DESCRIBED as one of the toughest jobs in the police force, the role of the family liaison officer is also vital.

When someone dies, either in an accident or at the hands of a killer, Essex Police sends one of its specially-trained officers to be with the family.

On the surface, their role is simply to act as a go-between for the investigating officers and grieving relatives. Yet, in reality, the job involves far more diplomacy, experience and mental stamina.

Detective Constable Angela Hastings, who is based with the Stanway major investigation team, was one of the first officers to attend the national family liaison training course, almost a decade ago.

Before the introduction of the course, the role of the liaison officer existed in principle, but there was no title, official duties or training. As the police force changed to become more accessible to the public over the years, the role became more important.

Det Con Hastings said: “The family liaison officer role is basically a conduit between the senior investigating officer and the family.”

“You are the single point of contact for the family on any inquiry into the death of a loved one.

“The senior investigating officer will brief the liaison officer, but nine times out of ten, for an experienced officer, it’s the same sort of strategy and lines of inquiry.

“They need to obtain a family tree and photographs of the deceased, and get a single point of contact, so you don’t have ten members of the family calling with the same questions.”

The role extends far beyond that of a middleman. Det Con Hastings said: “The family liaison officer is an investigator first and foremost.

“Depending on the type of investigation, the role of the family is very important. With a domestic murder, the family has an insight into whether there has been any disputes or issues.

“If it’s outside of the family, then we need them to describe the person. You can then describe the victim so the jury can hear what they are like. It’s very hard if you just have a name to make them seem real. The person gets humanised within the trial if you can talk about them being a father or a charity worker, or just a loved one.

“Obviously, the victim can never stand up and defend themselves or say ‘I’m a family man’ or ‘I was in the wrong place at the wrong time’, but if his wife can say how much he was loved, how he was a devoted dad, then he can almost come alive in the court room.”

As well as fielding questions and keeping the family informed about the investigation, the family liaison officer is key to helping families come to terms with their loss.

While the officers are not trained counsellors, they have contacts in the major counselling agencies and with many volunteer groups.

The role is emotionally demanding, and yet, the people taking it on have all volunteered.

Essex Police has strong procedures in place to ensure the officers can cope with the harrowing deployments, including a debrief after every case and a compulsory meeting with a welfare officer after every third case.

Det Con Hastings said: “As a family liaison officer, we are police officers, and most are experienced detectives or uniformed officers.

“It is a role you choose. It takes a special kind of person to do it. You can’t get too involved, because if you’ve got five families and you take on five lots of grief, you’d be fit for nothing.

“It’s emotionally draining, but you have to have an emotional detachment. You have to support the family. It’s probably one of the toughest jobs, because you’re with the family for the first few weeks. You can’t help but absorb some of their distress.”

“You have to make the families’ lives as easy as possible, while also investigating the crime.”

Despite the strain, it is a job Det Con Hastings would not give up for anything.

“I’m passionate about the family liaison officer role,” she said.

“I think the investigations would falter without an experienced liaison officer based within a family unit.”