Disaster Victim Identification (DVI)

Request Number: FOI/15553

Category: Human Resources - Officer and Staff (Recruitment & Promotion)

Subject: Disaster Victim Identification (DVI)

Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold some of the information to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.

Question 1
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information relating to Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) provision within your force. Where possible, please provide total counts disaggregated by gender where this information is recorded. I generally expect yes/no responses, but any additional context would be gratefully appreciated.

Staffing and Deployment - The number of officers/staff currently trained in DVI within your force (please indicate gender if recorded).

Answer
There are 231 DVI trained Personnel in total. 127 female and 104 male.

Question 2
The number of DVI-trained officers/staff deployed in the last five years, and the categories of incidents they were deployed to (please group as terrorism, transport incidents, industrial accidents.

Answer
In the last 5 years (up to the date of your request) 64 different officers or staff members have deployed to 307 incidents. These are primarily body recovery incidents. Please see table below.

Question 3
Which department or unit within the force is responsible for DVI planning and deployment?

Answer
Joint responsibility lies between Crime Department and Operational Support Department (OSD).

Question 4
The typical length of service an officer/staff member remains active on the DVI roster once trained (e.g., average number of years, or whether there is a set term).

Answer 
This information is not recorded.

Question 5
Whether your force applies any suitability checks or criteria prior to deployment of DVI-trained officers (e.g., health, psychological readiness, or operational availability).

Answer
Yes, checks are applied.