Concerns raised by families and friends of those who died
Concerns about the way family members and friends of those who died were treated were first raised publicly within days of the disaster. They have been acknowledged in different arenas since, from media coverage to formal reports, and a range of issues related to the treatment of families and friends have been identified. These included:
the suitability of the premises SYP used, from the gymnasium at Hillsborough Stadium which served as a temporary mortuary, to the locations used as reception centres
the treatment of family members and friends in the temporary mortuary
the fact that those who died at the hospitals were transferred back to the gymnasium for identification
multiple aspects of the identification process, including the long delay before the process started and the fact that it then took a very long time and was poorly managed and insensitive, in particular through the use of distressing photographs as a first step
the inconsistent and insensitive care and handling of those who died, including that in some cases, their faces were washed before they were photographed and the fact that police officers’ collar numbers were written on some of the bodies
the insistence on adhering to the formal identification process for all of those who died, even when some had already been identified by a friend or family member earlier on, and the fact that personal property and distinguishing features were not used to help in the identification process
the fact that some of those involved in identifying a loved one were under the age of 18 and did not receive appropriate support
the manner in which police officers questioned family members and friends after they had identified a loved one—in particular, that they asked about alcohol consumption and the possession of match tickets, neither of which was relevant to the identification
the overall lack of information provided to families and friends both in Sheffield and remotely, and the quality, accuracy and timeliness of the information that was provided
that family members were prevented from touching, holding or kissing a loved one
several families specifically recalled being told that those who had died were “the property of the Coroner”: this issue—which was brought to widespread public attention in the 1996 docudrama ‘Hillsborough’ and covered further in the HIP Report—was the source of a number of complaints investigated by Operation Resolve
The concerns about the identification process applied to identifications made in the gymnasium and at the MLC. Other issues were broader and applied to the entire experience.
