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From the March 2008 Issue
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By Douglas Page
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A suicide driver traveling at high speed crosses the center divide
intentionally and rams head-on into an 18-wheeler in the pre-dawn hours of a
Sunday on a rural highway.
All of these events have two things in common. Someone died violently
and unexpectedly, and police officers will most likely be required to make the
death notification to the next-of-kin. About 45,000 people are killed in
automobile accidents in the United States every year, another 32,000 commit
suicide and 17,000 more are victims of homicide.
Emotional drain
When done wrong, notifications leave families with the perception that
police officers are callous, thoughtless and insensitive. A 2001 University of
Florida study found that 41 percent of death notifiers had received neither
classroom nor experiential training in death notification, although 70 percent
had performed at least one notification.
One of the biggest taboos committed in death notification is the use of the
telephone, which is sometimes used to make notification if the victim's family
resides outside the jurisdiction.
"Humanitarian because this is the worst news any family will ever hear,"
says Laurence Miller, a clinical and forensic psychologist in Boca Raton,
Florida. "Practical, because family members who feel they were treated fairly
and sensitively by law enforcement during notification are more likely to be
cooperative in any subsequent investigation or criminal proceedings."
The Texas Municipal Police Association, for instance, reports they do not
have a protocol or training specific to death notifications. "Most departments
develop policies internally," says executive director Chris Heaton.
Policies vary
If the officers are fortunate, the departments that employ them will have
provided adequate death notification training. Training doesn't make
notification any easier, but it might keep officers from making matters worse
for themselves and the families of the victim.
Too few police agencies, however, provide any formal death notification
training. The focus of law enforcement is on solving crime. Not many police
departments have a specific policy regarding notification of next of kin.
"A lot of people in public safety, especially in higher ranking positions, give
death notification lip service, but it really is the redheaded stepchild because
it's the dirty job no one wants to do," Morgan says. Death notification is a
large component of the death investigation course he teaches at North
Georgia College and State University. He also teaches a death notification
class twice a year at the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy of the
Jacksonville University. Morgan's death notification course is one of what he
estimates is fewer than 15 nationwide.
Since so few death notification classes exist, too many officers are forced
to learn death notification practices on the job, usually from older, more
experienced officers who have been through the drill many times.
"It may be better now, but when I was on the street we received little
training on death notification," says Troutdale, Oregon, Chief of Police Dave
Nelson. "Mostly, it was on-the-job training. We'd get the most experienced
deputy we could to go with us and take two deputies and a member of the
clergy to do the notification."
Role of chaplains
Most police departments these days have police chaplains available to help
make notifications. The International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC)
estimates 65 to 70 percent of all departments, including all large urban
agencies, now have chaplains assigned to them.
"There is still some old guard out there who think their guys can suck up
everything, but they're so far behind the curve of what's happening today it
would be funny if it weren't so reckless," says the Rev. Chuck Lorraine,
executive director of the ICPC.
Police chaplains are trained in the proper way to perform death notification
and are emotionally equipped to deal with it. The officers are there in an
official capacity to answer questions.
There are situations, however, where police chaplains are less welcome by
police detectives, particularly after violent crimes.
"Suppose the family says something about the victim planning to visit
someone," Morgan says. "That might not mean anything to the chaplain, but
to the detective the entire case might hinge on that one piece of information
— so it's essential that you try to handle notification within the bubble of
people directly involved in the case."
Trauma intervention
Susan Rutherford, RN, the executive director of the Arizona TIP chapter in
Prescott Valley, says her chapter responded to 314 death-related calls in
2007. "Often, we end up giving notification to other arriving family members
when it is too difficult for the family on the scene," she notes.
"TIP volunteers are trained in crisis intervention and work out of one of the
Portland fire stations," he says. Volunteers receive 55 hours of training, part
of which covers death notification.
Other assets
Douglas Page writes about science, technology and medicine from Pine
Mountain, California. He can be reached at douglaspage@earthlink.net.
Next of kin are due the respect of having the death notification done by an
official, and to be given the news straight, with kindness.
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