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Police and academics working together to improve rape and serious sexual assault investigations

Project Bluestone, working in partnership with academic experts and Avon and Somerset Constabulary, sought to improve the investigation and response to rape and serious sexual assault. The project worked together with five academic leads, from different universities, focusing on different aspects of the investigative process – suspect focused investigations; the targeting and disruption of repeat offenders; victim engagement using a procedural justice approach; officer and staff learning, development and welfare; and the use of data and performance management.

A team of CPRL researchers, led by Dr Emma Williams, worked in collaboration with Larisa as the police lead in Avon and Somerset on the research strand relating to officer learning, development and wellbeing. Hear what Larisa has to say about her experience….. 

"I am a Detective Chief Inspector with Avon and Somerset Constabulary, leading our Internet Child Abuse Team and Child Exploitation Team – Operation Topaz. I have been passionate about how the police care for and represent child victims and victims of sexual offences for most of my career, as a specialist child abuse investigator and a specialist in safeguarding. I also care about how what we do can have an impact on us as professionals and how this can lead to vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue. I have certainly been affected by vicarious trauma in my career as I have absorbed the experiences of the victims I have worked with. This led me to volunteer to be the wellbeing lead for CID. Because of this, I was delighted to be asked to work on Project Bluestone. I had heard a little bit about what this would involve with regards to working with academics to review and improve the way that we investigate rape and serious sexual offences. I was very excited to be a part of the project, especially when I was asked to be the police lead for learning and development and wellbeing.

I did not know what to expect, having not been involved in a project like this before. I met Dr Emma Williams who was the academic lead for this work stream at an early stage. We discussed the project and what was needed. Despite the timescales involved (which were extremely short), we developed a very good working relationship. Emma and I communicated most days either in meetings, during virtual calls or by email to make sure that the plan we had formulated was on target. My role was to find information within my organisation that would assist the academic research such as strategic documents and data. I was also responsible for setting up interviews and focus groups. I did the administration and organisation to make sure we had the right people involved but did not facilitate, as I wanted those being interviewed to give an honest opinion and not worry about my presence. I also reviewed reports and potential products and provided feedback. I was really pleased to be consulted about these products incorporating some of my recent learning about trauma informed practice. The Pause Point Policy and Supervisors Guide to Reflective Practice During the Case Review are really great practical tools that the police can use straight away as a result of the work we did. It felt that I had been more than a facilitator but a real partner in the work. I also facilitated contact between Emma and others working in the same area such as with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Vulnerability Knowledge Practice Programme and NPCC Wellbeing, Recruitment and Retention of investigators team in order to share the learning nationally.

I am now working with the Project Bluestone lead in Avon and Somerset to implement the learning and use the products created. I am progressing the work we have completed around reflective supervision, reflective practice and having a trauma informed approach more widely in the organisation. It feels like this is the start of a new and exciting way of working, which could not only improve the service we provide to victims, increase criminal justice outcomes but also improve the wellbeing of investigators at the same time. It has been a great experience and one I would do all over again if able to." Larisa, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Click here to read more about the research. 

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