16 April 2007

First students test disaster victim identification course at Dundee

(Press call 1.30 pm, Wellcome Trust Building, University of Dundee, to coincide with visit of Alex Salmond)

Fifteen of the UK’s most experienced `disaster response’ police officers - who have dealt with the aftermath of such tragedies as the London bombings, the Thailand tsunami and the Hatfield and Selby train crashes - become the first students on a new course at the University of Dundee today (Monday April 16th).

It was announced in January that the Unit of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee had been awarded a substantial contract to train police officers from all over the UK to form part of the new UK Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response capability.

UK DVI is a joint initiative between the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK government and the contract is the first of its kind in the UK.

Officers trained under the initiative will learn practical techniques in human identification and be deployed to help identify victims of mass fatalities anywhere in the world.

The first cohort of students to take the course are all experienced in dealing with the aftermath of disasters, as course leader Professor Sue Black explained.

"These are fifteen of the most experienced police officers in the UK in terms of dealing with disaster response with years and years of experience working all over the world at major incidents," said Professor Black, head of the Unit of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology.

"They will be our `test’ group and will offer a rigorous examination of the course at every stage to ensure that what we are offering is fit-for-purpose."

The training will lead to recognised academic awards of either post-graduate certificates or diplomas in Disaster Victim Identification, with such qualifications - the first of their kind in the UK - being awarded jointly by both the University of Dundee and the National Policing Improvement Agency.

The next cohort of students will join the course in June.

Officers will learn practical techniques in human identification and employ these skills when the UK DVI team is deployed to mass fatalities either within the UK or overseas following the death of British nationals. Recent incidents including the Bali bombings, the Asian Tsunami, the Sharm-el-Sheikh bombing and the Bahrain boat disaster are all examples of situations where these officers might use the skills they will acquire in Dundee.

The contract was awarded to a team led by Professor Black. Professor Black and her team have extensive experience in DVI following deployments to incidents all over the world, including Kosovo, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Thailand.

Each police force in the UK will identify officers who will be trained in a wide range of highly skilled tasks. Once selected, they will have three months to complete a rigorous theoretical awareness course which will be conducted fully within the virtual learning environment at Dundee.

Successful completion of this phase allows progression to the practical stages of training that will occur in two parts. The first is a body recovery course run by NPIA that will instruct officers on how to document and retrieve human remains at a disaster site.

In the second practical stage, cohorts of up to 45 officers at a time will attend a demanding week-long residential course in Dundee where they will not only be trained in a variety of disciplines appropriate to working in a temporary mortuary but also in awareness of issues pertaining to forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, forensic radiography, mortuary management and tissue sampling. Expert teachers in each of these fields will be provided through the Centre for International Forensic Assistance (CIFA), which is the designated provider of non-police forensic, medical, scientific and technical personnel for the UK DVI team.

Professor Sue Black, head of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee says, "This is a marvellous opportunity to play a significant part in training our national DVI team to work in situations that demand the highest levels of professionalism, stamina and commitment."

For media enquiries contact:

Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk