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INTERPOL
DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION (DVI)
PROGRAM AND STRATEGIC PLAN 2002-2005
Zhijin Zuo Ph.D
Interpol DVI Coordinator
Disasters are often
international by nature, with many causes including accidents or terrorism and
are increasing in number and scale. Many countries and people may be affected by
disasters, and it is generally the responsibility of the Police to deal with
them, particularly with regard to victim identification. The International
Criminal Police Organization - Interpol has elaborated a programme related to
the handling of disaster situations. This is called the Interpol Disaster Victim
Identification (DVI) Programme. As one of the roles of the Police world-wide is
to identify victims, the primary objective of this DVI programme is aimed at
identifying victims of disasters. Such disasters may involve air crashes,
shipwrecks, serial killings, mass disasters, natural disasters, etc. The
Interpol General Secretariat DVI program is dictated by the member countries.
The overall aim of the Interpol is to facilitate DVI activities within all
member countries and to enhance the service provided.
What Interpol has done
Interpol's involvement in the
area of DVI commenced in 1968 with the forming of a working party to develop an
international DVI form for use in mass casualty incidents.
· Seven Resolutions adopted
at Interpol General Assembly
These resolutions adopted by
Interpol General Assembly concern the promotion of DVI form and providing
international DVI assistance which are the guidelines for facilitating DVI
amongst Interpol member countries.
· DVI guide and DVI forms
Interpol DVI guide and Forms
are accepted as one of the most important and popular tools on DVI. They have
been translated into the four Interpol official languages, Arabic, English,
French and Spanish and posted on the Interpol public web site. The DVI forms
including ante-mortem and post-mortem have been downloaded over one thousand
times. An electronic data entry form has been available on Interpol web site
since June of 2003 in order that the user can fill in the form using a
computer rather than by handwriting.
· DVI pages posted on
Interpol DVI website
There are DVI pages on the
Interpol public web site at http:www.interpol.int and since 2002 a secure DVI
web site has been created at https:www.interpol.int.
· Successful actions and
experiences in different cases and regions.
Interpol General Secretariat
maintains a network of DVI experts and teams from all over the world willing
to provide international assistance and support on DVI matters within member
countries upon as request. For example, the simultaneous explosions on the
Indonesian tourist island of Bali that killed 187, injured 300 others with 200
people still missing in the middle of the night of 12th October 2002. The
following measures were taken on 13th October 2002 and the following days:
1. Urgent message sent:
o To IP Jakarta to request
detailed facts of the attack and advising them to utilize disaster victim
identification (DVI) service through internet to identify victims. o To all
member countries to inform that those whose residents had been possibly killed
in this attack that they must complete the DVI ante-mortem forms with all
relevant personal information and transmit these forms directly to IP Jakarta.
o To eleven Interpol National Central Bureaus (IP Rome, Canberra, Copenhagen,
London, Brussels, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Washington, Wiesbaden, Hague) asking
that assistance be provided to the Indonesian authorities in identifying the
victims. This message was also copied to the DVI teams in these countries
directly.
2. Under the assistance
provided by Interpol, Australian, Canadian, Dutch, Hong Kong China, Japanese,
New Zealand, Taiwan China and Swedish DVI teams were involved in the victim
identification in BALI working with Indonesian DVI team. Belgian and Spanish
DVI teams were already in Indonesia for DVI assistance since 15th October.
3. Assisting to Link with
Danish and Indonesian DVI teams. Danish DVI team could assist Indonesian DVI
team to utilize the advanced DVI system developed by Plass Data free of charge
in this accident.
4. Building the communication
channel with the Indonesian DVI team directly. Then it transmitted all useful
information to BALI directly, especially including three Danish victims'
ante-mortem data and roster of victims from Hong Kong.
· Organizations: Standing
Committee, Steering Group and five Working Groups
The DVI programme is managed,
in conjunction with the General Secretariat of Interpol, by a Standing
Committee. Since 1996 the membership of the Standing Committee has increased
together with its roles and responsibilities, there are currently thirty five
Interpol member countries represented on the Standing Committee. The annual
meeting of the Standing Committee is held in order to exchange information and
experience and to adopt common standards and practices in relation to DVI
issues. The 15th meeting of Interpol Standing Committee on DVI was held on
21st-23 May 2003 and there were eighty two delegates from twenty nine member
countries and two observers from international organizations attending the
meeting. Due to the increasing number of countries and delegates represented
on the Standing Committee there was an identified need for a small core group,
representative of the Standing Committee, to be created to address issues of
policy and to act as the planning group for the annual meetings. A Steering
Group was formed. The 7th meeting of the Interpol Steering Group on DVI was
held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 26th -28th February 2003. · DVI
arrangements in member countries What Interpol will do MISSION: To promote
excellence in Disaster Victim Identification It is important that policies and
work standards are developed, implemented, promoted and rigidly adhered to.
The policies and standards must be based on international best practice with
input from all major stakeholders. The training and work practices in all the
areas associated with DVI must reflect the current needs and requirements of
the industry. The DVI community must maintain pace with new technologies,
systems and processes.
