Comprehensive Notes on Disaster Victim Identification (DVI)

Disaster Victim Identification (DVI)

Overview of Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) by Dr. Cheryl Charlewood, a forensic pathologist.

DVI is a collaborative effort primarily led by a police task force. The lecture covers definitions, aims, types, sizes, background, planning, procedures, stages/phases, hazards, difficulties, and practicalities involved in DVI incidents.

Definitions and Aims of DVI

A disaster victim identification (DVI) incident involves the process of identifying human remains in mass casualty incidents, ranging from intact bodies to small fragments.

Why DVI is Performed:
  • Respect for the deceased.
  • Addressing forensic, humanitarian, and legal issues.
  • Rights of the deceased: identification, examination, and return of remains to relatives for burial/cremation.
  • Coroner's remit: identifying the deceased, determining how, when, why, and where they died.
  • Issuance of death certificate.
  • Finalization of practical matters like wills, inheritance, and insurance.
  • Forensic investigations, including criminal inquiries for homicides.
  • Accident inquiries for preventative measures.
  • Intelligence gathering, particularly in terrorist-related events, to track down cells or individuals and gather information on future incidents.

Causes and Types of Mass Casualty Incidents

Mass casualty incidents can arise from various circumstances:

Natural Disasters:
  • Hurricanes.
  • Avalanches.
  • Extreme heat or cold.
  • Bushfires.
  • Earthquakes.
  • Disease (pandemics, post-disaster outbreaks).
Non-Natural Disasters:
  • Accidental or deliberate actions.
  • Terrorism.
  • Travel incidents (accidents/deliberate acts involving transport).
  • Building, mine, and dam collapses.
  • Wars and mass graves.
  • Migration events (deaths at sea or in transport containers).
Classification of DVI Incidents:
  • Closed Disaster: Involves a known group of people with records of attendance (e.g., flight manifest, tour group, occupants of a building).
  • Open Disaster: Involves an unknown number and identity of persons due to lack of records (e.g., public events, festivals, affecting whole regions/towns).
  • Mixed Disaster: Combination of both open and closed disasters (e.g., 9/11 attacks in New York).

Variation in DVI Incidents

DVI incidents vary significantly in:

  • Size and number of deceased.
  • Location (confined vs. spread over large areas).
  • Simultaneous events (e.g., bombings and shootings in Paris).
  • Level of involvement (local, national, international).

Variations lead to different hazards, infrastructure needs, and involvement of interested parties (media, government).

Phases of a DVI Event

The phases of a DVI event provide structure and planning:

  1. Scene Phase
  2. Mortuary Phase
  3. Antemortem Phase
  4. Reconciliation Phase
  5. Debrief Phase

Phases overlap and run consecutively/simultaneously. For example, the scene phase may still be in progress when the mortuary and antemortem phases have started.

Background and Development of DVI Procedures

Interpol
  • The International Criminal Police Organization, is the mainstay of DVI procedures and standards.
  • Involves multiple specialists and responds globally.
  • Guidelines developed by multinational police and specialists, followed across 194 member countries.
  • Maintains standards for DVI procedures, promoting a consistent approach and international cooperation.
  • Ensures all parties follow the same procedures and use the same documentation during international DVI events.
Australian and New Zealand DVI Committee (ADVIC)
  • Develops and maintains plans and standards.
  • Individual states and territories have local committees for managing DVI events.
  • Produces standard documents for activation and response.
  • Plans infrastructure, amenities, sites, and staffing.
  • Conducts training exercises for police and specialists (desktop and practical).

Personnel Involved in DVI

DVI involves multidisciplinary personnel:

  • Police: organization, resources, personnel, phase coordinators.
  • Specialists: forensic pathologists, anthropologists, biologists, odontologists, ridgeologists (fingerprint specialists).
  • Coroner and coronial staff.
  • Other agencies: Australian Defence Force, international police and specialists.
  • Emergency services (scene phase).
Documentation:
  • Pink forms: postmortem forms.
  • Yellow forms: antemortem forms.
  • These are the main comparison forms used in the mortuary and antemortem phases.

Phase 1: Scene Phase

The scene phase relates to the event site, which varies in size and location. It may involve multiple locations.

Initial Actions:
  • Initial meeting for a logical and organized approach.
  • Evaluation of the scene: extent, condition, potential number of bodies/remains, property.
  • Assessment of duration to process the scene.
  • Assessment of hazards and their impact on recovery and investigation.
  • Identification of required equipment/expertise.
Hazards at the Scene:
  • Location and terrain.
  • Weather.
  • Risk of explosions and fire.
  • Risk of falling debris.
  • Toxic substances.
  • Infection risks.
  • Manual handling and sharp materials.
  • Practical issues: sustenance and shelter.
Priorities:
  • Recovery of live and injured individuals.
  • Care and management of attending personnel.
  • Security of the site.
  • Collection of forensic evidence and identification-related evidence.
Procedures:
  • Use grid/GPS reference with a marker to identify the location of recovered bodies/items.
  • Manage media and security.
  • Document the scene appropriately (pro formas, photographs).
  • Transport and store remains in a temporary facility or designated mortuary.

