Input to important and tough training
/In Autumn 2021, for the first time, SBS Cumbria entered into a collaboration with Cumbria Constabulary and its new recruit training programme. Our Carlisle facilitator, Sharon Tweedie explains the background and how this has worked out in the past year.
“We know from feedback from our meeting attendees and members that the Police and emergency services have a crucial role to perform when dealing with families bereaved by suicide. This difficult role often involves not only attending the scene where the death occurred but also then having to contact the family to inform them of the death and subsequently dealing with the aftermath and all its complexities. The discussion with group attendees and members brought to light the vast range of their experiences with the Police, both positive and negative.
“The feedback reinforced the idea with the SBS Trustees that some sort of joint working was an idea worth exploring and a series of meetings was held in Autumn 2021 between Cumbria Constabulary’s training department and three people from SBS Cumbria: our Chair, John Brown, Catherine Tate and myself. As an ex-Police Officer, I felt that I could offer guidance from both the perspective of the Officer who has to attend the scene and communicate with the family and also the perspective of the family member receiving the message and information about the death of their loved one. Catherine's wish to be involved in the project stemmed from her experiences with the Police service following the death of her son, Matthew.
“The series of meetings led to an invitation for us to attend recruit training days at Carleton Hall near Penrith. To date, we have attended on five occasions, with more scheduled in autumn and winter 2022 following the summer break. Each day of training involves a new cohort of recruits, usually midway through their training course. The recruits are presented with a series of 'live' incidents to deal with: a road traffic collision, driver under the influence of drink or drugs, defective vehicle etc., culminating in the officers having to take details of a fatal road traffic accident then attending to deliver the message to the deceased's partner. The role of the partner is acted by a member of the training department and their reaction varies with each pair of officers, from silence, to disbelief, to anger, to indifference. The aim is to mirror the reactions that officers will experience in a real-life situation. Cath and I observe each pair and then offer their advice and guidance as to what they did well, what they could consider going forward and what to avoid.
Cumbria Police image showing social media accounts
“Volunteer involvement of this type is unprecedented both for SBS and Cumbria Constabulary but the feedback has been very positive. Cath, John and I are invited to the debriefing session at the end of each training day. The over-riding reaction is that, although the recruits are anxious and find the scenario stressful and challenging, they are wholly appreciative of the fact that it is a role play situation and they have the opportunity to listen and learn and, hopefully, retain the advice and guidance imparted to them. They understand that this will benefit the families that they will come into contact with.
“This appreciation is evidenced by an email from a recruit who, shortly after completing her training, had put it into practice and delivered the message to a family that their relative had died. Although a challenge for the officer, she wanted to let us know that the training and feedback received had been hugely beneficial and that she had incorporated much of what she had learned into how she had communicated with the family involved.
“In addition to the training days, Cath and I have both recorded interviews, led by Inspector Rob Ewin from the training department. The interviews allowed us both the opportunity to talk in greater depth about our loss and our experiences with the police and other emergency services. It is envisaged the videos will be used as an additional training tool, not only for new recruits, but also for CID officers and those who perform a family liaison role.”
NOTE: Since Sharon, Cath and John have been involved in Police recruit training, other agencies and organisations have noticed a positive improvement. This piece of feedback has been really reassuring about this work:
“A number of the people that I am supporting following bereavement through suicide have commented on the compassionate, caring and kind way in which the devastating message of the death of a loved one has been conveyed to them by the Police Officer that attends their home. I can only assume that much of this knowledge and compassion has been learnt through the training that SBS has provided for the Police and that the effort SBS puts in is really making a difference to families in our communities following a death by suicide. Thank you.”
