Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) requires rigorous, suspect-focused investigations anchored in high professional standards and clear accountability. In this focused, 60-minute operational webinar, policing practitioners will examine how to build robust, evidence-led VAWG case files—maximising digital, forensic, and corroborative evidence while embedding national investigative standards and supervisory oversight from initial response through to charging decision.
Why Join the Course
- Built for Operational Reality: Designed for demanding policing schedules—gain practical evidence-gathering checklists, suspect-focused strategies, and supervisory review prompts in just one hour.
- Shift to Evidence-Led Case Building: Learn how to capture independent corroboration—including Body-Worn Video (BWV), 999 audio, medical records, and digital footprints—so prosecutions do not rely solely on victim testimony.
- Aligned with National Standards: Reinforces the National Policing VAWG Framework, College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP), Operation Soteria principles, and Director’s Guidance on Charging (DG6).
- Embed Clear Accountability: Understand how thorough investigative logs, timely protective orders, and structured supervisory gatekeeping prevent drift, bias, and premature case closures.
Why It Matters
High-harm VAWG offences—including domestic abuse, stalking, non-fatal strangulation, and sexual violence—are often hidden, cyclical, and emotionally complex. When investigations stall due to evidential gaps, victim attrition, or a lack of supervisory scrutiny, perpetrators remain free to escalate offending and public trust in policing erodes.
Combining evidence-led investigation with strict adherence to national standards and transparent accountability ensures victims are safeguarded, offenders are robustly pursued, and cases reach court in the strongest possible shape.
Who Should Attend
This webinar is tailored specifically for serving police officers, police staff, and investigative practitioners, including:
- Response and Neighbourhood Policing officers attending first-response VAWG incidents and securing golden-hour evidence
- Public Protection Unit (PPU), Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and RASSO investigators
- Trainee detectives, PIP Level 1 and PIP Level 2 investigators, and CID officers
- Sergeants, Inspectors, and supervisory officers responsible for investigative reviews, bail/RUI oversight, and file gatekeeping
- Police staff investigators, Case Builders, and Criminal Justice Unit (CJU) staff
Learning Objectives
By the end of this 60-minute session, attendees will be able to:
- Build Evidence-Led VAWG Cases: Identify and secure corroborative physical, digital, medical, and witness evidence early to support victimless or reluctant-witness prosecutions where appropriate.
- Apply Suspect-Focused Investigative Standards: Shift focus onto perpetrator behaviour, patterns of control, and antecedent history in line with Operation Soteria and College of Policing APP.
- Strengthen Supervisory & Investigative Accountability: Maintain auditable decision logs, prevent investigative drift, and conduct effective quality reviews of risk assessments, bail conditions, and protective orders.
- Deliver Compliant, Trial-Ready Case Files: Assemble proportionate, DG6-compliant VAWG files—including accurate CPIA disclosure schedules and victim personal statements—that withstand CPS and court scrutiny.
