Triggers - agree the appropriate trigger mechanisms and thresholds to initiate a coordinated reassurance response.
First point of contact - usually the police make contact with the local authority’s community safety team.
Communication process - information shared with the Council’s gold duty officer, then assess whether the incident needs to be communicated to the Mayor, Chief Executive, Communications team and wider partners.
Liaison with service leads regarding deployment of resources.
Example process for below gold threshold
The Community Safety Team are notified of an incident by MPS (they may already be aware through CCTV coverage). Information on the incident is then shared with contacts in service areas that have knowledge of who the key stakeholders are in a locality. These stakeholders are those that have reach into the community and are able to disseminate reassurance messages and/or be a point of contact for concerned residents.
Contacts in services need to have a clear understanding of their role and responsibility with regards to this process. A briefing will be provided to service contacts that makes this explicit. Service contacts will then either check in with stakeholders in the locality or share contact details relevant services for them to make contact. It is key here is that the contact in the service area has a good knowledge of the stakeholders in the community relevant to their service area.
The process for incidents which are above GOLD threshold is about strengthening and augmenting the GOLD process so that a greater emphasis is put on community reassurance and a consistent coordinated response. There is no intention to create a parallel/additional process to the police.
This should dovetail with the process for lower level incidents in that the same services and service contacts could be involved, depending on their role in delivering services that respond to serious violent incidents. In terms of coordinating the response this will depend on which services are involved and who is best placed to take a lead responding to the particular incident.
Elements of a reassurance response
An enhanced reassurance response would seek to build upon the above and ensure the following -
This relies on the on the ground knowledge of contacts in service areas. The following is a checklist of potential partners to engage with and cascade messages and information to in an area where an incident takes place.
Who is actually contacted in an area will necessarily depend on the infrastructure present in a locality.
Implementation and next steps
For the below GOLD threshold response key next steps are –
Briefing for key service contacts regarding community reassurance in the light of an incident
It is important to ensure that local communities feel reassured and supported following an incident.
For more serious incidents that trigger a GOLD response this could include coordinating the deployment of resources in a locality. For incidents that fall below the GOLD threshold the main aim could be to ‘check in’ with the community to convey there is recognition that there’s been a concerning incident, that it’s being investigated and that support is available if needed. For more serious incidents a series of messages may be needed to relay updates and any progress in investigations.
Ensuring local stakeholders are in a position to respond to community concerns is extremely important. This could include sharing the following: the nature and seriousness of the incident, the status of the investigation (this may be very minimal and simply be the fact that it’s being investigated), an appeal for information about the incident, details of key contacts and where to go for advice and support or if they have information to share.
Consideration should always be given to the risk of raising alarm unnecessarily and inadvertently causing undue concern.
Media management
It is good practice to consult all stakeholders/agencies involved in the response regarding media issues, to ensure that there is a consistent approach by all the partners and, where appropriate, a single co-ordinated and accurate response.
The media should not be used to negotiate with the family or those directly affected. And the media strategy should be consistent with wider communications being planned.
The police or local council will often prefer to provide the lead in developing responses and media statements. The Community Safety Partnership may provide the link between different stakeholders. Where a quote is sought from either the elected Mayor or cabinet member lead, this is usually co-ordinated via the local authority.
Communications
Communication materials should be jargon free and in plain English; available in accessible formats and provided in alternative language(s) as appropriate. When engaging with local communities, events where individuals can discuss the issues first-hand are invaluable.
The type and tone of language should be tactful. Key messages should have clear objectives. It is important to consider the effectiveness of different types of messages for particular communities.
Using existing trusted community networks and forms of communication to share information are usually very successful.
One of the biggest challenges during and immediately after an incident is managing the flow of information.
In the early stages of the police response to an incident, events are fast moving and assessing the circumstances to provide accurate information takes some time. In the meantime, social media footage may already be circulated and media reporting is sensationalising the event.
These are new challenges we have to deal with. There is work underway to establish relationships with journalists nationally to improve coverage and share more positive stories. There is also work underway to encourage social media platforms to remove harmful content.
