Coroner Works To Raise Quality

OFFICE RECEIVED ACCREDITATION

— Daniel Oxford's goal as Benton County coroner was to rebuild public confidence in the office and establish a relationship of trust with the county's law enforcement agencies after taking office in the wake of the Kimberly Scott scandal.

Oxford said he began to organize and operate the coroner's office on a professional basis, seeking training for himself and his deputies and establishing written policies and practices that mirrored the best models available.

"I was elected in 2008 and took office in 2009," Oxford said. "After the Kimberly Scott issue, I wanted to be able to improve the image of the coroner's office. I wanted to have something the deputies and the people of Benton County could be proud of."

Scott resigned as coroner in July 2007. She was arrested in 2006 and charged with taking drugs from death scenes. She resigned as part of a plea agreement just before she was to be tried on two felony and two misdemeanor charges in connection with the missing drugs. Wesley Lewis was then named interim coroner.

Oxford was chief deputy coroner at the time and ran for office himself in 2008. After his election, he said he set to work repairing the relationship between the coroner's office and law enforcement.

AT A GLANCE

Accreditation Process

The Benton County Coroner’s Office was judged on 130 different standards as a prerequisite to being accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

Source: Staff Report

"I wanted law enforcement to be able to trust us, and I wanted to have credibility in the judicial system if we ever had to testify in court," he said Monday.

Oxford sought, and recently received, a certificate of accreditation from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners as part of his ongoing effort to raise the level of professionalism in his office.

He said the association has a checklist of 130 standards that include administrative, forensic, investigative and facility reviews. To retain that accreditation, Oxford said, his office has to continue regular training for the coroner and deputies, conduct an annual internal audit and submit to an external audit every five years.

Capt. Mike Sydoriak with the Benton County Sheriff's Office said he's pleased Oxford is working to establish a professionally-run coroner's office.

"We've had all kinds of coroners in Benton County," Sydoriak said. "It's good that he's getting training like that. It can only help; it can't hinder."

Sydoriak said that because the coroner pronounces a person dead, investigators need a professional working relationship with the office so they can do their jobs unhindered and allow the coroner or his deputies to do theirs. He said a well-trained coroner or deputy might bring added insight to a crime scene.

"When I started, two of the first coroners we had worked for funeral homes," Sydoriak said. "They had no training at all. He's brought the department along quite well."

Benton County Judge Dave Bisbee said he's pleased to see the coroner's office working well.

"I think he's done a great job," Bisbee said. "The coroner's office has not been in the newspapers, there's been no controversy. Clearly, he's doing a great job to upgrade that office. When you've got a county of a quarter of a million people, that's no small job."

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