NCJ Number
139023
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The Victoria (Australia) coroner combines the legal and medical investigatory responsibilities of the British coroner and the American medical examiner. In his investigations, the coroner can act as a catalyst by which the evidence and expert conclusions can be coverted to broad community use and understanding; this role could be particularly useful in the area of suicide prevention.
Abstract
The functions of the Victorian coroner are to register the death and enable lawful disposal of the body, investigate every aspect of the death, investigate any suspicious fires, draw together expert materials and conclusions, and present findings to the government and the public. The coroner performs his tasks by calling on every outside individual, organization, institution, government agency, and specialist function relevant to any particular investigation. In terms of suicide, the Victoria Coroner's Office compiles data on all current suicide cases to consider factors including age, gender, method, attempts, prior indications, and underlying causes. The office plans to hold joint inquests to investigate those cases which seem to contain all the issues which need to be examined in a public forum. The remaining cases would be concluded without inquest, although they would used as exhibits in the public hearing process. This type of process would allow the coroner to contribute to the public understanding of suicide and provide a basis of community response.