crime Scene – Ambulance
- Evidence Chain of Custody
- Consent for Evaluation and Treatment
- Patient Privacy and Confidentiality
- Photography on the Scene of a Crime
- Legal Blood Draw
- Interacting with Next of Kin
- The Wellbeing of the First Responder
- Documentation
- Public Records Request
- Information Request by Subpoena
- Deposition and Court Appearances