Family Liaison Flashcards
Role of FLO
Day to day management between the family of the deceased and the Police investigation. This is a primarily investigative but they must also offer, facilitate and coordinate support that addresses the needs of the family.
Family liaison plan
- Governs the involvement and specific task to be allocated to FLO during investigation
- Developed whilst considering needs of the family, lines of enquiry and all available intelligence
- should include information to be released to/held from the family, assessing appropriate methods to conduct interviews, complaints made by the family and plans to resolve, liaison with VS and other services
FLO exit plans
- Developed before FLO is deployed and communicated with family
- Ensure VS services are ongoing before being stood down
- Any further contacts to be reported to OC investigation
Continual review of appointment of FLO includes assessing
- Suitability of officer for retention in the role
- Whether additional FLO’s should be appointed
- The needs and wishes of the family
Suspect within the family
Requires care and ongoing risk assessment related to deploying FLO
Considerations:
- FLO’s welfare and safety
- Level of information disclosed to FLO and in turn, the family
- The process by which any intelligence that arises from the family will be managed
- The deployment of a deputy FLO for corroborative purposes
FLO ation on appointment
- Liasie with OC investigation regarding parameters of information to be shared with and/or held back from the family.
- Familiarise themselves with the enquiry
- Familiarise themselves with i formation concerning the family e.g including composition/dynamics, cultural considerations, religious beliefs, previous police involvement
- Establish contact already made
- Establish what information has been given to the family
- Establish what information has already been released to the public
Assessment of interview requirements for family members/friends
- Whether they require special consideration
- The availability of the witness
- Any particular needs for assistance
- the optimum approach
Record keeping
A dedicated notebook should be commenced, detailing all contact with the family, intermediaries and other parties connected to the family. This should be regularly reviewed by the OC investigation.
Early stage steps to be taken
- Provide immediate appropriate information concerning the death and explain next steps for the body i.e PM
- Provide coronial booklet “when someone dies” explaining right to object to PM
- Establish any immediate evidence, information or rumours from the family
- Act on any concerns for safety or threats/intimidation received by family
- Facilitate initial practical support for family e.g transport
- Arrange temporary housing where necessary
- Where appropriate arrange meeting with crown solicitor
The family should always be notified of
- Programmes, remedies, or services available to them as victims in their own right
- Progress of the investigation
- Their role as witnesses
Where an offender is arrested, the FLO and OC investigation must:
-Inform the family of their right to register on the VNR and prove POL1065
- Ascertain views on bail and communicate these to Court through opp to bail or prosecution report
- Inform of the charges laid and why, date and place of each court appearance, any release on bail, any name suppression applications (obtain views) and details of bail conditions if granted
Sources of information for victim profiling
People:
- friends , colleagues, patterns, associates, online/social media contacts, hobbies and habits, travel movements, customers or suppliers, religious leaders
Passive data:
- NIA
- Medical history
- Mental health records
- HSMU
- Telephone records
- Internet usage
- vehicle details
- Financial material
- Personal documents
- Passport and immigration data
Issues to be considered when FLO returning prop/exhibits to family
- What property does the family want
- How do they want the property returned I.e cleaned
- Are there likely to be delays
- Inspect and remove all court/exhibit tags are removed
Actions to be taken in regards to media
- Prepare family for anticipated level of media interest and provide a copy of “media information letter to family of deceased.
- Establish views on media appeals
- Request family to nominate a spokesperson
- Consult family before release of personal details
- Provide copies of media releases before distribution of possible
- Inform family of significant developments before releasing such information to the media.
- Request approval to release appropriate photograph of the deceased where practical to front foot release of any other photograph obtained by media.
