Family Contact Protocol
Starting with 2019 cases, homicides that have not been Cleared By
Arrest or Exceptionally Cleared (i.e., unsolved murders), are to have
at least 4 documented family contacts each year for the first two
years the case remains unsolved, followed by one contact per year
every year thereafter, near the anniversary date. The only contact
that the assigned detective is required to make is the initial contact
– subsequent contacts may be made by the assigned detective, the
Homicide Branch Secretary, or the Chief’s Office Administrative
Assistant.
There will be dual documentation of these contacts. The assigned
detective will keep such documentation in the electronic case
management notes. The civilians will keep the documentation in an
electronic spreadsheet that they both have access to edit. The
assigned detective will notify one of the civilians about any contact,
and the civilians will notify the assigned detective about any
contact so that both tracking mechanisms have the same info. This
documentation is to memorialize the fact that contacts were made.
The information to be captured in the documentation of these
contacts, at minimum, will be date and time contact was made, who
made the contact, who was contacted, phone number or address of
the contact, and a brief description of the content of the contact.
The purpose of the contact is to assure the family that IMPD has not
forgotten about the case. There may well be no new information
that can be shared with family, and family should be encouraged to
ask questions and/or provide any new information via this contact.
Case-sensitive information is to remain case-sensitive – there is no
obligation to reveal such information to family. An effort should,
however, be made to educate family in a general way as to why
certain information cannot be shared if they are asking about casesensitive material.
The family contact should only be one person, agreed to by the
detective and the family, from whom all other family members
receive case updates. There are times, however, when family
dynamics - such as a bitter divorce - prevent one side of the family
from receiving information from the other. It is, therefore,
acceptable to update two people, each of whom can update their
respective sides, but that should be handled on a case-by-case
basis. The side representing the legal next-of-kin must NEVER be
excluded.