Call for more support for DVI officers as research also highlights misleading media portrayal and ‘moral dissonance’

7th May 2026Sarah Gibbons, Contributing Editor, Policing Insight

A new study into the wellbeing of disaster victim identification (DVI) officers has highlighted the “moral dissonance” experienced by staff that can contribute to stress and psychological strain, the continuing stigma of seeking help and support for their mental wellbeing, and the damaging impact that the media’s glamourisation of crime scene investigation can have on new DVI recruits whose expectations are far removed from the reality of deployment, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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Call for more support for DVI officers as research also highlights misleading media portrayal and ‘moral dissonance’

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