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The purpose of this paper is to analyze and question the government survey 1956:43 Zigenarfrågan based on the theory of internal colonialism. An important question for the study is to elucidate and gain an understanding of the factors that led to Roma inclusion in the compulsory school. This survey of the goverment investigation is necessary because the state management of the Roma had to start the investigation, that led to a number of difficulties for the community. The investigation put also a lot of demands on the roma society. The state wanted at all means to influence and change the group's way of life. Roma situation was now more and more conspicuously set to influence the Swedish society as a whole. State expressed concern about an increase in crime among the group, this led to the investigation begin. The essay will mainly concern the school issue in the investigation of Zigenarfrågan. There will also be a comparison made between investigation Zigenarfrågan and another government study conducted in 1957-1960. This study was designed to investigate the Sami school situation and was named Samernas skolgång 1960:410. The study will show how the state, hoping to assimilate the Roma in Swedish society, colonized roma minority by undermining the group's cultural characteristics in favor of the majority culture. The question I am hoping to answer in this study by analysing the governments survey Zigenarfrågan, is: How does the investigation Zigenarfrågan discribe the situation of Roma in Sweden, focusing on the school question? What problems are produced? What reasons are presented? What solutions are proposed? Is it possible to demonstrate a difference in treatment of roma in the comparison between investigations Zigenarfrågan and Samernas skolgång?

Social workers ideas about what domestic violence is influence their ability to recognize vio-lence in cases where this occurs. Social workers awareness and understanding of domestic violence can also influence the handling of these cases. Education on the subject domestic violence can increase social workers knowledge about, awareness and handling of violence. The present study aims to investigate how social workers in child protection investigations understand, recognize and interpret domestic violence and which interventions the social workers suggest. This is a qualitative vignette study in which semi-structured interviews was carried out with social workers working with child protection investigations. The result of the interviews has been analyzed using a social constructionist perspective and the theoretical concepts victims and perpetrators based on various forms of domestic violence. This study shows that the understanding and the interpretations by the participating social workers of domestic violence and victims and perpetrators influences if and how they recognize violence, which in turn influences their choices of interventions. / Socialarbetares föreställningar om vad våld i nära relation är påverkar om de uppmärksammar våld i de fall det förekommer. Hur socialarbetare uppmärksammar och förstår våldet kan ock-så påverka hanteringen av dessa ärenden. Utbildning i ämnet våld i nära relation kan påverka socialarbetares kunskap och uppmärksamhet på, samt hantering av, våld. I studien avser vi att undersöka hur socialarbetare som arbetar med barnavårdsutredningar förstår, uppmärksammar och tolkar våld i nära relationer samt vilka insatser socialarbetarna föreslår. Detta är en kvali-tativ vinjettstudie genomförd genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialarbetare som arbetar med barnavårdsutredningar. Intervjuerna har analyserats med hjälp av ett socialkon-struktionistiskt perspektiv samt de teoretiska begreppen offer och förövare utifrån olika for-mer av våld i nära relation. Denna studie visar att de deltagande socialarbetarnas förståelse och tolkningar av våld i nära relation samt offer och förövare påverkar om och hur de upp-märksammar våld, vilket i sin tur påverkar val av insatser vid utredning av familjer där våld förekommer.

