tion, whether he shows well-marked emotional reactions, and many other points now too often ignored in the prosecution of unscientific investigations.

Recommendations

1. Three additional police surgeons should be appointed to serve as assistants to the police surgeon.

2. These surgeons should be employed on full time.

3. They should include in their duties medical and surgical attention to the suspects and prisoners lodged in the police jail.

4. One of the assistant police surgeons should be an expert in psychiatry, and should be known as the mental health officer.

5. The mental health officer of the police department should serve full time.

6. The mental health officer should devote his time to the mental problems in connection with the police force and the police work.

7. The mental health officer should make a mental and personality examination of every candidate for appointment to the police force and should record his findings.

8. Reëxaminations of every member of the police force should be made by the surgeon and mental health officer once every year.

9. The mental health officer should be present whenever possible at all special examinations of prisoners and suspects, especially in the case of examinations conducted with the purpose of obtaining so-called "confessions."

CRIME DETECTION BY THE CORONER'S OFFICE

"The office of coroner has long been a subject of comment and unfavorable criticism in this country. Physicians and medical societies have made frequent efforts to secure a more efficient administration of the duties devolving upon this office. Laws have been enacted establishing other offices as well as State boards and commissions which have gradually taken away many of the duties formerly belonging to the coroner. The importance of the office has so decreased that little attention is given by the political parties or by the voters to the candidates who seek election to the position. And even less attention is given by the public to the actual administration of the office by the men elected."

Thus begins the report of the investigation made by the Coroner's Committee of the Municipal Association of Cleveland in 1912, and in the nine years which have passed since the publication of this report practically nothing has been done to correct conditions or to apply any of the recommendations made at that time. With minor changes the report is valid today.

The office of coroner in Ohio is governed entirely by statute. The Ohio constitution of 1802 provided that one coroner should be elected in each county; but no provision for this office is contained in the present constitution. Under statute one coroner is elected in each county in the even-numbered years, who holds office for two years from the first Monday of the January following his election. The statutes make no provision for deputy coroners or other assistants, although reference is made to "the official assistant of the coroner," for whom, however, no appropriation is made. Because of the advantage of medical knowledge in this work it has been the custom to nominate physicians for the office of

coroner.

The coroner's chief duty is to determine in cases of sudden or unexplained death the causes of death and whether it resulted from unlawful means, and, in the latter case, to fix responsibility for the crime and name the perpetrator. It is obvious, therefore, that a consideration of the office of coroner is well within the scope of a survey of the administration of justice.

Upon the proper execution of the coroner's duties depends, in no small measure, the strict enforcement of the law in homicide cases. A lax performance of these duties, whether due to carelessness, intentional neglect, or merely to ignorance, gravely affects the community. Public safety, especially in large and congested centers of population, requires now, as perhaps never before, that the inquiry into the cause of death shall be conducted according to the best modern theories and with the most expert knowledge and skill. It is easy to simulate an accident or suicide and therefore the definite determination that violence has been used may be well-nigh impossible unless the utmost skill and scrupulous scientific accuracy are brought to bear. It is clearly unsafe to trust such work to any but a highly competent pathologist and medico-legal expert.

The coroner's duties are given in the following excerpt from The Coroner's Office, Efficiency Series, Report No. 2, issued by the Municipal Association of Cleveland in December, 1912:

Inquests

The main duty of the coroner is holding inquests. Sections 2856 and 2857 of the General Code provide for the holding of inquests and set forth the method of procedure as follows:

"Section 2856. When informed that the body of a person whose death is supposed to have been caused by violence has been found within the county, the coroner shall appear forthwith at the place where the body is, issue subpoenas for such witnesses as he deems necessary, administer to them the usual oath, and proceed to inquire how the deceased came to his death-whether by violence

from any other person or persons, by whom, whether as principals or accessories before or after the fact, and all circumstances relating thereto. The testimony of such witnesses shall be reduced to writing, by them respectively subscribed, except when stenographically reported by the official stenographer of the coroner, and with the finding and recognizances hereinafter mentioned, if any, returned by the coroner to the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of the county. If he deems it necessary, he shall cause such witnesses to enter into recognizances, in such sum as may be proper, for their appearance at the succeeding term of the Court of Common Pleas of the county to give testimony concerning the matter. The coroner may require any and all such witnesses to give security for their attendance, and if they or any of them neglect to comply with his requirements, he shall commit such person to the prison of the county, until discharged by due course of law.

"Section 2857. The coroner shall draw up and subscribe his finding of facts in writing. If he finds that the deceased came to his or her death by force or violence, and by any other person or persons, so charged, and there present, he shall arrest such person or persons, and convey him or them immediately before a proper officer for examination according to law. If such persons, or any of them, are not present, the coroner forthwith shall inform one or more justices of the peace, and the prosecuting attorney, if within the county, of the facts so found, in order that the persons may be immediately dealt with according to law."

The terms used in Section 2856 have been construed by the Ohio Supreme Court (62 O.S. 307) as follows:

"A death 'caused by violence' is a death caused by unlawful means, such as usually call for the punishment of those who employ them. A body 'is found' within the county when it is ascertained by any means that it is within the county."

"Death is supposed to have been caused by violence,' whenever from such observation as he may be able to make, and from such information as may come to him, the coroner is, for reasons of substance, led to surmise or think that death has been so caused."

