Putting people first
CRJ’s Advisory Panel Member Amanda Coleman examines lessons from the Nottingham attacks for crisis communication in the latest article for Under Pressure.
Image by Rick Welter | Pexels
I have been watching with horror the details that are being made public through the Nottinghamshire, UK, public inquiry. For those that have missed this in the middle of the global news, this is the inquiry into the actions of agencies in relation to the attacker who killed three people in Nottingham, UK.
What has affected me the most is not the media coverage, which has been a credit to the Nottingham Post, but it is the daily views of the families that have been sharing both the details and what it means to them. It is this that has given a window into the pain and grief that is being intensified by the evidence at the inquiry.
It was shocking to read Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, say on X: “If it wasn’t for the Nottingham Post, there is so much we wouldn’t know. The fact is that we have found out more from this paper than information given to us by Notts Police.”
This should not happen. I spend all my time training and responding by putting those affected by an emergency, crisis or incident at the forefront of the communication. If you don’t know what that means, then listen to the experiences that bereaved families explain in public enquiries. It is something that Professor Lucy Easthope considers in When the Dust Settles.
It is devastating to see things go so badly wrong, and more than that, to see those affected by emergencies being used as human shields as organisations appear overprotective. Hiding behind the trauma of others can be a cynical way of avoiding the spotlight on flawed and unsatisfactory responses and decision-making. Genuinely considering the trauma and effect of situations means being honest and accepting responsibility for failings, and this is important from the moment an incident happens.
All crisis communication and major incident communication plans need to be centred around supporting those affected in a real way without an ulterior motive. It is a message I will continue to share wherever and whenever possible. And, let us all stop and consider what we are doing and make a promise to be better.
Read the full piece here.