Interviewing vulnerable witnesses, victims, and suspects requires advanced planning, tailored communication strategies, and strict adherence to statutory safeguards. In this intensive, 60-minute operational webinar, policing practitioners will examine how to adapt the PEACE framework for complex vulnerabilities—covering Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) standards, working effectively with Registered Intermediaries and Appropriate Adults, and managing neurodiversity, mental ill-health, and trauma in the interview room.
Why Join the Course
- Built for Operational Reality: Designed around busy policing schedules—gain practical vulnerability-screening tools, ground-rule frameworks, and questioning adjustments in just one hour.
- Beyond Standard Interviewing: Learn how to adapt planning, pacing, and cognitive prompts for children, neurodivergent individuals, and those experiencing acute trauma, learning disabilities, or mental health crises.
- Aligned with National Guidance: Reinforces College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP), Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) guidance, PACE Code C (Appropriate Adults), and the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
- Maximise Support & Admissibility: Understand how to collaborate seamlessly with Registered Intermediaries and secure Special Measures so vulnerable individuals can provide clear, reliable, and court-ready accounts.
Why It Matters
Standard questioning techniques—such as complex multi-part questions, abstract timelines, or rapid pacing—can overwhelm vulnerable witnesses and suspects, leading to fragmented recall, acquiescence, or unreliable admissions. Failing to identify vulnerability or implement proper safeguards not only causes avoidable distress, but also risks evidence being ruled inadmissible under Section 76 or Section 78 of PACE, or undermined during cross-examination.
Equipping investigators with specialised interviewing techniques protects the rights and wellbeing of vulnerable individuals while securing robust, uncontaminated evidence that stands up at court.
Who Should Attend
This webinar is tailored specifically for serving police officers, police staff, and investigative practitioners, including:
- Public Protection Unit (PPU), Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Offence (RASSO) investigators
- PIP Level 2 investigators, CID officers, and Specialist Child Abuse Investigation Development Programme (SCAIDP) practitioners
- Tier 2 / Tier 3 specialist interviewers and ABE-trained officers
- Response and Neighbourhood Policing officers conducting initial vulnerability assessments and first accounts
- Custody Sergeants, Detention Officers, and police staff investigators managing vulnerable suspects
- Sergeants and supervisory officers reviewing interview strategies, Special Measures applications, and case files
Learning Objectives
By the end of this 60-minute session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify Hidden & Complex Vulnerabilities: Recognise indicators of neurodiversity, cognitive impairment, mental ill-health, age-related needs, and trauma across both witnesses and suspects.
- Tailor the PEACE & ABE Frameworks: Adapt interview planning, ground rules, pacing, and communication styles to prevent suggestibility, acquiescence, and cognitive overload.
- Use Plain, Non-Leading Questioning: Replace complex, abstract, or compound questions with concrete, accessible prompts that preserve free narrative and evidential integrity.
- Collaborate with Intermediaries & Safeguards: Work effectively alongside Registered Intermediaries and Appropriate Adults, and apply Special Measures early to support vulnerable individuals through to trial.
