Relative Response Training
The Benefits
AVC’s bespoke relative response training will assist you in establishing and preparing a team of key individuals to respond to and communicate effectively with relatives and liaison officers when faced with casualties or fatalities.
The training experience is specifically aimed at individuals within organisations who have been identified as being responsible for delivering the notification of the death of an employee, either along with the regulatory authorities, or individually, on behalf of the company.
Course Overview
This will be followed by a half hour talk from a Police Family Liaison Co-ordinator on recent high profile offshore tragedies, emphasising good and bad practice.
Topics include:
- The Notification Process: Initiating, staging and delivery, special issues & follow up
- Legal Issues in Notification
- Information Gathering: the deceased, family contact and crisis management
- Grief Management: typical responses, bereavement perspectives
Practical Exercises
In the latter part of the day, delegates will be given a scenario, which has been carefully developed to ensure the exercises are as realistic as possible.
Each participant will then take it in turn to carry out a simulated exercise, which will see them deliver news of a fatality to a family. This exercise will be both recorded and observed by the trainer for further feedback and training.
During the final part of the session, delegates will carry out a second simulated exercise, allowing them to practice what they have learned throughout the day.
Meet the Trainers
Alan Smith – Investigation, Crisis and Response Trainer
In September 2008, Alan Smith completed a 30 year career with Grampian Police having attained the rank of Detective Superintendent and Deputy Head of CID for the Force.
During his career he was the identified Force Investigative lead in the event of a Royal Family death when in residence at Deeside, Alan was exposed to contingency planning and exercise of the highest sensitivity.
With the portfolio for Major Crime Operations, he held the strategic lead within the Force for all Homicide Investigations and combating Organised Crime. As one of a small cadre of nationally trained and accredited Senior Investigating Officers (SIOs) in the arenas of both Counter Terrorism and Kidnap and Extortion, Alan has an extensive and diverse depth of experience.
With Grampian Police having the lead for Policing the North Sea Energy Sector, he gained unique experience leading investigations into a number of high profile offshore Critical Incidents and tragedies. He was frequently the senior spokesperson leading major press conferences and liaising with the media.
Since leaving the Police, Alan has been actively involved in the development and delivery of bespoke investigation, relative response and crisis management workshops.
Mhorvan Sherret – Investigation, Crisis and Response Trainer
Mhorvan spent his early career as a serving Police Officer joining Grampian Police in 1976. Within the former Scottish Crime Squad, now Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency, he held management roles in a number of operations throughout the UK. He had additional responsibility for serious crime investigation, staffing, budgeting, technology and liaison with multi disciplined organisations throughout the country.
He also headed the National Covert Policing methods and Surveillance Training Unit within the Crime Management Division at the Scottish Police College.
Mhorvan possesses specific experience in cross functional team building and leadership with exposure to many critical incidents which required deployment within external Crisis Management Teams to ensure damage limitation and business continuity.
In the private sector Mhorvan has worked for a number of organisations in response and crisis management training development and delivery with a particular emphasis on incident investigation kidnap and ransom and counter terrorism. He is an accomplished instructor with an empathetic and understanding style.
