Death Investigation Worksheet: Fill & Download for Free

While I have some respect for the answer by Raf Young, I am troubled by his assertion that I “don’t understand shit about quality of life”.I have had a good life, and even now it is pretty okay. Week by week my disabilities due to ALS are clearly progressive, and this in only a year and a half after diagnosis. I cannot arise from a chair, bathe, dress, prepare meals, speak clearly, continue in my profession, breathe adequately, eat adequately, etc.Over 15 years ago (about age 47) as part of my ongoing medical education, I completed a “Personal Death Awareness Worksheet”. At that time I thought I had about 35 years left. Concerns at that time included that time was running out to get “to the activities and personal development that I have looked forward to”. In response to a question about suicide, I wrote that it was an alternative I would consider were I “helpless to meet my own needs and a burden to others.”Three months ago I had the insight that life, although changed a lot, was worthwhile; if I could have had 30 more years at that level of function, I would have opted for that. As above there has been further decline, but I might still make that choice today. Neither 3 months ago nor at present are the options open; level of physical function continues to decline rapidly with no expectation of any improvement.Four months ago I discovered Quora, and if you check my profile, you will see a high level of participation. Most days I can type (with may corrections) and use a mouse, but it is not every day that I can do these. Eye gaze devices will permit me to continue that when may hands no longer work. Skilled users can type 20 words per minute with such equipment. Quora lets me share my medical knowledge, investigate topics of interest to me as I help others, and make some social contacts and exchanges. That could remain a human interaction over time.Although I cannot hold a book, I can put a tablet into a holder and read. I can visit with friends, although often they cannot understand my part of the conversation. Time with family is cherished, and it is much more common since I can no longer go to work and my children have recognized that their time with me is limited by my approaching death.As above, there are valuable things in my life. These are daily contrasted with poor sleep, daily pain, inability to care for myself, dependence on others. On the day of diagnosis I was welcoming a feeding tube when needed. I have done my research, and it is not clear that getting a feeding tube will prolong my life. My neurologists concur. I use a ventilator with a mask. I remain undecided about a tracheostomy (permanent tube into my lungs through the chest). It would mean continuous attendance by another person, extreme limitations of speech, and inability to take any food by mouth. Which is worse (better?)Most people with ALS retain use of the eye muscles and can direct their gaze to communicate. Some progress and enter a locked-in syndrome in which their only muscles under control are moving eyes vertically and closing their eyes. Some progress to total locked-in syndrome with full loss of eye movement. My current directions to my loved ones are that, if I am unable to affirm a choice for a ventilator for 30 consecutive days, it is time to turn it off.

What you can do now is be the best student you can be in all subjects, and recognize that who you associate with will influence who you become. Life is a series of minor decisions that result in major effects over the course of a life. An example could be the use of drugs and alcohol like everyone else seems to be doing, or recognizing that what one does under the influence of intoxicants can have bad results that will haunt you. There may be a police explorer program available in your area (Law Enforcement Career Exploring | Exploring.org).Other than the USMC occupational specialty of Interrogator/Translator (United States Marine Corps Inter), there is no career field involving only interrogation. Interrogations are conducted by police and criminal investigators in the course of their investigations. Some are better at it than others, either through natural ability or psychological related study (e.g., Inbau, F. E., Reid, J. E., Buckley, J. P., & Jayne, B. C. (2004). Criminal interrogation and confessions (4th ed.). Boston: Jones and Bartlett [there may be a later edition]).Law enforcement positions are filled on a competitive basis, those meeting the minimum requirements will not be as qualified as those with the best qualifications; and the required qualifications vary between departments. And, there are more applicants than there are positions. To become a police officer, the standard requirement for most major police agencies seems to be a minimum of 60 undergraduate hours (from a regionally accredited college), although some allow substitution of military service, and a Bachelor's degree may be preferred (generally required for federal special agent positions); although some may only require a high school diploma. Some agencies (and federal agencies) have a military hiring preference, and being an officer counts more than being an enlisted person. A good investigator is well versed in many subjects.Some agencies have age limits, for federal jobs it is 21 minimum and 37 maximum. Any major is acceptable, but Criminal Justice, Forensics, Computer Science, Sociology, or Psychology may stand you in better stead. Foreign language ability, particularly Spanish, is advantageous. Smaller agencies may have a high school requirement. And GPA may be more important than major. The agency normally provides training, but some states may have private academies (like TX). Those meeting the minimum requirements may not compare well to the best qualified applicants. Many agencies have increased pay levels for higher education, and higher education facilitates promotion.To be a detective or tactical team member, first you have to be a regular patrol officer for a certain number of years, which varies by jurisdiction. The larger the organization, the more specialized units will be employed. Generally, you may have to meet qualification requirements, may have to pass the exam (physical and firearms for tactical), and will need recommendations from supervisors. A