Homicide and Death Investigations
in the 21st Century
The “How To” from Initial Response to Trial
Course Description:
This intense and interactive training class is the personification of what is often referred to in our profession as “scenario-based training.” During this training course, participants will have the opportunity to analyze and investigate numerous real-life death cases by visiting the actual scenes of these cases through photos and videos. At Semper Veritas Police Training and Consulting, LLC., we strongly believe that law enforcement officers learn best by actually doing the job, not by having some random instructor read a bunch of PowerPoint slides to you on how to do the job. Participants attending this course will learn how to be better prepared to investigate these types of cases before they even arrive on scene, how to make proper decisions during these critical incidents, the importance of interpersonal skills with both your fellow colleagues and the public, and how to prioritize the long list of responsibilities that goes along with investigating these types of high-profile cases. In addition to the investigative aspects of a case, this training course will also cover the strategies for effective interviews and interrogations and provide guidance on how to prepare an accurate and thorough report that will survive the scrutiny of the court system. Participants will be provided with the knowledge and skills that are required to conduct a thorough, evidence based, objective and well documented death investigation. In addition to discussing the role of the detective/investigator during a death investigation, participants will also receive training on the roles and responsibilities of everybody else involved in a death investigation. The reason that we spend time instructing the participants in this course about the roles and the responsibilities of everybody involved in a death investigation is because of the “Knowledge is Power” principle. That principle states that having the knowledge of others’ roles and responsibilities enhances an individual’s own job performance and in a homicide case, being at your best is critical. If there is foul play involved in a death investigation, it will take a large amount of team work to conduct a competent investigation and have a successful prosecution. The last thing that you want to do as a member of this noble profession is victimize a grieving family for a second time by conducting a less than adequate investigation resulting in the suspect(s) not being held accountable.
The instructors for this informative 32-hour training course are seasoned homicide detectives, Rick Sessions and Zack Scott. The topics discussed during this training course will include the initial response of law enforcement, crime scene management, what to look for during a walk-through of a crime scene, properly developing and prioritizing investigative checklists, understanding wound recognition, the responsibilities and statutory jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner/Coroner in a death case and how they can assist law enforcement, the processing of physical evidence and laboratory analysis, best practices in how to conduct death notifications, updated case law and much more.
The students who attend this elite class will be provided with advanced insight into understanding the investigative, legal, and evidentiary components of a death investigation case. It is not the 1980’s or 1990’s anymore. The things that are considered to be key and crucial evidence and that first responding officers and detectives must be looking for when conducting a walk through at today’s crime scenes are completely different than what law enforcement was looking for at crime scenes 30 or 40 years ago. The instructors of this course will provide the participants with examples of what those key pieces of evidence are that law enforcement must be looking for at crime scenes in modern day criminal investigations. The instructors will also have in depth discussions with the participants on a wide variety of death cases in an effort to help them better understand, based upon a variety of factors such as understanding and interpreting the physical evidence at the scene, how to tell the difference between a natural death, an accidental death, a suicide, or a death where foul play may have been involved making it a homicide.
Course Objectives:
The goal of this 4-day training class is to make sure that every participant leaves with an increased amount of knowledge and additional “tools” that they can place into their investigative toolbox. We want our participants, whether they are a first responding road patrol officer or a detective or a supervisor, to respond to their next death investigation call with much more confidence now that they are equipped with these new “tools” and knowledge. At the end of this course, participants will have a much better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of everybody involved in a death investigation, post-mortem changes that occur as part of the natural processes following death, the contributing factors that go into the Medical Examiner/Coroner making a determination on the “Cause” and “Manner” of death, how to create and prioritize an investigative checklist, strategies on interviews and interrogations and much more.
Who Should Attend:
All City, County, State and Federal Law Enforcement Officers to include Road Patrol Officers, Detectives, Crime Scene Technicians, Supervisors, Command Staff Personnel, Prosecutors, Investigators working for a State/District Attorney’s Office, Medical Examiners/Coroners, Investigators from a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office, Investigators and Judge Advocate Generals from the U.S. Armed Forces and Police Legal Advisors.
Requirements to Attend:
To attend this class, you must be currently employed as one of the below-listed descriptions:
1. A sworn law enforcement officer
2. A sworn reserve law enforcement officer
3. A civilian assigned to a crime scene unit or traffic unit at a L.E. Agency
4. A prosecutor working for a State Attorney/District Attorney’s Office
5. An Investigator working for a State Attorney’s Office
6. A Doctor working at a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office
7. An Investigator at a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office
8. Active Duty or Reserve Military Personnel who are responsible for investigating or supervising or prosecuting criminal cases. This would include Investigators from the U.S. Armed Forces, Judge Advocate Generals (JAG’s), etc.
9. Police Legal Advisor
Fees:
$795 per student – Law Enforcement Agencies who host one of our training classes will automatically receive two free admissions to attend the class.
Dress:
Students attending our training classes should follow their department or agency Policies and Procedures Manual guidelines regarding authorized clothing and uniforms to wear while attending approved training classes. If law enforcement personnel choose to wear civilian clothing to our training classes and they plan on being armed, we would respectfully request that you either keep your firearm concealed or if your firearm is exposed, please have your agency ID and/or a badge clearly visible at all times identifying you as law enforcement officer.
How to Register:
To register for a course, please click on the “Register Now” box and follow the instructions and prompts. If you have any questions, send us an email to info@svpolicetraining.com. We respect and are truly committed to our fellow colleagues in this profession who are seeking this advanced and specialized training so you can expect a prompt response from us to your emails.
At Semper Veritas Police Training and Consulting, LLC., we take immense pride in doing everything that we can to give back to this noble profession that we have dedicated so much of our lives to and to help the next generation of brave warriors willing to do this heroic work so that their learning curve is much faster than ours was.