Concern for welfare...

Like I said in my last blog, I'm a big wuss when it comes to dealing with "sudden deaths". I don't know why. I mean, a fifteen stone drunk with attitude is much more likely to cause me some harm. I just get the feeling that it's bad karma to be there, getting all involved.

Still, it's part of the job so...

What normally happens is a concerned neighbour, friend or family member phones the Police to report that they haven't seen a particular person for a while, and perhaps they've been round to their house and all the curtains are drawn, there's 18 bottles of milk on the doorstep and no answer at the door.

We then turn up and our main aim is to ensure the welfare of the person concerned. We'll knock on the doors and windows, and try to see through any gaps in the curtains in case we can see the person. We'll speak to the neighbours and check with the local hospitals to make sure the person hasn't been admitted.

However, if all our enquiries draw a blank then we'll force an entry to the property and search it for the person. This normally involves using the "big, red door key" (a heavy piece of metal called an Enforcer and which is used as a battering ram) to force open the door. Sometimes though we'll break a window or someone small (so that'll be me, then) crawls through an already open window.

Once inside, this is probably my worst part of the incident. Imagine walking through a house which is often pitch black expecting to come across a dead body at any moment. You're heart's racing and your imagination's working overtime. Maybe you've left your torch in the car and you're having to feel your way around the walls, praying you don't trip over the body. (I know an absolutely hideous story about this. Another time maybe...)

You're working your way slowly down the hallway and, every time you come to a door, you take the handle in your hand that's starting to get all clammy and slowly open it. You take a deep breath, close your eyes and pop your head around into the room. You un-scrunch your eyes, one at a time for some reason, as if it'll help. And as they begin to focus........it's the kitchen and it's empty. So you carry on down the hallway to the next door and do it all again. Not too bad in a one bedroom flat but some houses have got bloody dozens of rooms! By the end of it I'm normally a gibbering wreck!

Sometimes you know before you enter the property that there's a really, really good chance that the person inside has died. If they've been dead for a little while the smell's quite distinctive so when you open the letter box halfway through shouting out, "Hello, Police" you get a lung full and at that point I tend to start calling in favours from my colleagues.

Eventually, as you open one eye, your gaze falls across the person you're looking for. You can see that they look pretty dead, but you still have to check for vital signs. Maybe they're just really deep sleepers. (Experience has taught me that it's always worth asking paramedics to attend so that they can do this bit). Assuming that they are dead, I'll look for any obvious signs of trauma to the body such as bruising or cuts. If there's a possibility of a suicide then I'll be looking for a suicide note. Even if the death isn't suspicous, there will still be an investigation by the Coroner if the death is unexpected, so I still have to maintain enough composure to gather evidence about their physical and mental state prior to death. I'll gather together any medicines or presciptions and put them to one side.

I'll also look for any details which may assist in finding a next of kin, because they will need to be visited and told the news. The undertakers will attend and take the body to the morgue, and a Police officer will have to follow them down to book them into the mortuary. And then, after the paperwork (obviously) gets completed and faxed off it's done. We move on to the next job, normally after some good natured joking about with any other officers who were there.

Actually, this would seem really insensitive if anyone saw us but it's actually a really important way for us to unwind from what is a really stressful and sometimes emotional incident to deal with. And it's normally the various different shades of yellow and green that I turn that's the butt of the jokes.