Identification processes in mass disasters and catastrophes

The identification of victims in cases of mass disasters is still a great challenge for all concerned. On the one hand an adaptive strategy is necessary for the identification workflow depending on the type of catastrophe and on the other hand high public pressure demands a fast identification process of missing relatives. The international cooperation after the Tsunami in 2004 showed under what conditions successful victim identification can be carried out. This led among other things to intensification of international cooperation at various levels, which is necessary in order to attain basic standards for identification for all participating countries. The identification commission (IDKO) of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) has actively participated in this international cooperation in recent years with support from forensic pathology, forensic odontostomatology and forensic molecular genetics. In this article the established standards and training options in the German victim identification process will be reported.