Phase 2: Mortuary Phase

The mortuary phase involves the examination and documentation of remains and associated items.

Planning and Logistics:
  • Meeting to plan requirements and consider coronial/family wishes.
  • Decisions on using on-site/off-site temporary mortuary facilities.
  • Organization of extra staffing and equipment.
  • Management of business-as-usual (BAU) workload.
Mortuary Setup:
  • Business-as-usual mortuary for smaller DVI situations (post mortem tables, clean/dirty areas).
  • Temporary mortuaries for larger events (pre-existing buildings, temporary structures).
Procedures:
  • Assign unique identifying number to remains at the scene.
  • Recheck numbers at mortuary triage and assign new numbers if commingling is suspected.
  • Mortuary team: examination and recording of remains and accompanying items.
  • CT scanning: identify injury patterns, items of interest, commingled remains, assist dental examination.
  • Decide on full/partial autopsies and necessary samples to be taken.
  • Determine the cause of death.
  • Document on Interpol pink forms.
  • Record external and internal descriptors for identification.
  • Take samples for identification and necessary investigations (toxicology).
  • Record personal property on pink forms.
  • Specialists (odontology, ridgeology) work on successive tables.
Identifiers:
  • Primary identifiers: DNA, odontology, ridgeology (fingerprints).
  • Secondary identifiers: medical devices (pacemakers), tattoos, metal implants.
Difficulties:
  • Decomposition.
  • Incineration.
  • Sheer number of remains/fragments.
  • Commingling of parts.
Hazards:
  • Similar to scene phase, relating to the body and what could remain on/with the body.
Storage:
  • Storage of remains before and after examination.
  • Return of remains to funeral directors overseas.
  • DVI body storage: mortuary fridges, refrigerated shipping containers, body storage tents.
Documentation:
  • Filling in pink forms (digitally or on paper).
Aim:
  • Fill in pink form data and take samples to attain primary and secondary identifiers.
  • Aid coronial and forensic/criminal investigations.

Phase 3: Antemortem Phase

The antemortem phase involves the collection of data relating to missing persons on yellow forms.

Procedures:
  • Set up a data collection center by the police authority for friends and family to provide/receive information.
  • Collate and enter data into a database.
  • Employ special police family liaison officers to assist families.
  • Use social media to convey and attain personal data.
Data Collected:
  • Dental records (panoramic OPG x-ray and charts) from dentists.
  • DNA samples (hair, toothbrushes).
  • Fingerprints (homes, records, passports).
Comparison:
  • Compare antemortem data to postmortem data via the database.
  • Forward matching criteria to the reconciliation center.

Phase 4: Reconciliation Phase

The reconciliation phase involves compiling a report of matching identification data in a reconciliation center.

Procedures:
  • Use police officers with specialist help.
  • Compare fingerprint data, dental findings, and DNA from antemortem and postmortem documentation.
  • Assess primary identifiers (DNA, odontology, ridgeology).
  • Use secondary identifiers to support identification.
  • Do not use visual identification alone.
  • Create an official comparison report and send it to the reconciliation board.
Reconciliation Board:
  • Assess the comparison report.
  • Consists of officials and specialists.
  • Issues a certificate of identification if the report is accepted.
  • Releases the remains.
Quality Control:
  • Adhere to information, documentation, competency, protocols, and standards.
  • Audit individuals and information.
  • Check pink and yellow forms, comparison reports, and supporting data.

Phase 5: Debrief Phase

The debrief phase has two main facets:

Immediate Debrief:
  • Debrief individuals on the ongoing situation.
  • Promote good communication and improve processes.
Post-Event Debrief:
  • Examine the entire operation and its learning points.
  • Identify what was done well and what could have been done differently/better.
  • Provide psychological debriefing for staff involved.

Temporary Arrangements

In some cases, a temporary arrangement must be made for storage of deceased to allow for later identification, involving:

  • A temporary controlled burial site to limit decomposition.
  • Numbering individuals and recording burial sites.
  • Using coffins and placing markers on the surface.

Examples of Mass Casualty Incidents

  • Suggests reviewing details of listed or known events to consider difficulties, hazards, and organizational issues in recovering, examining, and identifying human remains.

Conclusion

  • Emphasis on the collaborative and multidisciplinary nature of DVI.
  • Importance of following established phases and procedures.
  • Commitment to respectful and accurate identification of victims in mass casualty incidents.