bachelor’s degree may provide an advantage.A Bachelor's degree is required for federal special agent positions (very few exceptions). As stated above, any major is acceptable. I attended an agency-sponsored Masters program for an MS in management. GPA, work experience, ability to communicate orally and in writing, and graduate degrees are what determine who gets hired for federal positions. And, there are always more applicants than positions. Those meeting the minimum requirements may not compare well to the best qualified applicants. Military service may provide hiring preference, service as an officer is preferred over enlisted service.The FBI likes lawyers and accountants, but they hire from various backgrounds (http://www.fbijobs.gov/). Other federal agency job announcements should be available at https://my.usajobs.gov/login.aspx; acceptance of applications is cyclical. NCIS’s website: http://www.ncis.navy.mil/ (oversold due to TV).You must have no felony arrests, and many misdemeanor arrests are also disqualifying, as may be bad credit. And, a domestic violence conviction will be disqualifying. Any prior drug use of any sort may be disqualifying, although exceptions are possible in some agencies. There may be a written exam, medical exam, polygraph test, physical fitness test, drug test, minimum eyesight requirements, psychological evaluation, oral board examination, and full background check. As I said, there are always more applicants than there are positions, so it may take many application submissions to get an acceptable job (at least it did for me).Criminal profiling is not a clearly defined professional field, in that there are no admission standards based upon education, experience, or certification. Criminologists, forensic psychologists, law enforcers, and other self-appointed individuals profess to be criminal profilers or offer profiling consultation. Generically, a profile can be defined as: “a set of data ... portraying the significant features of something, ... (or) a concise biographical sketch” (Merriam-Webster, 2008). Specifically, Turvey (2001) defines a criminal profile as:A court-worthy document that accounts for the physical and behavioral evidence relating to the known victimology and crime scene characteristics of a particular case, or series of related cases, in order to infer investigatively relevant characteristics of the offender responsible. (p. 681)A Linkage Analysis can be a profiling process which assesses Method of Operation and Signature (i.e., behaviors performed during the criminal act that are not necessarily inherent to that act, like ritual or fetish) and offers an opinion on the likelihood that a series of offenses were committed by the same offender. A Post Conviction Review offers an opinion on the competence of investigation leading to the conviction, as well as recommendations for further forensic analysis. And, an Equivocal Death Analysis reviews the circumstances of a death.The Federal Bureau of Investigation, apparently in response to judicial considerations, abandoned the term “criminal profiling” in favor of “criminal investigative analysis.” However, the quasi-official Crime Classification Manual defines “investigative profiling” as a method of narrowing the focus of an investigation, and“as an attempt to provide detailed information about a certain type of criminal (Geberth 1981), and as a biological sketch of behavioral patterns, trends, and tendencies (Vorpagel 1982). Geberth (1981) has noted that the investigative profile is particularly useful when the criminal has demonstrated some clearly identifiable pathology. ... Profiling is, in fact, a form of retroclassification, or classification that works backward. Typically, we classify a known entity into criteria for assignment to that category.” (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992)Criminal profiling is a criminological/sociological, psychological, biosociological, and forensic analysis process that attempts to make investigative sense of apparent crime scene dynamics, in order to gain an understanding of behavior, motivation characteristics of offenders, and personality. Profilers analyze the totality of the known crime circumstances, make inferences of offender behavior from that analysis, and create a profile of the offender based on inferences of the offender's behavior (what would appear to be inferences based on inferences). Fewer than 1 in 5 profiles result in the identification of a suspect, although as many as ¾ provide a positive contribution to the investigation.“Profiling is, in fact, a form of retroclassification, or classification that works backward. Profilers recognize crime scene dynamics that are associated to criminal personality types who commit similar offences. Typically we classify a known entity into a discrete category, based on presenting characteristics that translate into criteria for assignment to that category.” (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 2006, p. 97)“Psychiatric profile” is not mentioned in the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (2000, p. 572) (DSM-IV-TR). Even with diagnosis of more than one psychiatric problem, they may referred to as “dual diagnosis,” and a single “principle diagnosis” may be designated. Severity and course specifiers may be added, such as, mild, moderate, and severe, and/or a specifier of the state of remission, but there is no discussion of the construction of a profile. Therefore, the use of the labels “psychiatric profile” or “psychological profile” may be generic references to the diagnosis or categorization of mental disorders, but there is apparently no clinical or professional meaning.It is important to note that inductive profiling, as practiced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and others, as described by Holmes and Holmes (2002) and Turvey, above, seems to be portrayed as ignoring the full range of forensics, geographic profiling, victimology, and so forth. That is not the case in most instances. However, the FBI does provide abbreviated consultation in certain cases, and Turvey (2001) advocates a similar process he has labeled a deductive “Threshold Assessment” (TA). The TA “reviews the initial physical evidence of behavior, victimology, and crime scene characteristics” and should not be