Do you work within an investigative role? Join the national wellbeing week of action, commencing on the 11 November 2024, to explore a host of issues that impact investigator wellbeing.
We know that the role of investigator is incredibly rewarding but is not without significant challenges that can directly impact your wellbeing. The personal sacrifices you make, the responsibility to support victims, the continual exposure to trauma and high workloads can converge to heavily impact on the wellbeing of investigators.
Developed and facilitated by the NPCC Recruitment Retention and Wellbeing of Investigators Portfolio, the week of action will involve a variety of daily webinars to share best practice and encourage national debate. Much of this work is included or aligned to the Investigator Wellbeing Toolkit, which is republished with updated guidance and interventions.
You can register for all the sessions you are interested in using the link button; a full description of each of the sessions can be found below. .
Register for the sessions you are interested
Access the wellbeing of investigators toolkit
Webinars
Monday 11 Nov - Leadership
9am National overview of the investigator wellbeing work to date: ACC Martin Brunning (National Investigator Wellbeing Lead) and Sarah-Jayne Bray (Programme Manager, NPCC Recruitment, Retention and Wellbeing of Investigators RRWI) will give an overview of work to date. This is an opportunity to hear what is developing in 2024/2025 as well as to pick up best practice ideas and share your views on what support you would to see developed in the year ahead.
11am Blue Light Wellbeing: Hannah Bailey of Blue Light Wellbeing will share her journey as a former officer to supporting serving officers with their personal resilience. This session will address the key issues experienced by investigators, providing attendees with the tools they need to improve resilience and guidance on how to support each other in the workplace.
2pm National Police Federation Detective Forum overview: Ben Hudson (Chair) and Melanie Warnes (Secretary) of the National Police Federation Detective Forum give an overview of the purpose of the NPFDF, the vital work it undertakes to support investigators in their roles and how they are encouraging national engagement on key issues such as disclosure, pay parity and CPD.
Tuesday 12 Nov - Protect and prepare
9am Post fatal RTC decompression process: Chief Inspector Stuart Bell of SWP shares their newly developed process for improving post incident support for RTC Investigators. The staged approach focusses on early team engagement with occupational health, along with key stakeholders including SIOs, Call Handlers and others affected. Whilst specific to Specialist Operations, the process is scalable across any areas that employ high risk roles to help encourage greater support.
10am Supporting secondary investigators and analysts: Dr Fazeelat Duran and Professor Jessica Woodhams share their research in exploring the experiences of analysts and secondary investigators when working with other people’s trauma indirectly on a daily basis and the coping mechanisms they practice to manage the challenging nature of their job. They will update on progress in the last year whilst working with national colleagues as part of the Secondary Investigator and Analysts Wellbeing Group.
11.30am Whodunnit? Ensuring effective investigator capacity and capability: Prof Adrian James of John Moore’s University shares his research into the reasons for, and the consequences of, the national shortfall in detective numbers; to identify gaps in investigative support; to identify challenges to optimal performance; and to establish what investigators believed they needed to advance investigative performance.
2pm Supporting investigator wellbeing in Hertfordshire Police: Emily Martin of Hertfordshire Police will share how Hertfordshire Police’s commitment to Wellbeing has benefited Investigators in the workplace. Emily will share how a data led approach to deploying wellbeing champions has enabled both a broader understanding of workplace issues as well as more effective deployment of interventions.
5pm Presentation from the NYPD special victims division: Deputy Chief Carlos Oritz and Sergeant John Mattina of the NPYD will share their work in supporting investigators in high risk roles. By focussing on recognition, wellbeing and taking things back to basics, the team have seen a significant increase in officer retention.
Wednesday 13 Nov - Creating the environment
9.30am Senior investigating officer wellbeing: Det. Supt. Paul Joyce (West Midlands Police) shares his experience as chair of the SIO Wellbeing Group and progress to date. He will be joined by Liam Curran (Huddersfield University) and Mark Dimelow (Northumbria University) who will share their respective areas of research into barriers and opportunities to SIO Wellbeing. The webinar will explore what more can be done to improve the support provided to SIOs and how the SIO Wellbeing group can support colleagues nationally.
11am Managing distressing content to minimise harm: Adam Mauling of the Metropolitan Police Service will share his advice on maximising your workplace to minimise the impact of distressing content. Whilst focussed on secondary investigators, this input will be beneficial to anyone who regularly deals with distressing images and media.
1pm: Stress audit and interventions: DCI Tom Herbert will give an overview of the Avon and Somerset Police project undertaking stress audits to understand issues affecting investigators and how they developed a suite of interventions to help improve wellbeing.
2pm Secondary investigator and analysts - a personal story: Katy Wallace of SEROCU shares her personal story of PTSD as a police staff member in an operational environment. Katy will talk about her diagnosis, the support she has received as well as some of the challenges she experienced professionally and personally. This is a powerful session that hopes to raise awareness of mental ill-health at work and how we can better support each other by developing a caring culture at work.
Join us at 9pm on Twitter for a WeCops chat focusing on Investigator Wellbeing where you can share your views on what impacts your resilience at work.
Thursday 14 Nov - Mental health
10am Overview of occupational health support from Oscar Kilo: Liz Eades and Zoe Davenport from the National Police Wellbeing Service, share their expertise in relation to the national psychological screening model and the vital role it plays in keeping investigators well at work. They will also share the work of the Police Occupational Health Practitioner Network and its role in ensuring an evidence led approach to localised services.
2pm Retirement - the STAR resettlement programme: Join Dr Ceri Jones, Supt David Twyford and former Chief Supt Stuart Noble as they share the work they are undertaking supporting the National Police Wellbeing Service through the Retirees and Leavers Hub. They will also provide an overview of the STAR Resettlement Programme which aims to help officers transition into retirement. The programme takes a structured approach pre retirement to combine practical tools on the next steps in a career beyond policing as well vital wellbeing interventions to support individuals through what can be a challenging and scary time.
Friday 15 Nov - Personal resilience
10am Op Soteria Bluestone – Update on findings relating to investigator wellbeing and development: Project Soteria-Bluestone is a unique collaboration between academia, the police and the wider criminal justice system. This presentation provides an overview of the latest research data which is providing unique insights into the learning and welfare environments in forces and, importantly, how they are linked.
12 noon Structured professional support in Northamptonshire Police: Heather Clarkson, Wellbeing lead for Northants Police, will share their innovative approach to embedding occupational health support into their Public Protection Team. The improved access to professional support has enabled the force to reap significant benefits in terms of retention, absence and engagement within the team.
1:30pm Supporting emergency services workers following the death of a child / young person: David Crewe of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service will share his work in developing a national group to improve the service provided to blue light workers following the death of a child/young person. He will be joined by colleagues from the NHS and 2Wish Foundation and will share the work undertaken in collaboration with partners to provide better care to staff following such incidents.
3pm Closing summary: ACC Martin Brunning and Sarah-Jayne Bray will reflect on key messages from the Week of Action and discuss the next steps of the Investigator Wellbeing Group for 2024/25.