321 Homicide

Question 1

Removal of bodies/human remains is the sole responsibility of the Medical Examiner’s Office. Human remains will not be transported in any JSO vehicle without the express approval of the …………………….or higher authority.

Answer 1

Assistant Chief of Major Case

Question 2

Deaths Involving the Hospice Program

1. An Incident Report is not required for cases in which the deceased person is in the Hospice Program, and that person has not been declared indigent.
2. In addition to the referenced above, the following shall also apply:

Answer 2

a. Persons under the care of Hospice Program who have been declared terminally ill, and
b. Prior to death, a doctor has agreed to sign a death certificate.

Question 3

Whenever the victim has been declared indigent, an Incident Report will be required. In such cases, a Hospice representative (e.g., nurse, funeral home personnel, etc.) will contact the police and request a ………..

Answer 3

report

Question 4

When the death is a Medical Examiner’s case, personal property on the body of the deceased will be inventoried by the Medical Examiner’s staff at the scene and in the presence of the investigating officer. The officer shall list the property in the Incident Report. The officer shall complete a ……………….and have the Medical Examiner’s staff member sign for the property

Answer 4

Signature Form (P-0214)

Question 5

Generally, on an outdoor crime scene, a minimum………….inner perimeter is recommended, with an extended outer perimeter established.

Answer 5

100-foot

Question 6

Death notification requests made from an out-of-county jurisdiction will be handled by an ……………………and…………. The ………………….and…………………will notify the next of kin in person and relay the information back to the requesting jurisdiction.

Answer 6

on-duty patrol supervisor and one additional officer.

on-duty patrol supervisor and officer

Question 7

Death notification requests to an out of county jurisdiction will be made by ………….or…………… The assigned JSO personnel will request personal notification be made by that agency and the complete next of kin information will be provided

Answer 7

telephone or teletype

Question 8

When investigating any mysterious disappearance of a child of tender years (usually considered age ……. or under) or a confirmed non-custodial abduction, the Supervisor of Homicide Unit will ensure that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is notified

Answer 8

11

Question 9

3. Examples of when a JSO detective shall respond are:

Answer 9

a. Kidnapping;
b. Attempted kidnapping;
c. Extortion or kidnapping of any public figure or corporate official; or
d. Cases not fabricated from domestic disputes and the victim is still missing at the time the incident is reported.

Question 10

Kidnapping reporting procedures are as follows:
a. If the offense of kidnapping is committed in conjunction with ………………reported offenses of the same incident and the victim is still missing at the time of the report, a separate report (with a separate CCR number) will be written for the kidnapping.

Answer 10

at least two other

Question 11

The Missing Person section of the report will be completed. If there are ……………..being reported and one is kidnapping, both offenses may be recorded on the same report. The Missing Person section will be completed even if the victim has been located or is reporting the offense;

b. The Missing Person section of the Incident Report or Supplemental Report (for local, previously reported, or located victims) shall be completed for all kidnapping cases;
c. A NCIC PECO number shall be obtained as soon as possible for those victims who are not located at the time of the report and any vehicle information shall be included in the vehicle section;

Answer 11

two offenses

Question 12

A Florida Emergency Child Alert (FEMCA) shall be initiated in all cases involving the suspected abduction of a child. The decision to utilize FEMCA rests with the Commanding Officer of Homicide Unit or higher authority. In any situation when the criterion for activating FEMCA has been met, the responsibility for notifying the FBI shall rest with the …………….

Answer 12

on-call Homicide Unit supervisor

Question 13

In cases of child abduction, an America’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) alert may be issued under the following circumstances: [CALEA 41.2.6]

Answer 13

(1) Law enforcement confirms a child has been abducted; or
(2) Law enforcement believes the circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.

Question 14

The AMBER alert is only activated by law enforcement, is only for serious child abduction cases, and should not be used for runaway or most parental abduction cases unless the circumstance is life threatening to the child. A …………………. shall initiate all AMBER alerts.