As thus interpreted by the Supreme Court, the statute, in referring to "death by violence," means intentional killing as distinguished from mere negligence. No criminal negligence act has thus far been passed in Ohio, and the terms of the present statute are certainly not intended to confer general jurisdiction upon the coroner in cases of accidental deaths by railroads, street cars, in manufacturing plants and the like, except in cases where death is supposed to have been caused by "unlawful violence" and not mere negligence.

However, there is one exception to the general rule, namely, that Secs. 926-7 seem to require the coroner to hold inquests in all reported cases of fatalities occurring by explosion or accident connected with a mine, regardless of the question of criminality. Moreover, the statutes now provide (Secs. 212-3) that in cases of death occurring without medical attendance it shall be the duty of

the undertaker to notify the registrar of vital statistics of such death and, if such death appears to the registrar to have been caused by unlawful or suspicious means, he shall refer the case to the coroner for inquest.

The statutes further provide (Secs. 6268-9), in cases where the death of an inmate of a licensed maternity boarding-house or lying-in hospital is reported to the board of health, that such board of health shall forthwith call upon the coroner to hold an inquest unless the certificate of a legally qualified physician is exhibited specifying the cause of death.

The practical effect of Sec. 2856, giving the coroner jurisdiction to act in cases where "death is supposed to have been caused by violence" is to make it discretionary with the coroner in what cases he shall act; and renders it practically outside the power of the courts to regulate the actions of the coroner in this regard. The language of this section is so broad that the extent of the coroner's authority is left almost wholly to his discretion and good faith; and any criticism of his having assumed jurisdiction unnecessarily could be met with the general rule that a public officer's acts are presumed to be according to law and in good faith. In brief, the coroner is his own guide as to the number of inquests he will hold.

Autopsies

The statutes provide (Sec. 2495) that "The county commissioners may allow a physician or surgeon, making a postmortem examination at the instance of the coroner or other officer, such compensation as they deem proper." Although the coroner may determine in what cases autopsies shall be performed, and who shall perform them, the commissioners thus have entire discretion as to compensation, and in practice their wishes largely control as to the kinds of cases in which autopsies shall be made. Autopsy fees and the relative number of autopsies performed vary greatly, therefore, in different counties.

Formerly in Cuyahoga County the coroner distributed the autopsies among favored physicians or hospital internes. Under the present administration the coroner has assigned this work to his "deputy," Dr. Droege, and under an agreement between the county commissioners and Dr. Droege he performs all autopsies at a uniform charge of $15 and confines his examinations to cases of supposed homicidal death.

Further Duties

Where the coroner attends upon the body of a deceased person it is his duty (Sec. 2860) to notify friends or relatives of the deceased if known, or if not known, to advertise the fact of death in a newspaper.

He is required (Secs. 2859 and 2861) to make an inventory of all articles of property found on or about the body, and to return the inventory (Secs. 2861-3) and the articles described therein to the Probate Court, where such property other than money becomes subject to the order of the Probate Court, for its preservation or other disposition, the rights of administrators and executors (Sec. 2684) being fully recognized. The statute directs that such property (Sec. 2863) as is unidentified or unclaimed shall be advertised and sold at public sale

annually by the Probate Court and the proceeds paid into the county treasury. However, money found shall be applied first (Sec. 2862) to paying the expenses of saving the body, and of the inquest and burial, and the remainder shall be paid into the county treasury, where, on proper proof being offered, such money as well as the proceeds of property sold shall be paid over to the claimant entitled to it.

Anomalous Duties of Ohio Coroners

In addition to the duties which it would seem properly belong to the office of coroner, he is by statute in Ohio made a process server, both for the Common Pleas Court (Sec. 2835), where the sheriff is an interested party, and for the Probate Court (Secs. 1596 and 1599), generally, and in certain cases (Sec. 11435) he may further be called on for summoning a jury. Moreover, he is given the additional duties (Sec. 13606) of endeavoring to arrest convicts escaping from the penitentiary, and (Sec. 9914) of apprehending persons selling liquor contrary to law within two miles of the place where an agricultural fair is being held.

In all these latter cases he is assigned duties—although his services in such instances are extremely rare-which are already enjoined upon other officers by law, or for the performance of which the courts are given the power to make special appointments in case of need. These special duties are clearly a survival of the days when deputy sheriffs were a rarity and when the office of coroner was not regularly filled by a practising physician.

Compensation

The coroner's office is the only office still maintained on a fee basis. His remuneration for his services is dependent entirely upon fees earned, the amounts of which are scheduled (Sec. 2866) as follows:

(a) For viewing a dead body, three dollars.

(b) For all necessary writings and the return thereof, 10 cents per 100 words.

(c) For traveling to the place of view, 10 cents per mile.

No special fee is provided for the hearing of testimony in connection with inquests, and the coroner's compensation in such cases, other than the fee for viewing the body, is dependent on the allowances for necessary writings connected with making up the records from the testimony and the other incidents of the case. The statutes do not contemplate the making of autopsies by the coroner in person and no fee is specified for this work.

The staff of the coroner is appointed by the county commissioners, the tenure of office being subject to their pleasure. The staff is under the jurisdiction of the coroner, although he has no authority to discharge individuals. There is little interest in the election of the coroner, the name of the nominee appearing usually at the end of the ballot.

The coroner receives no specified salary, his compensation being dependent on the collection of fees, the only county office still thus main