Denna uppsats handlar om biologiska barn och hur deras delaktighet, utifrån barnkonventionen och begreppet ”barnets bästa”, beaktas av yrkesprofessionella som handhar ärendet när deras familj åtagit sig uppdrag att vara familjehem. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur socialtjänsten beaktar biologiska barns bästa vid en familjehemsplacering, utifrån biologiska barns delaktighet. Ett steg till att undersöka deras delaktighet är att ta reda på om det finns rutiner för hur yrkesprofessionella inom familjehemsvård i deras arbete gör biologiska barn i familjehem delaktiga under en familjehemsplacering. Genom en kvalitativ metod som metodval har vi med hjälp av en semistruktuerad intervju genomfört intervjuer med fyra familjehemssekreterare inom familjehemsvård på socialtjänsten samt fyra externa familjehemsutredare på uppdrag av socialtjänsten. Urvalsgruppen arbetar inom och på uppdrag av olika kommuner i Sverige och har olika års erfarenhet inom yrket. Tidigare forskning både internationellt och nationellt har bland annat studerat om placerade barns upplevelser i familjehem samt familjen som helhet i familjehem. När det gäller biologiska barn i familjehem visar det sig att det är ett ytterst begränsat forskningsområde. Resultat i studien visar att trots de yrkesverksammas olika bakgrund så beskriver majoriteten av urvalsgruppen att biologiska barns delaktighet inte har en direkt given plats i processen då rutiner för det saknas och föräldrarna förväntas förmedla vidare information till sina barn. Samtliga i urvalsgruppen ger en beskrivning av att biologiska barns delaktighet i en familjehemsplacering bör förstärkas. Det finns behov av att lyfta och tillämpa biologiska barns rätt till delaktighet vid en familjehemsplacering. Resultatet visar på att frågan är angelägen att få besvarad och behöver undersökas närmare med ytterligare forskningsstudier. / This essay is about biological children and how their participation, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the concept of "the best interests of the child", is considered by professionals who handle the case when their family has undertaken the task of being a foster family. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are routines for how professionals in foster care units in their work make biological children in foster families involved during a family home placement. The study intends to make visible how the participation of biological children is considered at all stages of a foster care placement, i.e., from the beginning, during the time and at the end. Through a qualitative method as a method choice, we have, with the help of a semi-structured interview, conducted interviews with four foster care secretaries in family home care at the social services and four external foster care investigators on behalf of the social services. The selection group works within and on behalf of various municipalities in Sweden and has different years of experience in the profession. Previous research both internationally and nationally has, among other things, studied the experiences of placing children in foster families and the family in family homes. Regarding biological children in family homes, however, research shows that it is an extremely limited area of ​​research. Results in the study show that despite the professionals' different backgrounds, most of the sample group describes that biological children's participation does not have a directly given place in the process as routines for it are lacking and parents are expected to pass on given information to their children. A description from everyone in the selection group shows that biological children's participation in a family home placement should be strengthened. It summarizes the need to raise and apply biological children's right to participation in a family home placement. The results show that the question is important to get answered and need to be investigated further. Further research is needed to examine biological children's experience of participation and its significance.

Polisanställda, som arbetar med utsatta barn, är en grupp som dagligen utsätts för psykiskt påfrestande situationer som kan påverka deras hälsa. Denna studie syftar således till att undersöka hur barnutredare inom polisen uppfattar sitt välbefinnande. Det föreligger i dagsläget en kunskapslucka i Sverige inom detta studerade område, något som motiverar studiens genomförande. Den aktuella studien genomfördes med djupgående intervjuer där sju polisanställda, som utreder utsatta barn, deltog. En tematisk analys genomfördes på det insamlade materialet där kodord identifierades, som sedan bildade fyra övergripande teman; handledning och hjälp, privatliv, arbetsliv och samarbete. Resultatet visade att deltagarna i studien önskade bättre individuellt stöd. De upplevde även att deras arbete influerade deras privatliv genom olika aspekter, och att arbetsbelastningen medförde att de kände sig otillräckliga. Resultatet visade även att vissa delar i arbetsprocessen uppfattades som mer krävande på deras välbefinnande, men att deras samarbete med organisationen Barnahus underlättade arbetsbelastningen något. Denna studie kunde dra slutsatsen att den individuella handledningen var ett viktigt forum för deltagarna att kunna ventilera i, därför bör den återinföras så som den var förr. / Police employees, who work with abused children, are a group that regularly are exposed to mentally stressful situations that may affect their health. This paper aims to study how child investigators within the police perceive their well-being. Currently, there is a knowledge gap in Sweden within this studied area which motivates the present study. The current study was conducted with in-depth interviews in which seven child investigators participated. A thematic analysis was performed on the collected data and codewords were identified. Four overall themes were determined; guidance and help, private life, working life and cooperation. The results showed that the participants in the present study, wished they had better individual guidance. They also felt that their work influenced their private life, and that the workload meant that they felt inadequate at doing their jobs. The results also showed that certain parts of the work process were perceived as more demanding on their well-being, but that their cooperation with the organisation “Barnahus” eased the workload somewhat. This study could draw the conclusion that the individual guidance was an important platform for the participants to be able to ventilate, therefore it should be reinstated as it was before.