Answer 14

Homicide Unit supervisor

Question 15

Attempted Kidnappings

a. In cases of attempted abductions or abductions/kidnappings where the victim managed to escape or was recovered at the time of the report, officers shall attempt to determine (based on the circumstances) the motivation behind the act. So that the proper Investigations unit can be called out.
b. Appropriate investigative unit detectives shall be called out based on the following motives:

Answer 15

(1) If the motivation is unknown and the victim is 17 years of age or younger, a Special Assault Unit (SAU) detective will be notified;
(2) If the motivation is unknown and the victim is 18 years of age or older, a Homicide Unit detective will be notified;
(3) If the circumstances indicate that the motive was to conduct a robbery, a Robbery Unit detective will be notified regardless of the age of the victim; or
(4) If the circumstances indicate that the motive was potentially sex crimes related, then a SAU detective shall be notified, regardless of the age of the victim.
c. Officers shall route all reports of abduction/attempted abductions to the appropriate detective/unit.

Question 16

Interviews of kidnapping suspects (from cases not resulting from a domestic dispute and the motive is unknown) shall be conducted by a ………………… if the victim is 18 years of age or older or a SAU detective when the victim is 17 years of age or younger, regardless of the time of the day, unless the kidnapping is committed in connection with another crime such as sexual battery, robbery, carjacking, etc. When an additional crime(s) is involved, a detective from the most appropriate unit shall respond to conduct the interview.

Answer 16

Homicide Unit detective

Question 17

8. Parental Kidnapping/Interference with Custody (Florida State Statute [F.S.S.] 787.03)
   a. The procedures to enforce a local custody order are as follows:

Answer 17

(1) A custody order must contain the following language in order to be enforceable by a law enforcement officer:
(a) Language to the effect that the Sheriff shall enforce the provision of the order; and(b) Specific instructions from a judge as to what the Sheriff is directed to do (e.g., go to the husband’s house forthwith to pick up a child and return the child to the mother).
(2) Officers shall not enforce a custody order unless the order specifically directs the Sheriff to take a specific action(s).
b. A custody order from another Florida jurisdiction will be enforced as if it was a local custody order.

Question 18

An out-of-state jurisdiction custody order will not be enforced unless it has been ……………………. If the out-of-state custody order has not been validated by a local circuit judge, officers shall advise the complainant to go to the clerk’s office to initiate the validation process.

Answer 18

validated by a local circuit judge.

Question 19

Florida Law Enforcement Officer Blue Alert Plan

1. The Florida Blue Alert Plan is a cooperative effort by the Florida Department Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and the Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).
2. On October 1st, 2011, an Executive Order was signed to establish the Florida Blue Alert Plan (F.S.S. 784.071). The Blue Alert, which uses some of the technologies employed in an Amber or Silver Alert, was created in response to the increasing number of law enforcement officers in the state who were …………..,……………or…………. In some of these cases, the offenders used vehicles to flee and attempt to escape. Under this plan, when the criteria are met, FDLE, FDOT, and FHP will activate dynamic highway message signs to immediately broadcast important information about the offender/vehicle involved in the incident.

Answer 19

killed, injured, or abducted in the line of duty.

Question 20

To activate a Blue Alert, the following four criteria must be met:

Answer 20

a. A law enforcement officer must have been seriously injured or killed by an offender(s) or is missing while in the line of duty under circumstances evidencing concern for the law enforcement officer’s safety;
b. The investigating law enforcement agency must determine the offender(s) poses a serious risk to the public or to other law enforcement officers and dissemination of available information to the public may help avert further harm or assist in the apprehension of the suspect;
c. A detailed description of the offender’s vehicle or other means of escape, including vehicle tag or partial tag, must be available for broadcast to the public; and
d. The local law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must recommend issuing the Blue Alert.

Question 21

In addition to the criteria being met, the following steps must occur in order to activate a Blue Alert:

Answer 21

a. The JSO Homicide Cold Case Sergeant or his designee calls FDLE’s Florida Fusion Center (FFC) Watch Desk at (850) 410-7645 or (800) 342-0820, which is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and
b. FDLE’s on-call supervisor will work with the investigating agency to offer assistance, ensure the activation criterion have been met and determine if the alert will be displayed regionally or statewide.
5. Any questions concerning Florida Blue Alert Plan or implementation thereof should be directed to the Cold Case Unit.