confused with a criminal profile (p. 695).John Douglas, a retired supervisor of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and pioneer profiler, indicated that the FBI profiling process was primarily inductive (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). However, the current methodology for criminal investigative analysis (criminal profiling) incorporates inductive and deductive inferences (personal communication FBI Supervisory Special Agent Mark A. Hilts, March 2, 2009). Hilts is the Unit Chief of BAU-2. The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) consists of four sections: BAU-1, Threat Assessment (Counterterrorism); BAU-2, Crimes Against Adults; BAU-3, Crimes Against Children; and, the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP).Hilts related that the limits of the study of 36 convicted murderers reported in "Sexual Homicide" (Ressler, Burgess, & Douglas, 1992) have been recognized, and that data no longer dominates in the formulation of inferences in FBI analyses. Hilts indicated that there were no existing databases utilized solely for profiling, although data from ViCAP is consulted in some instances.The Crime Classification Manual (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992), a product of the NCAVC, includes an extensive victimology worksheet, and the FBI has been at the forefront in employment of forensic examination. And, it must be noted that inductive research has evolved from its humble beginnings by FBI agents attempting to open new doors in the criminal investigative process.The BAU personnel have conducted research and have been responsive to critiques of early collection efforts. Safarik, Jarvis, and Nussbaum (2006) studied sexual homicide of elderly females and established a typology for those offenders. And, academic research has also contributed to the inductive process (Alison, 2005; Egger, 2002). The inductive process may be less expensive due to the reusable data obtained from empirical inquiry, thereby amortizing the considerable cost of research over a period of time. However, for such a serious state of affairs, ongoing research appears necessary. And, there is a suggestion that any investigator can apply the principles of inductive profiling. While that may be true to a degree, the reliability of the product could be expected to vary with the education, training, and experience of the investigator; which impacts the overall perception of the viability of inductive profiling. Inductive profiling must be evaluated based on the qualifications of the profiler, just as the admissibility of expert forensic testimony must be established in court.Also, the inductive process may be considered less expensive due to the low numbers of certified profilers, thus the costs of maintaining a cadre of profilers available for consultation to numerous investigative agencies is small compared to the costs incurred if all of those agencies duplicated the manpower and training efforts. The BAU, of the NCAVC, requires two years of training prior to certification as an investigative profiler (personal communication Supervisory Special Agent Rhonda Trahern, BAU, February 12, 2008).Out of about 13,000 active FBI special agents, less than 200 special agents are assigned as NCAVC Field Coordinators. They are selected based on experience, they receive training on how to prepare case files for presentation to the BAU, and must serve for a period under the supervision of a certified profiler from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). The NCAVC collects information on violent crime voluntarily submitted by police agencies, and attempts to link crimes committed in different jurisdictions.From this pool of about 200 agents, some are selected to become Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) profilers assigned to the BAU. The BAU, of the NCAVC, requires two years of training prior to certification as an investigative profiler (personal communication Supervisory Special Agent Rhonda Trahern, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, BAU, February 2008). SSA Trahern was at that time one of two non-FBI agents assigned to the BAU, from a total of about 25 Supervisory Special Agents assigned as investigative profilers. The BAU dealing with adult criminals consists of eight (8) profilers (personal communication with the BAU-2 supervisor Hilts, March 2010).Related: http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-main-differences-between-criminal-psychology-forensic-psychology-and-criminology/answer/Dan-Robb-2References:Alison, L. (Ed.). (2005). The forensic psychologist’s casebook: Psychological profiling and criminal investigation. Portland, OR: Willan.American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) (text revision). Washington, D.C.: Author.Douglas, J. E., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (1992). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.Douglas, J. E., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (Eds.). (2006). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Josey-Bass.Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Douglas, J. E. (1992). Sexual homicides: Patterns and motives. New York: The Free Press.Douglas, J., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mind hunter: Inside the FBI’s elite crime unit. New York: Pocket Books.Egger, S. A. (2002). The killers among us: An examination of serial murder and its investigation. (2nd ed.) Illinois: Prentice Hall.Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2002). Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool (3rd. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Merriam-Webster. (2008). Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved on February 26, 2008 from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typologySafarik, M. E., Jarvis, J. P., & Nussbaum, K. E. (2006). Sexual homicide of elderly females: Linking offender characteristics to victim and crime scene attributes. In R. D. Keppel (Ed.). Offender profiling (2nd ed.) (pp. 107-125). Mason, OH: Thompson. (Reprinted from Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2002. Sage Publications, Inc.)Turvey, B. E. (2001). Criminal profiling: An introduction to behavioral evidence analysis (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.

