Hours of Operation
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday

Program Description
The office of the Coroner came under the authority of the Sheriff in 1989. As such, Sheriff Gregory J. Ahern is the Coroner serving the needs of the entire county. The Sheriff's Office utilizes specially trained Deputy Sheriff's as Coroners Investigators who along with a team of Forensic Pathologists are mandated with determining the cause and manner of death in those deaths falling under the jurisdiction of the Coroner. Under Government Code 27491, all deaths within Alameda County meeting the following criteria fall under the jurisdiction of the Coroner:

• All violent, sudden or unusual deaths
• Unattended deaths; deaths where the deceased has not been attended by either a physician or a registered nurse, who is a member of a hospice care interdisciplinary team, as defined by subdivision (e) of Section 1746 of the Health and Safety Code in the 20 days before death
• Deaths related to or following:
  • Drowning
  • Fire
  • Hanging
  • Gunshot
  • Stabbing
  • Cutting
  • Exposure
  • Starvation
  • Acute alcoholism
  • Drug addiction
  • Strangulation
  • Aspiration
• Known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion
• Known or suspected homicide
• Suicide or accidental poisoning
• Deaths known or suspected as resulting in whole or in part from or related to accident or injury, either old or recent
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Deaths in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means
• Deaths associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against nature
• Deaths in the custody of law enforcement, in prison or while under sentence;
• Deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease and constituting a public hazard
• Deaths from occupational diseases or occupational hazards
• Deaths of patients in state mental hospitals serving the mentally disabled and operated by the State Department of Mental Health
• Deaths of patients in state hospitals serving the developmentally disabled and operated by the State Department of Developmental Services
• Deaths under such circumstances as to afford a reasonable ground to suspect that the Death was caused by the criminal act of another
• And any deaths reported by physicians or other persons having knowledge of death for inquiry by coroner.

Specially trained forensic investigators are on duty 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, to respond to the needs of public safety organizations, hospitals and/or private citizens in handling and investigating deaths falling under the jurisdiction of the Coroner.

Mission Statement
The mission of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Bureau is to serve and protect the interests of the community by determining the cause, circumstances and manner of sudden or unexplained deaths, and by identifying deceased persons and notifying their next of kin, regardless of where they may live in the world, while ensuring the deceased and their property are treated with the utmost respect and dignity. We accomplish our mission through the use of peace officer investigators, forensically trained pathologists and consultants, and other scientific methods of inquiry. We serve as an independent finder of fact in our search for the truth. The Coroner's investigation and conclusions strive to provide a balance to the scales of justice and seek resolution to medical mysteries.