The European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) on-site inspection form allows the collection of data relevant to the identification, collection, sampling and preservation of all elements that, during the on-site inspection, may be useful as forensic evidence. The aim of this study is to assess the completeness of the information collected in a large number of on-site inspections, the records of which were drawn up without the use of the ECLM on-site inspection form, in order to verify the usefulness and the application of this form. The authors present a multicentre study involving 20 Italian forensic medicine institutes. For each institute, the reports of on-site inspections carried out without the use of the ECLM on-site inspection form were collected and a forensic pathologist was asked to analyse the individual cases and to identify, for each case, the presence or absence of information regarding all the points examined by the ECLM on-site inspection form. A practical database was prepared and sent to each institute for this analysis. Data were collected and analysed from a total of 1721 on-site inspection reports. Our results document that certain items on the ECLM on-site inspection form are not always investigated in reports written without the use of this tool. The use of the ECLM on-site inspection form proves to be a valid tool to assist the forensic pathologist during the on-site inspection. We therefore hope that the forms developed by the ECLM will be systematically adopted in the forensic practice of the forensic pathologist.
Towards a standard of scientific evidence in on-site inspection: compilation of the ECLM on-site inspection form in a broad case history / Camatti, J.; Santunione, A. L.; Bolognini, M.; Cusack, D.; Zerbo, S.; Argo, A.; Puntarello, M.; Scalzo, G.; Paolo, F.; Bruscagin, T.; Desinan, L.; Battistig, L.; Tosku, F.; Viel, G.; Franchetti, G.; Solarino, B.; Ambrosi, L.; Cecchetto, G.; Visona, S. D.; Sala, E.; Oliva, A.; Mercuri, G.; Oliveri, E. S.; Fais, P.; Lippi, S.; Bianchini, S.; Genovese, U.; Franceschetti, L.; Asmundo, A.; Ventura Spagnolo, E.; Burrascano, G.; Verzeletti, A.; Attico, F.; Sarallo, V.; Aquila, I.; Sacco, M. A.; Gualtieri, S.; Mammola, G.; Attanasi, A.; Pingaro, D. M.; Pinchi, V.; Focardi, M.; Ventura, F.; Caristo, I.; Vernazza, N.; Casella, C.; Di Donna, G.; Marisei, M.; Campobasso, C. P.; Feola, A.; Palermo, P.; Bugelli, V.; Doci, K.; Picozzi, M.; Burlando, M.; Vecchio, F.; Gabbrielli, M.; Baldari, F.; Cecchi, R.. - In: LEGAL MEDICINE. - ISSN 1344-6223. - 78:(2025), p. 102717. [10.1016/j.legalmed.2025.102717]
Towards a standard of scientific evidence in on-site inspection: compilation of the ECLM on-site inspection form in a broad case history
Paolo F.;Franchetti G.;Sala E.;Gualtieri S.;Focardi M.;Casella C.;Di Donna G.;Marisei M.;Campobasso C. P.;Palermo P.;Picozzi M.;
2025
Abstract
The European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) on-site inspection form allows the collection of data relevant to the identification, collection, sampling and preservation of all elements that, during the on-site inspection, may be useful as forensic evidence. The aim of this study is to assess the completeness of the information collected in a large number of on-site inspections, the records of which were drawn up without the use of the ECLM on-site inspection form, in order to verify the usefulness and the application of this form. The authors present a multicentre study involving 20 Italian forensic medicine institutes. For each institute, the reports of on-site inspections carried out without the use of the ECLM on-site inspection form were collected and a forensic pathologist was asked to analyse the individual cases and to identify, for each case, the presence or absence of information regarding all the points examined by the ECLM on-site inspection form. A practical database was prepared and sent to each institute for this analysis. Data were collected and analysed from a total of 1721 on-site inspection reports. Our results document that certain items on the ECLM on-site inspection form are not always investigated in reports written without the use of this tool. The use of the ECLM on-site inspection form proves to be a valid tool to assist the forensic pathologist during the on-site inspection. We therefore hope that the forms developed by the ECLM will be systematically adopted in the forensic practice of the forensic pathologist.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
