Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices, 2018

• NCJ Number: 302051
• Date Published: November 2021
• Author(s): Connor Brooks
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Publication

Abstract

This report provides data on the personnel, budget, workload, and policies of medical examiner and coroner offices in the United States. The report details the number and type of personnel employed, staff certification, and training. It includes the number of cases referred to and accepted by medical examiner and coroner offices, the number of autopsies conducted, and the number of decedents with unidentified remains on record, including the percentage from which DNA evidence has been collected. Findings are based on data from BJS’s 2018 and 2004 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices.

Highlights:

• Nearly 2,040 medical examiner and coroner offices employed almost 11,000 full-time equivalent employees in 2018.
• Medical examiner and coroner offices employed about 890 autopsy pathologists in 2018.
• About 17% of medical examiner and coroner offices were accredited as of 2018.
• More than 1.3 million deaths were referred to medical examiner and coroner offices in 2018, and these offices accepted 605,000 referrals for further investigation.