La présente étude vise à étoffer la maigre littérature existante traitant du BEI et de l’intégration d’enquêteurs provenant de la sphère civile au sein d’organisations policières. Plus précisément, cette étude a été achevée avec l’intention de mettre en lumière les défis et enjeux que peuvent affronter les enquêteurs ex-civils dans leur collaboration avec les policiers retraités au Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes. Pour ce faire, nous avons procédé à l’entretien semi-dirigé de 22 enquêteurs du BEI, dont 14 ex-civils et 8 policiers retraités. L’analyse des données a révélé des enjeux et défis pouvant être répartis en deux catégories: l’expertise et les relations. En premier lieu, la carence d'expertise des ex-civils en matière d'enquête criminelle génère des défis relativement à leur formation (dispensée par l’ENPQ), leur avancement aux postes décisionnels au sien du BEI et à leur assignation aux dossiers et tâches d’importance. En second lieu, de cette collaboration ex-civils/policiers retraités émerge certains enjeux relationnels. Notamment, les ex-civils sont considérés comme « autres » par certains de leurs collègues policiers retraités, ce qui créé des tensions au sein de l’organisation et un sentiment d’exclusion chez les ex-civils. Semblablement, ces derniers font face à des défis supplémentaires en ce qui concerne l’établissement de leur légitimité auprès des policiers impliqués et témoins rencontrés lors de leurs enquêtes. De leur côté, les policiers retraités peuvent éprouver des difficultés à créer des liens avec les civils impliqués dans une enquête du BEI (ou leur famille endeuillée, advenant leur décès), particulièrement lorsque ces civils ont des expériences passées négatives avec la police. Considérant son impact sur la réalité policière, plus d’études devraient s’attarder aux instances de surveillance policières telles que le BEI, et à l’intégration d’ex-civils à titre d’enquêteur parmi l’appareil policier. / The present study aims to expand on the meagre existing literature on the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) and the integration of civilian investigators within police organizations. Specifically, this study was completed with the intention of highlighting the challenges and issues that ex-civilian investigators may face in their collaboration with retired police officers within the BEI. To achieve this, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 BEI investigators, including 14 former civilians and 8 retired police officers. The analysis of the data revealed challenges and issues that can be divided into two broad categories: expertise and relationships. Firstly, the ex-civilians lack of expertise in criminal investigations leads to challenges related to their training which is provided by the National Police Academy (ENPQ), their advancement to management positions, and the distribution of important cases and tasks. Secondly, several investigators highlight the presence of relational issues, with former civilians facing a prevailing police culture characterized by tendencies of exclusion, both within and outside the organization. In particular, ex-civilians are considered as “others” by some of their retired police colleagues, which creates tensions within the organization and a feeling of exclusion among ex civilians. Similarly, the latter face additional challenges in establishing their legitimacy with the police officers encoutered during their investigations. For their part, retired police officers may find it difficult to bond with civilians involved in an BEI investigation (or their bereaved families, in the event of their death), particularly when these civilians have had negative past experiences with the police. Considering its impact on the police reality, further studies should focus on police oversight bodies such as the BEI and the integration of former civilians as investigators within the police apparatus.

The problem encountered by the researcher was that the South African Police Service Cyber-Crimes Unit is experiencing problems in seizing computer evidence. The following problems were identified by the researcher in practice: evidence is destroyed or lost because of mishandling by investigators; computer evidence is often not obtained or recognised, due to a lack of knowledge and skills on the part of investigators to properly seize computer evidence; difficulties to establish authenticity and initiate a chain of custody for the seized evidence; current training that is offered is unable to cover critical steps in the performance of seizing computer evidence; computer seizure as a technique requires specialised knowledge and continuous training, because the information technology industry is an ever-changing area. An empirical research design, followed by a qualitative research approach, allowed the researcher to also obtain information from practice. A thorough literature study, complemented by interviews, was done to collect the required data for the research. Members of the South African Police Cyber-crime Unit and prosecutors dealing with cyber-crime cases were interviewed to obtain their input into, and experiences on, the topic. The aim of the study was to explore the role of computers in the forensic investigation process, and to determine how computers can be seized without compromising evidence. The study therefore also aimed at creating an understanding and awareness about the slippery nature of computer evidence, and how it can find its way to the court of law without being compromised. The research has revealed that computer crime is different from common law or traditional crimes. It is complicated, and therefore only skilled and qualified forensic experts should be used to seize computer evidence, to ensure that the evidence is not compromised. Training of cyber-crime technicians has to be priority, in order to be successful in seizing computers. / Department of Criminology / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Cette étude a été rendue possible grâce aux bourses doctorales accordées à la première auteure par les organismes suivants : le Conseil de recherche en