In-Brief: What Are Crime Scene Investigators Saying About Work-Related Stress and Wellbeing?

Date April 2025 Overview In 2024, the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid and Stimulant Use Program (COSSUP), convened a virtual roundtable of practicing crime scene investigators (CSIs). Panelists provided…

Forensic Professional Wellbeing Toolkit

Overview Forensic professionals often work in dynamic and atypical environments, where they are exposed to sensitive case details, work closely with law enforcement counterparts, and are required to make important decisions quickly. As a result, forensic professionals are vulnerable to…

Just Advancements in Death Investigation Practices

Original Release Date: February 21, 2025 In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Chuck Heurich, Senior Physical Scientist with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Dr. Jennifer Snippen, experienced medicolegal death investigator and consultant, to discuss…

Just Mass Disaster Emergency Response in Maui, Hawaii

Original Release Date: November 15, 2024 In episode one of our Case Studies season, Just Science sat down with Anthony (Tony) Earles, Forensics/Identification Unit Supervisor at the Maui Police Department, to discuss the Maui wildfires that occurred on August 8,…

Assessing Stress Among MDI & Building Resilient Professionals

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern Duration: 1 hour Overview This webinar aims to address the critical issue of mental health and wellness for medicolegal death investigation (MDI) professionals, with a focus on preventing PTSD,…

MDI Myth: Next-Of-Kin Aren’t That Hard to Find

← Back to Webinar Series Page This webinar originally occurred on October 17, 2024 Duration: 1 hour Overview Medicolegal Death Investigators (MDIs) serve a unique function in public service. MDIs respond to death scenes and work to achieve three primary…

MDI Myth: Talking with Decedent’s Families is Simple and Routine

← Back to Webinar Series Page This webinar originally occurred on September 26, 2024 Duration: 1 hour Overview When people experience a traumatic event, they often remember how they were made to feel rather than what was said. Experiencing the…

2024 MDI MythBusters Webinar Series

Overview Following the conceptualization of the popular MythBusters television series (Discovery Channel 2003-2016), this webinar series explores evidence-based methods, operational decision making, and case study findings to prove or disprove common beliefs about medicolegal death investigation. It is widely accepted…

2024 NIJ Forensic Science Graduate Research Symposium

← Back to Forensic Science Week Main Page Overview This event originally occurred on September 19, 2024 Duration: 2 hours Welcome to the 2024 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Forensic Science Graduate Research Symposium hosted by the Forensic Technology Center…

Technology Use Among the Nation’s Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices: Data from the 2018 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices

Publication Forensic Science International: Synergy, May 2024 Authors Liat C. Weinstein | RTI International Kelly A. Keyes | RTI International Connor Brooks | Bureau of Justice Statistics Micaela A. Ascolese | RTI International Hope M. Smiley-McDonald | RTI International Jeri…