Coroners Investigation officer

Merseyside Police; Liverpool City Region; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

Job Purpose

Investigate sudden, suspicious, unnatural or violent deaths, and all deaths of persons in custody or state detention on behalf of the Senior Coroners, to ensure that they are able to discharge their statutory duties.

Knowledge And Experience

The postholder should be educated and qualified to NVQ level 4 or equivalent in view of the requirement to produce comprehensive and legally compliant reports, involving investigation and analysis of specialist and complex information.

The postholder should also have either attained the University Certificate in Professional Development in Coroners Law and Bereavement, Medico-legal Death Investigation or Fundamental Medicine for the Coroner or once in post, attend the mandatory Coroners Officer training as directed by the Chief Coroner, two day course three times per year.

• Have proven experience in an investigative capacity and be familiar with evidential requirements.
• Have a detailed knowledge and understanding of medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology in order to ascertain if a death is natural/unnatural; converse with consultants, GPs and other medical practitioners over causes of death; provide advice to pathologists on possible lines of investigation and explain causes of death in layman's terms to bereaved families.
• Must be able to conduct investigations into the cause of death if the initial information on the death report is insufficient for a medical practitioner to issue a certificate i.e. know what information is required and how to source and analyse it. The preliminary investigations must be accurate and presented in a specific manner, using the correct procedure and in-depth knowledge of the Coroners system in order to present a reasoned argument with which to negotiate and influence the Coroner.
• Ability to assimilate large amounts of information and interpret policy when dealing with investigations, particularly those complex investigations where Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1988 is engaged.
• The post holder will be managing high level stakeholders (e.g. Senior Coroners, pathologists, Consultants, senior police officers) and bereaved families on a daily basis.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to tailor communications appropriately are essential.
• The post holder will be required to provide clear and detailed explanations for the need for a post mortem, the nature of the post mortem, cause of death or retention of material following an examination. These issues will need to be approached differently in every case.
• The post holder must have sufficient knowledge of cultural or religious observances that may impact on decisions regarding post mortems, burial rites or other death or court procedures.
• The post holder must balance providing clear, accurate and timely information to enable bereaved people to make fully informed decisions, against the risk of attempting to counsel people.
• In the event of a mass fatality which exceeds the resources of the normal infrastructure of the area, be aware of all Major Incident Plans / Temporary Mortuary Contingency Plans and Governmental Resilience Contingency plans. Become a member of the mortuary management team and the main communication link between HM Coroner and the Senior Identification Manager.
• Knowledge of all the relevant legislation, rules and regulations, Chief Coroners guidance and Merseyside Police policies and procedures to ensure that all investigations are legally compliant.
• Competent use of Microsoft Office, Internet, electronic diaries and Coroner specific databases.