Kiersten Reif

Kiersten Reif graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a degree in Psychology and minor in Spanish. She began her career in law enforcement in 2013 with the Highland Park Police Department where she worked as a patrol officer and earned a spot on the Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County (MCAT). She earned the Rookie of the Year Award on MCAT and attended advanced courses at Northwestern for Crash Investigation. While considering a career in the medical field, Kiersten attended pre-medical courses and worked at Highland Park Hospital while still maintaining her work as a patrol officer for the Riverwoods Police Department and MCAT crash investigator with the Bannockburn Police Department. Combining her passion for both the medical and law enforcement fields, Kiersten accepted the opportunity to become a Death Investigator with the Lake County Coroner’s Office where she led and assisted with hundreds of death investigations. She quickly earned a certification through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) and started instructing on various topics related to death investigations.

An addition to Kiersten’s family prompted a transition back to police work and she rejoined the Bannockburn Police Department as a patrol officer. Utilizing her years of experience in law enforcement, Kiersten was accepted onto the elite Lake County Major Crime Task Force where she currently serves as an Evidence Technician. She has instructed for local police departments, the Illinois Training and Standards Board, and the Homeland Security Training Institute. Additionally, Kiersten has spoken at multiple conferences including the Women in Criminal Justice Conference and Illinois Division of the International Association for Identification Conference (IDIAI). She is a member of her region’s Child Death Review Team, Sexual Assault Response Team, and the IDIAI.

Kiersten strives to enhance officers’ knowledge and confidence in crime scene processing and death investigations while continuing to learn and grow with the law enforcement field in the years to come.