Jersey Police get specialist training to deal with major incidents

Police in Jersey have had specialist training to deal with a major incident if one ever happened on the island.

Officers and staff from Jersey, Guernsey and the UK received disaster victim identification training, which is used after some of the most serious incidents.

Chief Inspector Chris Beechey, States of Jersey Police, said: "DVI or disaster victim identification is a specialist process that officers and staff would go through, if we found ourselves in the terrible circumstances of having to deal with a major incident involving mass fatalities on the island."

Today a scenario was set up in Trinity, replicating what they could face at the scene of a light aircraft crash, but the process can also be used following a bad crash on the roads or a fire.

Chief Inspector Chris Beechey added: "It's important that we are able to manage that process in a dignified and professional way so that the deceased can be returned to their families in the most professional way possible."

The training takes five days to complete and is followed by annual refreshers.

Disaster victim identification has not ever had to be used this way in the Channel Islands and the police hope it never has to be.

They want to make the public know they are ready should the worst ever happen.