sciences humaines (CRSH), la Chaire interuniversitaire Marie-Vincent sur les agressions sexuelles envers les enfants (CIMV), l’Équipe violence sexuelle et santé (ÉVISSA) et le Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les problèmes conjugaux et les agressions sexuelles (CRIPCAS). Cette étude a également été soutenue par une subvention de recherche accordée par le Bureau d’aide aux victimes d’actes criminelle (BAVAC) du ministère de la justice du Québec accordée à Mireille Cyr. / Cette thèse visait à explorer l’apport de variables contextuelles sur le récit des enfants qui dévoilent une agression sexuelle de même que sur les suites judiciaires de leur dossier. Plus spécifiquement, le premier article examinait la valeur prédictive des caractéristiques de l’agression sexuelle (lien avec le suspect, présence de coercition, sévérité et fréquence de l’agression) et de son dévoilement (dévoilement volontaire ou accidentel, croyance et protection maternelle) sur la proportion de détails centraux dévoilés durant l’entrevue d’enquête. Les effets de l’âge et de l’adhésion au protocole d’entrevue du National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) ont également été contrôlés étant donné leurs impacts significatifs sur le contenu de l’entrevue. L’ensemble de ces variables ont été extraites de 116 entrevues et dossiers d’agression sexuelle considérés comme fondés par les policiers. Les résultats de la régression hiérarchique montrent que conformément à la littérature, l’adhésion au Protocole NICHD ainsi que l’âge de l’enfant étaient les deux plus importants prédicteurs de la proportion de détails centraux dévoilés. La coercition sous forme d’une combinaison de coercition verbale et physique, de même que la présence d’une mère qui protège son enfant suite au dévoilement étaient également des prédicteurs significatifs qui augmentaient la proportion de détails centraux. Ces résultats sont discutés, de même que les limites de l’étude et les pistes de recherche futures. Le deuxième article, quant à lui, explorait la valeur prédictive des caractéristiques de l’enfant, de l’agression sexuelle, de la garde partagée, du contexte de dévoilement, des preuves disponibles et de l’entrevue d’enquête sur les chances que le dossier soit considéré comme fondé par les enquêteurs et autorisé à procéder en cour criminelle par les procureurs de la couronne. Ces caractéristiques ont été cotées à partir d’un échantillon de 169 entrevues et dossiers d’agression sexuelle. Les résultats montrent que 117 des 169 dossiers (69%) de l’échantillon ont été considérés comme fondés par les enquêteurs. La régression logistique révèle que, en ordre d’importance, l’âge de l’enfant, le fait que le dévoilement soit accidentel, le choix du premier confident, la fréquence des agressions et la corroboration des faits par le suspect étaient des prédicteurs significatifs à la décision policière. De ces 117 dossiers fondés et soumis aux procureurs, 96 dossiers (82%) ont été autorisés par ces derniers à procéder en cour. Les résultats de la régression logistique révèlent en outre que, en ordre d’importance, le nombre de faits corroborés par le suspect, la protection maternelle, l’adhésion au protocole NICHD de même que le nombre de faits corroborés par le témoin augmentaient significativement la prédiction que les dossiers soient autorisés alors que le jeune âge de l’enfant diminuait cette prédiction. Ces résultats sont discutés ainsi que les limites de l’étude et les pistes de recherches futures. / This thesis aimed to explore the contribution of contextual variables to the formal disclosure of alleged child sexual abuse victims as well as to the legal proceedings of their case. More specifically, the first article examined the predictive value of child sexual abuse’s characteristics (relationship between the child and the suspect, reported coercion, type and frequency of abuse) as well as the disclosure context (purposeful or accidental disclosure, maternal belief and protective actions) on the proportion of central forensically relevant (CFR) details elicited during the investigative interview. The study also controlled for the well documented effects of the child’s age and use of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Protocol. All these variables were collected from 116 interview transcripts and child sexual abuse files. As expected, results from hierarchical regression showed that adhesion to the NICHD Protocol and the child’s age were the two strongest predictors of the proportion of CFR details obtained. Coercion (physical and verbal) as well as the presence of a protective mother also increased the proportion of CFR details obtained. Explanations for these results are discussed, as well as the study’s limitations and implications for further research. The second article explored the predictive value of the characteristics of the child, sexual abuse, shared custody, disclosure context, available evidence and investigative interviews on the investigators’ decision to substantiate the complaint and on the district attorney’s decision to authorize its proceeding in court. These characteristics were collected from 169 child sexual abuse police files and interview transcripts. Results show that 117 files out of 169 (69%) were classified as substantiated by the investigators. Logistic regression reveal that the child’s age, an accidental disclosure, the choice of the first person who received the disclosure, the frequency of the abuse, and the suspect’s corroboration were significant predictors in finding the case substantiated. Of these 117 substantiated files submitted to the district attorneys, 96 of them (82%) were authorized to proceed in criminal court. Significant predictors on the district attorneys’ level were the corroboration of the suspect, the protection offered by the mother following her child’s disclosure, the adhesion to the NICHD investigative Protocol and the corroboration of the witness which increased the chances of authorizing the case whereas the child’s age diminished it. The results are discussed, as well as well as the study’s limitations and implications for further research.