The DVI community must be
proactive in their approach and possess the capacity and capability to respond
to the range of potential incidents, especially terrorist incidents.
· Develop the capacity and
capability to prepare for and respond to multi casualty terrorist incidents.
Interpol will support the
development of networks for advice on DVI and develop operational standards
for international DVI support and assistance and identify and recommend
appropriate research and development facilities or opportunities
· Develop family assistance
guidelines for victims and the families of victims of DVI incidents.
The DVI Working Group on care
of victim and their families will determine the scope of the guidelines and
identify response agencies involved in the provision of support and the role
of private sector organizations in provision of support. The communication
requirements and protocols between individual response agencies and with
family members will be identified. The Working Group will formulate media
policy. The training programs in crisis management for all personnel involved
in providing services to victims and families will be promoted.
· Develop guidelines for the
occupational health, safety and welfare of DVI practitioners.
Interpol Standing Committee on
DVI will support the development of protocols for hazard and risk assessment
and of practices and procedures to eliminate or mitigate hazards and or risks
and of policies on the level and use of personal protective equipment such as
provide safe working systems, workplace and equipment. The development of
formal accident reporting protocols will be promoted and the development of an
appropriate psychometric evaluation program for initial and ongoing assessment
of DVI practitioners will be initiated. · Promote compliance with
international quality system standards by all agencies contributing to the DVI
process. Interpol Standing Committee on DVI will facilitate the promotion of
the systematic documentation of all DVI practices and procedures and the
development of appropriate assessment mechanisms, which ensure the competence
of all practitioners, is regularly monitored. The review of procedures and
processes used by jurisdictions by external assessments is necessary and the
guideline will be developed to be followed for organizations with identified
areas of non-conformance. The provision of a relevant quality DVI service
should be supported. · Develop and maintain ante mortem and post mortem
incident information forms. The international ante-mortem and post-mortem DVI
forms are to be reviewed every five years. The next review of the forms will
occur in 2007 by the DVI Working Group on Form. According to the demand from
DVI experts in member countries it is necessary to update the Interpol DVI
guide because the DVI form has been updated. Some new sections may be added
into the DVI guide, such as guideline of use of DNA in DVI and DVI response to
multi-casualty terrorist incidents. · Promote the formulation of training and
development programs in support of best practice within DVI. An Interpol
inquiry has been delivered to each NCB in the beginning of July 2003
concerning DVI training, such as the capability of providing training course
and demand of training on DVI. Interpol will develop a training needs analysis
survey for distribution to all DVI member countries. In order to facilitate
the development and implementation of competency based training programs
covering all areas and phases of DVI. Interpol will create a DVI training
interface within DVI page and develop liaisons with related associations
including technical and scientific working groups to facilitate a cross flow
of information between all bodies. · Promote policies in support of
information sharing and exchange, international co-operation and liaison and
provision of DVI operational support.
Interpol Standing Committee on
DVI will support the continued development of the Interpol DVI web site.
Interpol Secretariat General will initiate the development of a national and
international DVI register of experts assessable and an international register
for major DVI incidents through the Interpol web site. Another task is to
develop a register between member countries for the provision of operational
support in major DVI incidents or incidents where particular skills or expertise
are required. The Standing Committee and Interpol Secretariat General will
promote and support regional DVI meetings and conferences and develop liaisons
and share information with international bodies, associations and groups
involved in areas associated with or aligned to DVI. · Provide operational
assistance and support to those countries which have no DVI capacity or
insufficient capacity to manage a specific DVI incident. Interpol Standing
Committee on DVI will work on possible developing formal agreement for DVI
assistance for the approval of the Interpol General Assembly. Interpol
Secretariat General has to maintain a liaison network with international and
national aid agencies regarding protocols and provision of support and also
liaise with international and national foreign affairs representatives regarding
protocols, administrative considerations and logistical support. The liaisons
will be posted onto Interpol secure web site in order that NCB can consul them
urgently. · Identify research opportunities and support research programs.
Interpol Standing Committee on DVI will identify specific areas and sources of
research on DVI. Interpol Secretariat General should foster relationships and
develop liaisons with universities and research institutions to support relevant
research projects on DVI. The annual meeting of Interpol Standing Committee and
Interpol web site will promote publication of research projects on DVI. ·
Conduct systematic international evaluations of selected DVI operations to
ensure that DVI processes are relevant and appropriate. Interpol Standing
Committee on DVI will reach agreement on the minimum standards of practice and
procedure for incident response in all DVI phases at both national and
international level and develop an international guide on the minimum content
and standard for the DVI report/brief to coroner/medical examiner. It is
necessary to develop an incident evaluation checklist for all DVI phases to
facilitate scene, technical and administrative reviews/evaluations and
assessment protocols including scene and administrative assessments. · Develop
protocols for the use of DNA in mass casualty incidents.
Interpol DVI Working Group on
DNA will develop policy on the use of DNA as an identifier, which including
developing policy on the collection, storage and destruction of samples
collected from victim and volunteers and policy on the DNA markers to be used in
DVI incidents. The policy on the standards for profile matching and exclusion
necessary for laboratories undertaking the extraction, analysis and profiling of
samples and on the security of samples and profiles will be developed.
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