Family Liaison Officer

• You have exceptional empathy and can sustain genuine compassion over long, difficult deployments
• You can manage the tension between welfare support and the investigative function without compromising either
• You are self-aware and able to maintain professional boundaries under sustained emotional pressure from grieving families
• You are a skilled communicator who can explain complex investigative processes in accessible, compassionate terms
• You have strong personal resilience and access to good personal support systems outside work
• You are interested in major crime, disaster victim identification, or serious case investigations

An FLO deployment during an active homicide investigation begins with an early briefing from the SIO covering overnight developments, disclosure parameters, and any intelligence requests from the family. The FLO then visits the family — who may be in victim support or emergency accommodation — providing a factual update within the boundaries set by the SIO, answering questions honestly within disclosure constraints, and gathering any information the family has offered about the victim or potential suspects. Welfare needs are assessed and referrals made to Victim Support, specialist bereavement services, or financial assistance schemes as needed. The FLO debrief with the SIO translates family intelligence into formatted reports for the investigation. In disaster scenarios (major transport accidents, mass fatality incidents), FLOs manage families through the humanitarian assistance centre, co-ordinating with coroner services, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team, and mortuary staff. Ongoing cases may run for months — the FLO maintains continuity throughout.

FLOs complete the College of Policing accredited Family Liaison Officer course, which covers the legal and ethical framework of the dual role, communication techniques for bereaved families, intelligence-gathering methods, coroner processes, and major incident deployment. Applications typically require at least 2 years of operational policing experience; many FLOs have CID or safeguarding backgrounds. The College of Policing APP on Family Liaison provides the authoritative national guidance. Some forces require completion of the Achieving Best Evidence course as an indicator of communication skill. FLOs are typically managed by a Family Liaison Coordinator (FLC) at Detective Inspector level.

FLO deployments provide unique competency evidence of emotional intelligence, complex communication under pressure, sensitive investigative practice, and multi-agency liaison — all of which are directly assessed in NPPF promotion processes. The experience of working alongside senior investigators (DCIs and Superintendents as SIOs) provides exposure to major investigation leadership that is rarely available at constable or sergeant level. FLOs who perform well are frequently invited to contribute to force training and to take on Family Liaison Coordinator development roles.

• Allowing the family relationship to blur the investigative function — FLOs must remember they are investigators who provide welfare, not welfare workers who happen to be police officers
• Over-disclosing investigation developments to families in violation of SIO-determined disclosure parameters — even with good intentions, this can compromise the investigation and prosecution
• Not seeking welfare and debrief support at the end of long or traumatic deployments — the pressure to move to the next case is real but dangerous
• Failing to formally debrief family intelligence to the SIO in timely, structured reports — the intelligence-gathering function requires the same discipline as any other police investigation
• Under-utilising Victim Support and specialist bereavement services — FLOs are not equipped to be the sole source of emotional support and appropriate referral is a professional responsibility

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