Depuis les années 1990, de nombreuses recherches ont porté sur le dévoilement de l’agression sexuelle chez l’enfant et sur les caractéristiques y étant associées. Outre les facteurs liés à l’enfant et au contexte, le type de questions utilisé par l’intervieweur (notamment les invitations et les questions ouvertes) est une variable déterminante pour le dévoilement de l’enfant et la quantité de détails qui sera fournie entourant l’agression sexuelle. Bien que plusieurs enquêteurs reçoivent une formation sur l’utilisation des questions ouvertes dans les entrevues avec les enfants, peu d’entre eux utilisent un style de question approprié une fois sur le terrain. L’objectif de cette recherche vise à déterminer si certaines caractéristiques personnelles des enquêteurs sont associées à leur adhésion à un protocole d’entrevue structuré pour lequel ils ont été formés, à l’utilisation de questions ouvertes dans des entrevues d’enquête auprès d’enfants soupçonnés d’avoir vécu une agression sexuelle et à la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant lors de ces entrevues. Deux études ont été menées pour répondre à cette question. La première étude a été effectuée à l'École nationale de police du Québec auprès de 24 enquêteurs de police ayant suivi une formation d'une semaine visant l’apprentissage du protocole d’entrevue structuré du National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Le genre féminin, les habiletés cognitives et le trait de personnalité Ouverture à l’expérience sont trois caractéristiques personnelles qui ont été reliées positivement à la performance des enquêteurs lors d’une entrevue simulée avec un comédien jouant le rôle d’un enfant victime d’agression sexuelle, tandis que le nombre d’années d’expérience et la capacité de gestion du stress de ces enquêteurs ont montré une relation négative avec cette performance. Dans la seconde étude effectuée sur le terrain auprès de 13 enquêteurs du Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, 114 entrevues conduites auprès d’enfants ayant dévoilé une agression sexuelle ont été recueillies et cotées pour mesurer l’adhésion au protocole d’entrevue du NICHD, le ratio de questions ouvertes et la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant par question posée par l’enquêteur. L’intelligence émotionnelle et les traits de personnalité Extraversion, Esprit consciencieux et Agréabilité ont été trouvés comme des caractéristiques personnelles positivement associées à l’adhésion au protocole d’entrevue et à l’utilisation de questions ouvertes, tandis que le nombre d’années d’expérience et le trait de personnalité Névrosisme ont été négativement associés à ces deux critères de performance. Le niveau d’habiletés cognitives des enquêteurs a quant à lui montré une association positive avec la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant. La signification et l’interprétation de ces résultats, de même que les implications potentielles pour la sélection et la formation des enquêteurs sont finalement discutées. / Since the 1990’s, disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) has been studied extensively. In addition to characteristics related to the child and the context of the CSA, the types of questions used by investigative interviewers (ex. invitations and open-ended questions) are another critical component for the child’s disclosure and the amount of details provided by the child related to the incident. Despite their participation in training programs, few investigative interviewers use open-ended questions once in the field. This research project aims to determine whether certain personal characteristics are related to investigators’ adherence to a structured interview protocol, their use of open-ended questions in an investigative interview with a child victim of sexual abuse and the amount of details obtained from the child during this interview. Two studies were conducted to attempt to answer this question. The first study was conducted at the École nationale de police du Québec with 24 French Canadian police investigators after following a one-week training program aimed at using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) interview protocol. These investigators performed a mock interview at the end of their training to test their practical competence. Interview performance was positively related to cognitive abilities, female gender, and the personality trait Openness to Experience and negatively to stress management and investigator’s experience. The second study was conducted with 13 police investigators from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal. A total of 114 real investigative interviews conducted with child victims of sexual abuse were collected and scored. Results showed that emotional intelligence, and the personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were positively related to adherence to the NICHD interview protocol and the ratio of open-ended questions. The number of years of experience and personality trait Neuroticism were negatively related with these two performance criteria. Cognitive abilities were related to the amount of details obtained from the child per question. The interpretations of these results and their implications for the selection and training of investigative interviewers are discussed.

