Support Services to Surviving Families of Line-of-duty Death: Law Enforcement Agency Handbook

• NCJ Number: 117594
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): 85-IJ-CX-0012
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Training (Handbook/Manual)

Annotation

This handbook provides policy guidelines and step-by-step instructions for police agencies to use in meeting the emotional and other needs of the surviving families of police officers who die in the line of duty.

Abstract

The guidelines rest on the view that police agencies are responsible for providing liaison assistance to the immediate survivors of police officers who die, to clarify survivor benefits, and to provide tangible and intangible emotional support during the period of readjustment for the surviving family. Individual sections provide definitions, instructions for notification of the family, guidelines for assisting the family at the hospital, and a list of ways to provide support for the family during the wake and the funeral. Further sections explain how to provide information and assistance on benefits and continued followup with the family. Support for the surviving family awaiting the trial of the suspect in the killing and additional issues to consider are also discussed. Appended death benefits booklet from the police department of Mobile, Ala.