The aim of DNR is to provide a course than can be integrated into existing teaching and continuing education syllabi across Germany. The blended learning course will help prevent the victimisation and re-traumatisation of grieving relatives after a sudden and unnatural death in the family and it will help police officers cope with the emotional stress by establishing guidelines for addressing the situation and interacting with the bereaved. A prototype DNR course will be tested at the FHöV Duisburg.
The European Research Council (ERC) has funded the development and production of the blended learning course “Delivering death notifications responsibly” since June 2017 (until November 2018). As part of the project, the course will be developed for use in police academies across Germany, where it will help teach police officers to deliver death notifications during investigations of wrongful death. It is aimed at both police cadets as well as experienced officers undergoing additional training. The police are responsible for delivering death notifications when people die a sudden and unnatural death, e.g. due to suicide, accidents or violent crime, and as a result of which the police is required to intervene in line with the code of criminal procedure.
The training course supplements an existing textbook with online learning modules and a handbook with suggestions for using the material in the classroom. It also seeks to enhance the participants’ understanding and awareness of the conditions in which death notifications can be delivered well.