Estimation of Time of Death in Homicide Cases Using 'Forensic Entomology'... Challenge for International Certification

Promotion of Necessary Dedicated Staff Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Our police's forensic entomology, which estimates death incidents using insects in unnatural death cases, is embarking on a challenge to receive international accreditation.

According to the police on the 17th, the National Police Agency is promoting the recruitment of necessary forensic personnel to be recognized as an internationally accredited testing institution by the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) in the field of forensic entomology. At least four forensic personnel are required for KOLAS accreditation, and the police plan to increase the current staff from two to at least two more. The police are also considering regularizing one contract researcher currently working among the forensic personnel.

The police flag of the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency is fluttering in the wind. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

This push for KOLAS accreditation is part of strengthening investigative capabilities in unnatural death cases. Forensic entomology is an investigative technique that greatly helps estimate the time of death, which is considered an important clue in determining the cause of death and whether a crime is involved in unnatural death cases. By utilizing the fact that different insects are active, it is possible to estimate the season or month of death, and by using the characteristic that insects attracted to the corpse grow consistently according to temperature, the time of death can be estimated.

In May last year, the police opened the country's first 'Forensic Entomology Laboratory' to officially introduce forensic entomology techniques. Along with this, to establish the field application of forensic entomology techniques, 25 dedicated forensic entomology personnel have been designated and operated in each provincial police agency. They are responsible for collecting forensic entomology samples and referring them to the laboratory in major unnatural death cases under investigation by each provincial police agency. The police are also promoting the expansion of dedicated forensic entomology personnel in each provincial police agency.

KOLAS, under the National Institute of Technology and Standards of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is an organization that recognizes institutions as internationally accredited testing institutions if they meet the international standard analytical technical capabilities required by the International Organization for Standardization. If our police's forensic entomology receives KOLAS accreditation, it will be recognized as legal evidence in investigative agencies and courts of 118 countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, which have signed mutual recognition agreements. Since starting fingerprint analysis in 2010, the police have received international accreditation as a testing institution in digital forensics in 2020, video analysis in 2021, and footprint (footprint) and tire track, and document examination fields last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.