The Forensic Entomology Report – structure and table of content.

While there are several guidelines and best practice manuals which describe generally consistent protocols for the sampling and storage of entomological evidence in forensic investigations, there is a surprising diversity in the ways of writing an entomological report, with no accepted guidelines for presenting the evidence to the legal authorities. We believe that a common international template for writing a forensic entomology report will promote the acceptance of forensic entomology at court and also support the forensic entomology community in developing a recognized accreditation process. While there might be a broad variation in the legal details of a report depending on the requirements of the local judicial system and the reporting institution itself, there should be a standardized general format for writing a report. After a short description of the background and your knowledge about the case, a clear statement regarding the enquiry (what you have been asked to do and by whom) will follow. Describing the methodology of sample collection and the quantity/state/quality of samples will close this introduction. Pictures of the studied material can be also provided as attachment or as a part of the text. This will be followed by the identification and measurement of insect specimens, mentioning the methods used, e.g. which identification keys and reference collections. The method of estimation of scene temperatures for the period before recovery of the body should be described and justified in detail. If there is no estimation you need to explain why not and what the accuracy limits of your method are, e.g. if you have not used a logger at the scene but just taken data from a nearby meteorological station. This temperature analysis leads to the estimation of the age of the insect evidence, based on your identifications and measurements and relating these to scene environment (mainly temperature). In a general discussion you should highlight again the fact that the age of the insects is a minimum PMI and discuss what the actual PMI might be based on your knowledge of the case and the likely time taken for the species with the oldest specimens to locate the body. To conclude you should summarise all that came before in a bullet point style, so that those who read the report can find everything they need to know with respect to your conclusions and, in brief, what they were based on just by reading this section. Finally, list the publications you referred to, any figures or tables and a statement declaring what other laboratory notes, images and analyses exist that are not included in the report and their availability for inspection if required. Add appendices in which you can provide background information, including a glossary of forensic entomology, so that non-specialists can read a definition of unfamiliar words and a summary of the forensic entomology technique(s) used. However, this kind of introduction into Forensic Entomology might be already a part of the introduction of the report. At the end explain the education and experience that qualify you to be an Expert Witness in forensic entomology.