Generically, a profile can be defined as: “a set of data ... portraying the significant features of something, ... (or) a concise biographical sketch” (Merriam-Webster, 2008). Specifically, Turvey (2001) defines a criminal profile as:A court-worthy document that accounts for the physical and behavioral evidence relating to the known victimology and crime scene characteristics of a particular case, or series of related cases, in order to infer investigatively relevant characteristics of the offender responsible. (p. 681)A Linkage Analysis strictly assesses Method of Operation and Signature and offers an opinion on the likelihood that a series of offenses were committed by the same offender. A Post Conviction Review offers an opinion on the competence of investigation leading to the conviction, as well as recommendations for further forensic analysis. And, an Equivocal Death Analysis reviews the circumstances of a death.The Federal Bureau of Investigation, apparently in response to judicial considerations, abandoned the term “criminal profiling” in favor of “criminal investigative analysis.” However, the quasi-official Crime Classification Manual defines “investigative profiling” as a method of narrowing the focus of an investigation, andas an attempt to provide detailed information about a certain type of criminal (Geberth 1981), and as a biological sketch of behavioral patterns, trends, and tendencies (Vorpagel 1982). Geberth (1981) has noted that the investigative profile is particularly useful when the criminal has demonstrated some clearly identifiable pathology. ... Profiling is, in fact, a form of retroclassification, or classification that works backward. Typically, we classify a known entity into criteria for assignment to that category. (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992)Criminal profiling is a criminological/sociological, psychological, biosociological, and forensic analysis process that attempts to make investigative sense of apparent crime scene dynamics, in order to gain an understanding of behavior, motivation characteristics of offenders, and personality. Profilers analyze the totality of the known crime circumstances, make inferences of offender behavior from that analysis, and create a profile of the offender based on inferences of the offender's behavior (what would appear to be inferences based on inferences). Fewer than 1 in 5 profiles result in the identification of a suspect, although as many as ¾ provide a positive contribution to the investigation.Profiling is, in fact, a form of retroclassification, or classification that works backward. Profilers recognize crime scene dynamics that are associated to criminal personality types who commit similar offences. Typically we classify a known entity into a discrete category, based on presenting characteristics that translate into criteria for assignment to that category. (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 2006, p. 97)“Psychiatric profile” is not mentioned in the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (2000, p. 572) (DSM-IV-TR). Even with diagnosis of more than one psychiatric problem, they may referred to as “dual diagnosis,” and a single “principle diagnosis” may be designated. Severity and course specifiers may be added, such as, mild, moderate, and severe, and/or a specifier of the state of remission, but there is no discussion of the construction of a profile. Therefore, the use of the labels “psychiatric profile” or “psychological profile” may be generic references to the diagnosis or categorization of mental disorders, but there is apparently no clinical or professional meaning.It is important to note that inductive profiling, as practiced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and others, as described by Holmes and Holmes (2002) and Turvey, above, seems to be portrayed as ignoring the full range of forensics, geographic profiling, victimology, and so forth. That is not the case in most instances. However, the FBI does provide abbreviated consultation in certain cases, and Turvey (2001) advocates a similar process he has labeled a deductive “Threshold Assessment” (TA). The TA “reviews the initial physical evidence of behavior, victimology, and crime scene characteristics” and should not be confused with a criminal profile (p. 695).John Douglas, a retired supervisor of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and pioneer profiler, indicated that the FBI profiling process was primarily inductive (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). However, the current methodology for criminal investigative analysis (criminal profiling) incorporates inductive and deductive inferences (personal communication FBI Supervisory Special Agent Mark A. Hilts, March 2, 2009). Hilts is the Unit Chief of BAU-2. The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) consists of four sections: BAU-1, Threat Assessment (Counterterrorism); BAU-2, Crimes Against Adults; BAU-3, Crimes Against Children; and, the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP).Hilts related that the limits of the study of 36 convicted murderers reported in "Sexual Homicide" (Ressler, Burgess, & Douglas, 1992) have been recognized, and