Warning! The topics in this post could be distressing to some readers.
There’s no question that New Zealand still has a major problem with suicide. Even with substantial government funding for mental health services and the Police being provided with more discretionary powers to not record certain deaths as suicides, the number of Kiwis being reported as taking their own lives has remained terribly high.
However, despite the difficulties associated with reducing those atrocious statistics, Government and public organisations must not be allowed to become complacent about nor accept that a large number of Kiwis are being allowed to fall through the cracks to such a degree that they’re choosing to end their own lives.
Furthermore, normalising suicide within our society must not be allowed to occur. In this regard, Aotearoa must not accept in any way shape or form a blasé approach to the issue. We
certainly don’t want suicide to become a spectator sport either. But unfortunately that's exactly what has occurred within one company tasked with cleaning up the aftermath.
Yesterday, the Guardian reported:
New Zealand crime cleanup company investigated after posting graphic photos online
New Zealand’s justice ministry has launched an investigation into whether a crime scene cleaning company broke the law by posting images to its social media pages of cleanup sites – including, allegedly, images of suspected suicide sites and of human remains.
The story was first reported by RNZ, which found Christchurch company Crime Scene Cleaners had posted images to its Facebook and Instagram accounts – including graphic images of decomposing human remains, and images of cleanup work in the aftermath of suspected suicides.
New Zealand laws restrict the publication of details relating to suspected or confirmed suicides that suggest the method of death. A death may not be referred to as a suicide until the coroner has made that determination after a coronial investigation.
I would suggest that it's a breach of the law to post pictures of crime scenes and people’s deaths and call them suicides. Not just because the coroner needs to make a determination beforehand, but because it's an egregious breach of people’s privacy.
Yesterday, 1 News reported:
Cleaners post graphic crime scene photos on social media
Warning: Story contains references to suicide, sudden death and assault, and graphic details about human remains.
A New Zealand crime scene cleaning business used by publicly-owned organisations has been posting images of the aftermath of suspected suicides, attempted suicides, assaults, sudden deaths and domestic violence on social media.
…
When asked if the families connected to the trauma cleans were asked permission before photos were posted, Loader said for most family members "they wouldn't know because they haven't been on the scene".
"They wouldn't know what it was, what job it was."
He said "there have been several occasions where the people have given consent for them to be used" but "that was a long time ago".
In Loader's view, the company's social media posts weren't "really heavy-duty stuff".
"We just put the lighter work we do as to put anything really bad on there would be detrimental to everybody," he said.
Some people, however, had commented on the photos, saying they were triggering.
Other online commenters have questioned how disturbing photos came up in their newsfeeds.
Loader said, "If you don't like it, don't look".
When told such posts could appear on a Facebook user's news feed (unless the user had already blocked the account's posts, or the user was under 18) even if they didn't follow the account, he said he was sure Facebook was policing it.
"If it was something of a really bad nature, I'm sure Facebook or some other department would contact us," he said.
What on earth would Carl Loader believe constitutes “something of a really bad
nature" if these photos of people’s death scenes being posted online doesn't qualify?
By claiming that the families affected wouldn’t view these photos and that it’s someone else’s job to police his actions, the Crime Scene Cleaning co-owner and manager has cemented his place in history as a complete arsehole!
After posting some photos, the business commented underneath, offering criticisms of caregivers, government services, and people linked to cleans the business had done.
One comment in November 2020 called homeless people "lazy "f******".
Another in June 2020 called some tenants "feral savages".
Asked if such comments were appropriate, when the business has contracts with central and local government-led organisations, Loader said, "We need to encourage public awareness of how we're living".
Carl Loader and his sick employees clearly do not need to post pictures of murder and suspected suicide scenes to “encourage public awareness” of how they’re living. A public forum is not the place for cleanup workers to process their issues. They certainly shouldn’t be trying to blame the victims either, some of whom were homeless at the time of their deaths.
In my opinion, attributing blame solely to the people who commit suicide is half the problem. Many suicides occur because of circumstances well outside of the victim’s control, which makes such despicable views highly damaging, particularly when we need to try and address the root causes that lead to people committing suicide.
To insult the victims of suicide and retraumatise their families with online posts that amount to saying ‘they deserved to die because they were homeless’ is a big part of the problem. In fact this type of mentality and lack of empathy is a contributing factor leading to New Zealand’s terribly high suicide rate.
Unless as a nation we address that dysfunctional mentality, we will never reduce the number of Kiwis taking their own lives.
RNZ also asked if he thought the business' posts could have breached suppression laws and confidentiality policies during police and coronial investigations.
Although Loader said he wasn't "really familiar" with what Crime Scene Cleaners' was putting on Facebook, he was confident police would "definitely" know.
"They haven't told me they're aware of it but obviously they would, they would look at it."
One woman told RNZ she discovered photos of her father's home on Crime Scene Cleaners' Facebook page last year.
He had a hoarding problem and when he died, she brought in Crime Scene Cleaners to clear his home.
She was billed more than $10,000.
The woman said the house was "completely" identifiable in the pictures - there were even photos of her as a girl, on the mantlepiece, in the shots.
She said she never gave permission for photos to be taken or posted, and there was no mention of the business using photos for marketing purposes in the terms of trade she signed and provided to RNZ.
When the house went on the market, people recognised the property from the pictures online, she said.
She was already "incredibly stressed" mourning her father and arranging his funeral, and the photos were "devastating on another level".
She thought Loader's argument - that families wouldn't be able to identify photos connected to their loved ones - was "bullshit".
"It's such a weak, weak excuse for doing something bad. The photo should not be public anyway. You're defending the defenceless."
It’s that attempt to defend the indefensible, just as much as the original crime of posting people’s incredibly private information online, that means Carl Loader wins this week’s Arsehole Award. The families affected by his contemptible actions should sue his arse into oblivion.
Where to get help
Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354
Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757
Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116
Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666
Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz
0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at www.whatsup.co.nz.
Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.
Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)
Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.
