Widow's petition calls for police family support

A petition calling for mandatory police support for families whose loved ones take their own lives has been delivered to Downing Street.

Mimi Conder, from Chinnor, Oxfordshire, started the petition calling for the introduction of Jason's Law, named after her late husband, so bereaved families in cases similar to her own can benefit from the guidance of a family support officer (FLO).

When the father-of-three died in September 2024, the family found the immediate aftermath - which involved police questioning and an inquest - confusing and intimidating, Mimi has said.

Thames Valley Police has said it follows National Police Chiefs' Council guidance when it comes to deployment of FLOs.

The force currently employs FLOs to help explain criminal investigation processes to bereaved families but this is not applicable in cases of suicide.

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Jayne Hepburn, Jason's mother, who handed in the petition to No 10, said: "You need a point of contact. You need that someone there to guide you through all of that."

She added: "It'd mean everything because, until you're actually going through it and realise that support isn't there, you don't think about it."

Mimi has described Jason as the "life and soul of the party", with the "brightest blue eyes, [and] loudest cackle you could ever imagine".

Her petition calls for trained officers to "ensure consistent support, communication and guidance during investigations, inquests and the immediate aftermath".

"If I had someone there... then 100% I feel like I would have been able to process it a lot quicker than I did, or am still doing," she said previously.

Henley and Thame Liberal Democrat MP Freddie van Mierlo said: "I have worked closely with Mimi and her family on this campaign and what stands out most is how much harder their loss was made by the absence of a clear point of contact.

"Families are grieving, supporting children and trying to understand what has happened.

"Nothing can ever make such a loss easier or take their pain away but, at the very least, they shouldn't have to fight for information at a time of grief."

He said there was an "inequality" in support and that Jason's Law would mean families were "treated with fairness, dignity and proper support from the very beginning".

Thames Valley Police previously said: "We recognise the enormous impact suicides have on families and Thames Valley Police follow National Police Chiefs' Council guidance for deployment of FLOs.

"Suicides are investigated on behalf of the appropriate coroner and are not considered to be suspicious deaths, and so a FLO deployment is not generally required."

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