that data no longer dominates in the formulation of inferences in FBI analyses. Hilts indicated that there were no existing databases utilized solely for profiling, although data from ViCAP is consulted in some instances.The Crime Classification Manual (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992), a product of the NCAVC, includes an extensive victimology worksheet, and the FBI has been at the forefront in employment of forensic examination. And, it must be noted that inductive research has evolved from its humble beginnings by FBI agents attempting to open new doors in the criminal investigative process.The BAU personnel have conducted research and have been responsive to critiques of early collection efforts. Safarik, Jarvis, and Nussbaum (2006) studied sexual homicide of elderly females and established a typology for those offenders. And, academic research has also contributed to the inductive process (Alison, 2005; Egger, 2002). The inductive process may be less expensive due to the reusable data obtained from empirical inquiry, thereby amortizing the considerable cost of research over a period of time. However, for such a serious state of affairs, ongoing research appears necessary. And, there is a suggestion that any investigator can apply the principles of inductive profiling. While that may be true to a degree, the reliability of the product could be expected to vary with the education, training, and experience of the investigator; which impacts the overall perception of the viability of inductive profiling. Inductive profiling must be evaluated based on the qualifications of the profiler, just as the admissibility of expert forensic testimony must be established in court.Also, the inductive process may be considered less expensive due to the low numbers of certified profilers, thus the costs of maintaining a cadre of profilers available for consultation to numerous investigative agencies is small compared to the costs incurred if all of those agencies duplicated the manpower and training efforts. The BAU, of the NCAVC, requires two years of training prior to certification as an investigative profiler (personal communication Supervisory Special Agent Rhonda Trahern, BAU, February 12, 2008).Out of about 13,000 active FBI special agents, less than 200 special agents are assigned as NCAVC Field Coordinators. They are selected based on experience, they receive training on how to prepare case files for presentation to the BAU, and must serve for a period under the supervision of a certified profiler from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). The NCAVC collects information on violent crime voluntarily submitted by police agencies, and attempts to link crimes committed in different jurisdictions.From this pool of about 200 agents, some are selected to become Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) profilers assigned to the BAU. The BAU, of the NCAVC, requires two years of training prior to certification as an investigative profiler (personal communication Supervisory Special Agent Rhonda Trahern, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, BAU, February 2008). SSA Trahern was at that time one of two non-FBI agents assigned to the BAU, from a total of about 25 Supervisory Special Agents assigned as investigative profilers. The BAU dealing with adult criminals consists of eight (8) profilers (personal communication with the BAU-2 supervisor Hilts, March 2010).References:Alison, L. (Ed.). (2005). The forensic psychologist’s casebook: Psychological profiling and criminal investigation. Portland, OR: Willan.American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) (text revision). Washington, D.C.: Author.Douglas, J. E., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (1992). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.Douglas, J. E., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (Eds.). (2006). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Josey-Bass.Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Douglas, J. E. (1992). Sexual homicides: Patterns and motives. New York: The Free Press.Douglas, J., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mind hunter: Inside the FBI’s elite crime unit. New York: Pocket Books.Egger, S. A. (2002). The killers among us: An examination of serial murder and its investigation. (2nd ed.) Illinois: Prentice Hall.Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2002). Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool (3rd. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Merriam-Webster. (2008). Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved on February 26, 2008 from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typologySafarik, M. E., Jarvis, J. P., & Nussbaum, K. E. (2006). Sexual homicide of elderly females: Linking offender characteristics to victim and crime scene attributes. In R. D. Keppel (Ed.). Offender profiling (2nd ed.) (pp. 107-125). Mason, OH: Thompson. (Reprinted from Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2002. Sage Publications, Inc.)Turvey, B. E. (2001). Criminal profiling: An introduction to behavioral evidence analysis (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.