Alongside this social media challenge, when a serious violent incident occurs, it can create an environment of fear or one of community anger. Local people may feel shock, anger, hate, disbelief, bitterness, fear, frustration, anxiety etc. This can be experience by both those who were directly affected by an incident, as well as those who may have been in proximity to it.
When responding to an incident, it is important to understand this context and share accurate information as soon as possible, but not to compete with this other ‘noise’. It is particularly important that messages are consistent, so this is when working collaboratively
is extremely valuable. If the police, local authorities, community groups, schools, faith leaders etc are all telling the same story (albeit in their own distinct ways), then it reinforces the correct information. It allows people to pick up information from trusted sources, which vary from person to person. And the consistency and coordination do much to reassure.
Ideally, message development should be led by the community safety partnership, and shared with the wider group for dissemination. However, where the nature of an incident requires an alternative approach, the most important things to ensure are accuracy. and consistency.
Voluntary/community/faith groups are an incredibly important group when responding to a serious incident. These people and groups are often known and trusted. So they have an important role in both sharing information responsibly, and leading on community recovery. They also have relationships into services, where they may be able to access additional support on behalf of their communities. And finally, they often have relationships with families where they can check in with them after other support services may have moved on.
One of the biggest challenges during and immediately after an incident is managing the flow of information.
In the early stages of the police response to an incident, events are fast moving and assessing the circumstances to provide accurate information takes some time. In the meantime, social media footage may already be circulated and media reporting is sensationalising the event.
These are new challenges we have to deal with. There is work underway to establish relationships with journalists nationally to improve coverage and share more positive stories. There is also work underway to encourage social media platforms to remove harmful content.
Alongside this social media challenge, when a serious violent incident occurs, it can create an environment of fear or one of community anger. Local people may feel shock, anger, hate, disbelief, bitterness, fear, frustration, anxiety etc. This can be experience by both those who were directly affected by an incident, as well as those who may have been in proximity to it.
When responding to an incident, it is important to understand this context and share accurate information as soon as possible, but not to compete with this other ‘noise’. It is particularly important that messages are consistent, so this is when working collaboratively
is extremely valuable. If the police, local authorities, community groups, schools, faith leaders etc are all telling the same story (albeit in their own distinct ways), then it reinforces the correct information. It allows people to pick up information from trusted sources, which vary from person to person. And the consistency and coordination do much to reassure.
Ideally, message development should be led by the community safety partnership, and shared with the wider group for dissemination. However, where the nature of an incident requires an alternative approach, the most important things to ensure are accuracy. and consistency.
Voluntary/community/faith groups are an incredibly important group when responding to a serious incident. These people and groups are often known and trusted. So they have an important role in both sharing information responsibly, and leading on community recovery. They also have relationships into services, where they may be able to access additional support on behalf of their communities. And finally, they often have relationships with families where they can check in with them after other support services may have moved on.
Memorials are temporary or permanent reminders, often placed by friends and family of someone who has died. A memorial may consist of flowers, messages, poems, photographs and personal objects. They are usually placed at, or close to, the site of death.
It is important to think about how memorials and tributes are managed. They are important to the friends and family of the person who has died, and often play an important role in their grieving process. Therefore, they should not be cleared away without informing the family. But at the same time, they can increase people’s fear of crime by reminding them of where a death has occurred. They can also pose a health and safety hazard to people moving through the borough.
It is important to establish processes for how tributes and memorials are managed, and how/when they are cleared away. This will likely include moving them to a different location, to allow family/friends to collect memorable items, prior to disposal. This process should be handled sensitively
Islington Memorial Management Policy
Reviewing the Policy
This policy will be a live document and may be updated in line with organisational & legislative or national guidance. Content will be reviewed on an annual basis (see section 6)
1. Background
It has become commonplace for tragic deaths to be marked with the creation of temporary memorials to the deceased in public places. These memorials take a variety of forms including the placing of flowers, photographs, candles, food, drink and other tokens to remember the deceased. It may be in a public place associated with their residence or the location of a crime or accident. In most cases, the deceased’s family will be leading but situations may arise where there is no responsible person or group to relate to such as when celebrities or respected public figures have had an association with the area.
