Wellbeing of investigators week of action

Do you work within an investigative role? Join the national wellbeing week of action, commencing on the 13 November 2023, 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 below; a full description of each of the sessions is below. Formal Teams invitations will be sent no later than 24 hours before the event and ticket sales close at 12 noon the day before each session, with an exception of those taking place on the 13 November which will close at noon on 10 November to allow invitations to be sent. 

Register for the sessions you are interested

Access the wellbeing of investigators toolkit

Webinars

Monday 13 Nov

10am National overview of the investigator wellbeing work to date: Sarah-Jayne Bray will give an overview of the developments within the national Recruitment , Retention and Wellbeing of Investigator (RRWI) portfolio with an emphasis on Investigator Wellbeing.  This is an opportunity to hear what is developing in 2023/2024 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.

2pm Post incident procedure – Increasing welfare concerns for investigators: Many investigators can fall into the trap of thinking post incidents are not something that effects them. There is often a misunderstanding that it just effects uniform colleagues or firearms, as well as a lack of awareness of what post incident is. The reality is more and more investigators are being caught up in post incidents which can have a major impact on an officers (and their families) wellbeing if not properly addressed.  This presentation by D/Supt Clair Langley, PC Tony Collier and PC Rob Goodwin of Staffordshire Police will raise awareness and understanding to officers and supervisors of what the post incident process is and how to effectively manage it

Tuesday 14 Nov

10am Benefits of dynamic breath work : Join The Breath Connection for four rounds of powerful Dynamic Breathing and an introduction to the benefits of cold water immersion. These sessions incorporate mindfulness, meditation, breathwork and positive affirmations - they have a significant impact on stress levels, with 87% of Thames Valley Police participants reporting a 20-40% decrease in their stress levels after just one session! The Breath Connection aims to teach how these techniques can be incorporated into a daily self-care practice that will support your greater mental and physical resilience.  The team are offering several virtual sessions throughout the week to demonstrate the programme, details in the next few pages.

12 noon 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.

2pm Supporting a colleague through crisis: DCI Chris Grey shares one of his greatest professional challenges - supporting a Detective Constable under his command who was experiencing a mental health crisis, whilst newly promoted as a DS.  In this presentation, he will share lessons learned on navigating organisational processes, advocating effectively for health resources, and creating a supportive work environment for all. Attendees will learn practical strategies to safeguard staff resilience.

We will be joined by representatives of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police who will discuss their progress in supporting wellbeing of colleagues, with a focus on investigators in high risk areas such as child sexual abuse.

Wednesday 15 Nov

10am Implementing and Embedding Pause Point: DCS Laura Koscikiewicz discusses the evolution of Pause Point from its creation in Cambs police to its implementation in South Yorkshire. It was created following identification of a high number of officers and staff within High Risk Roles suffering from mental ill health, and indeed these instances of mental ill health were in the main ‘big bang’ type incidents causing significant trauma.  Pause Point was developed as an alternative to tenure to identify gradual changes in psychological health and resilience and enabling a tailored approach to ‘pausing’ peoples roles within high risk department, placing more onus on the employer to act.

12 noon: Data and TRiM: PS Gordon Morganthaler will share the use of PowerBI to understand the usage of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) in Cambridgeshire Police.  This developing project is helping the force understand take up of TRiM, its impact and areas where usage is in decline so that work can be targeted to improve engagement in this vital intervention.

2pm 2wish Foundation Supporting professionals affected by sudden and unexpected death of a child or young person: 2wish support anyone affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a child or young person aged 25 and under. They provide immediate and ongoing support to families, friends, professionals, witnesses and individuals through memory boxes, immediate support, counselling, support groups, a respite house and more. They were founded following the personal experiences of their CEO and Founder, Rhian Mannings, who lost her one-year-old son, George, very suddenly and then, five days later, her husband, Paul. 2wish are passionate about supporting investigators and deliver services specifically for professionals affected by the sudden death of a child

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 16 Nov

10am It is sad, and that’s OK: In this presentation Sameer of the Human Hub Therapy will provide an overview of the wellbeing workshops that he has been facilitating to support Rasso investigators.  Sameer is an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist with an interest in psychological trauma and interpersonal relationships. He loves his work with individuals, couples/relationships and organisations, whom he supports to make positive changes through self-awareness and personal accountability.        

12 noon Wellbeing of SIOs: Following engagement with the experience and engagement of SIOs nationally, Liam Curran of Huddersfield University will provide an update on his research into SIO wellbeing.  This webinar will explore areas of the role that significantly impact SIOs professionally and personally, and how forces can better support senior investigators.

1pm PIER How we can protect the protectors: This presentation is based on the findings of the first ever national survey asking UK police officers and staff involved in CSAE investigations about how their work impacts on their health and wellbeing, and the barriers they face when accessing work-based supports.  Dr Theresa Redmond is an Associate Professor at the Policing Institute for the Eastern region (PIER) at Anglia Ruskin University. Theresa leads the Officer Wellbeing workstream working closely with policing partners and practitioners to improve the emotional/mental health of those working in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations.

2pm Transitioning officers into retirement with NARPO: The presentation by Alan Lees, Chief Executive of NARPO, will provide an overview of what to consider when preparing for retirement and present information regarding the specific services NARPO offer to retired officers, including pensions advice, welfare support, and member benefits.

Friday 17 Nov

10am An officers story of his battle with serious illness and the importance of good welfare support: DC Dave Stubbs is battling a brain tumour diagnosis and has undergone intrusive brain surgery to save his life which has, consequently, impacted massively on his mental health. Dave has been fully supported through his journey by DCI Pete Cooke.  They want to give a good new story around how proper support and welfare can benefit the officer or staff member but also the organisation.

12 noon Investigator wellbeing in Essex Police and Kent Police: Janine Jury will share the Investigator Wellbeing journey Essex Police and Kent Police have been on in recent years and the commitment to prioritising the wellbeing of staff involved with investigations, particularly those in high risk roles.  Janine will talk through the initiatives that have assisted managers to enable early intervention in their own teams and activities focused on the reduction of mental health stigma in the workplace. Janine will share information about the locally developed Investigator Wellbeing Pack and newly developed wellbeing training and engagement to help raise awareness with managers.

1pm 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 early analysis of data which is providing unique insights into the learning and welfare environments in forces and, importantly, how they are linked. 

2pm Wellbeing of CID officers in Beds, Cambs, Herts (BCH): In a bid to gain a better picture of front line investigators psychological health and wellbeing, the psychological screening tool which Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH) uses to assess investigators in high risk roles has been used to generate data from front line CID investigators