A Method for Evaluating the Adequacy of Police and Coroner Investigations into Suspicious Unnatural Deaths

Abstract

Canada has witnessed thousands of Indigenous testimonies about the suspicious deaths and disappearances of their loved ones and the deficient or non-existent investigations thereafter. Despite growing attention to Indigenous deaths in inquiries and government apologies, there remains little information at ground level for families on how to challenge investigative practices and few cases that have done so successfully. Our research began when we were invited to evaluate the investigations into the suspicious deaths of three Indigenous youth in Canada. We did so by comparing police and coroner behaviour in those cases to standard practices required by provincial, federal, and international guidelines for police and coroners. Results revealed numerous instances of inadequacy where investigators either did not perform required procedure(s) or did not complete tasks to internationally recognized standards; police and the coroner performed half or fewer of “required” procedures in each of the three cases. An important product of our evaluation is a checklist of standard investigative procedures that other families and communities can use to assess other investigations into questionable deaths that occur in their communities and press for accountability.