From the 19th – 22nd August 2024, three members of the Royal Montserrat Defence Force (RMDF) participated in a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) – Recovery and Identification Course. This course was coordinated by the International Police Association Service (IPAS) and the Royal Montserrat Police Service with the training being facilitated by lecturers from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit and the National Police Co-ordination Centre in the United Kingdom.
Lieutenant Darion Darroux, Sergeant Melvin Lindsey and Lance Corporal Darius Lewis joined members from the Royal Montserrat Police Service (RMPS), Montserrat Fire and Rescue Service (MRFS) and the Montserrat Red Cross in learning the process of safely, accurately and respectfully recovering and identifying the victims of mass casualty events which aids families in their healing process.
Participants were trained in four major phases i.e. Scene/Recovery, Post-mortem data collection, Ante-mortem data collection and the Reconciliation of those data to identify victims. Each of these phases were underpinned by the guiding philosophy of DVI drawn from the principles laid out by Lord Justice Clarke to be followed throughout the identification process after a major event:
The provision of honest and as far as possible accurate information at all times, at every stage
Respect for the deceased and the bereaved
A sympathetic and caring approach throughout
The avoidance of mistaken identity
This training would increase the capacity on Montserrat to effectively deal with this situation if becomes necessary. Similarly, being members of the Caribbean region, Montserrat would have trained personnel that may be called upon to assist and be part of the Montserrat’s contribution to aiding their Caribbean brethren if they are ever adversely impacted.
L/Cpl Lewis shared “The course definitely provided the essential knowledge and understanding needed for assisting in the aftermath of disasters.”
Sgt Lindsey mentioned that “It was a well thought out and compiled course. The trainers were experts in their relative field which provided a vast pool of knowledge to draw from. Overall the course was welcomed by all participants included.”
Lieutenant Darroux in reflecting on the course stated that “I’m happy to have gone through this course. We are in the business of helping people and with a skill set such as this, it ensures that we are doing our best to do right by everyone involved; the deceased, the grieving, the public. That’s what’s most important.”
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Alvin Ryan stated that “This training is an essential one that no one wants to thinks about as it mean that we would have lost a number of our citizens suddenly and tragically. However, having persons trained in this area would allow the families and the community on a whole to cope and get through this situation a bit better than if the training was not done.”