Thesis (MMed (Pathology. Forensic Medicine))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Background - The workload of the forensic pathologist and Forensic Pathology Services staff is increased by the referral of potentially unnecessary natural cases to the Forensic Pathology Services. The primary aims of the medico-legal autopsy are limited to establishing a cause of death in presumed unnatural cases, and to exclude criminality or negligence. Objective – To determine the final outcomes of forensic post-mortem examinations in “sudden and unexpected” adult deaths over a 5 year period. Methods - An observational, retrospective, descriptive study was conducted. ”Sudden and unexpected” adult deaths referred to Tygerberg Forensic Pathology Services between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2005 were reviewed. Data was collected from the autopsy reports, contemporaneous notes and hospital records. Findings – A total of 816 adult cases of sudden and unexpected death were referred to Tygerberg Forensic Pathology Services over the 5 year period studied. Complete autopsies had been performed in 74% (601/816) of cases. The presumed manner of death was natural in 79 % of cases, and an increase in the number of natural cases autopsied per year was noted over the 5-year study period. Diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems were responsible for the majority of natural deaths. Infectious diseases were responsible for most deaths in the youngest age group studied (18-29 years). Acute alcohol poisoning was responsible for the deaths of 35 (6%) cases, with an average blood alcohol concentration of 0.38g/100mL in these cases. Eight deaths were drug-/substance related. Waiting times for blood alcohol and toxicology results increased over the 5-year study period. No cause of death was found in 10.6% of cases. Conclusions -The questionnaire and interviewing structure could possibly be improved in order to obtain better pre-autopsy information and to reduce the number of “unnecessary” medicolegal autopsies, thereby reducing the burden of cost on the Forensic Pathology Services. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Agtergrond – Die werkslading van die forensiese patoloog en ander personeel van die Forensiese Patologie Dienste word vermeerder deur die verwysing van moontlik onnodige natuurlike gevalle na die Forensiese Patologie Dienste. Die primêre doelwitte van die medies-geregtelike nadoodse ondersoek is beperk tot die bepaling van ‘n oorsaak van dood in vermoedelik onnatuurlike gevalle, en om nalatigheid of kriminele aksies uit te skakel. Doelwit – Om die finale uitkomste van medies-geregtelike nadoodse ondersoeke in “skielike en onverwagte” volwasse sterftes oor ‘n 5-jaar tydperk te bepaal. Metodes – ‘n Observasionele, retrospektiewe, beskrywende studie is uitgevoer. “Skielike en onverwagte” volwasse sterftes wat verwys is na Tygerberg Forensiese Patologie Dienste vanaf 1 Januarie 2001 tot 31 Desember 2005 is hersien. Inligting is versamel vanaf die nadoodse ondersoekverslae, kontemporêre notas en hospitaalnotas. Bevindinge – Agthonderd en sestien volwasse gevalle van skielike en onverwagte sterftes is oor die 5-jaar periode verwys na Tygerberg Forensiese Patologie Dienste. Volledige lykskouings is uitgevoer in 74% (601/816) van die gevalle. Die vermoedelike wyse van die sterfte was natuurlik in 79.04% en ‘n toename in die aantal natuurlike gevalle wat lykskouings ondergaan het, is waargeneem oor die 5-jaar studie tydperk. Siektes van die kardiovaskulêre, respiratoriese en sentrale senuweestelsel was verantwoordelik vir die meerderheid natuurlike sterftes. Infektiewe toestande was verantwoordelik vir die meeste sterftes in die jongste ouderdomsgroep (18-29 jaar) wat bestudeer is. Akute alkoholvergiftiging was verantwoordelik vir die sterftes van 35 (6%) gevalle, met ‘n gemiddelde bloed-alkohol-konsentrasie van 0.38g/100mL in hierdie gevalle. Agt sterftes was dwelm-/middelverwant. Die wagtyd vir bloed-alkohol en toksikologie resultate het vermeerder oof die 5-jaar studie tydperk. Die oorsaak van dood was nie gevind in 10.6% van gevalle. Afleidings – Die vraelys en onderhoud-struktuur kan moontlik verbeter word om sodoende beter inligting te verkry voor die uitvoering van ‘n lykskouing, en om die aantal “onnodige” medies-geregtelike nadoodse ondersoeke te verminder, en sodoende die kostedruk te verminder op die Forensiese Patologie Dienste.