Issues can arise from them including maintenance of the site, management of visitors at the location, longevity and the possibility of a permanent memorial. Different approaches are currently employed across Islington depending on whether the site is located on a public highway or on council land including parks or residential areas such as estates.
2. The aims of this policy:
3. Issues
4. Process:
Lead services will be
Where it is unclear who should lead, the Service Director (Public Protection) will make the decision.
Community Safety will have an overview of all sites and assist services with the management.
5. Permanent memorials
The council will work with families or others if they wish to have a permanent memorial but it is not always possible to agree to it, especially if it is wanted on the highway or on an estate. The preference is to have the memorial in a park or at the cemeteries operated through Islington and Camden Cemeteries Service. The cost needs to be met by the family or others rather than the council.
Options offered by The Parks Service include:
Options offered by The Tree Service include:
Options offered by the cemetery service:
Reactions to grief
These vary, depending on the individual, their resilience and the circumstances involved. What may be considered an irrational reaction by some, may feel perfectly rational to the individual, and it is important that these feelings are respected. Reactions to grief may include: shock, searching, disbelief, anger, hate, bitterness, guilt, fear, ambivalence, isolation, frustration, despair, hopelessness, anxiety, loneliness, acceptance.
Impact of an event on the wider community
A traumatic event can have a significant impact on an entire community Members of a community may suffer similar psychological and/or emotional trauma, because of their proximity to an event, to those who were directly affected. Their sense of safety and feelings of vulnerability may also increase.
Support organisations
The family liaison and coordination of support services (FLACSS) have produced a booklet, Support at a Time of Loss, for those who have suffered sudden or violent bereavement. This booklet provides details of a number of organisations which can offer advice or support to victims. FLACSS do not specifically recommend the organisations named in the booklet. Victims must themselves decide which, if any, they may wish to contact. Google FLACSS for more information.
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
When a child or young person experiences a traumatic incident it can be very upsetting for them and for you.Even though the event is over your child may still be experiencing reactions to it. It is normal for children and young people to be upset after such a happening. It is unlikely that they have experienced such an event before and so their reaction may be challenging for you.
Their reaction may last a few days, a few weeks or longer. Reassurance, understanding and support from you, along with their teachers and their friends can help them to cope.
THINKING
Confused Nightmares/bad dreamsPoor concentration Restless
Not interested in what is going on Spending a lot of time thinking about what happened
Thinking that they cannot cope
FEELINGS
Worried
Guilty
Anxious
Fearful
Easily upset Cross
Panicky Overwhelmed
BEHAVIOURS
Loss of appetite
Being very quiet
Nervous
Being quarrelsome/arguing
PHYSICAL COMPLAINTS
Feeling tired all the time
Unable to rest or settle
Feeling sick/knot in tummy
Cold and shivery
REMEMBER
· These are normal reactions.
· The reactions should lessen in time normally over the next few weeks.
· If you continue to have concerns some more specialist help may be needed. Talk to your doctor about this.
HELPING YOUR CHILD
It is important that you are strong enough to bear whatever your child wants to talk about and to answer their questions.
DO
Take time to listen and answer questions.
Be honest in your explanations and in showing your own sadness or grief.
Let them know their feelings are important.
Give plenty of reassurance and affection. Let them know you love them and will be there for them.
Keep to routines and patterns asmuch as possible.
Be aware that changes such as clinging or aggressive behaviour or physical problems may be an expression of grief.
Take things one day at a time.
DO NOT
Try to hide your own sadness or grief but try not to overwhelm them with such.
Tell your child not to worry or be sad. They cannot control their feelings.
Feel like you have to have all the answers or get it right all the time.
Be surprised at your child’s ability to set grief aside and alternate between sadness and happiness. Time with friends and playmates enables them to release anxiety about incidents over which they have no control.