Police

what we do

we know that police are crucial in achieving the goal of our Safe Place Project, to create safe and inclusive places for all whereby everyone is free from harm and marginalised groups feel safe and included.

we understand how important it is to work alongside authorities to increase the level of reporting of incidents of harm in the night time economy and the challenging work they do to tackle these crimes. We want to help the police provide a victim-led approach when receiving disclosures to empower victims to come forward to the police. we specialise in running training sessions that are engaging, collaborative and insightful with teams of a range of sizes and seniority.

we draw on real life scenarios from victims to explain the importance of being trauma-informed and victim-led. we can tailor our training to suit the needs of your team; we have experience working with those receiving disclosures of spiking and sexual violence and those who are first respondents to these incidents. we also offer policy and procedure consultations with police, to assist in directing staff receiving first disclosures on how to be victim-led, trauma-informed and anti-victim blaming. we can assist with implementation of these procedures and offer workshops with staff who need it to solidify our guidance and the new processes.

we specialise in
spiking: methods and trends - we look at the definition of spiking, outlining the importance that consent plays and the differences between the methods used to spike someone, indicating to officers the current trends and how these incidents occur in the night time economy setting. we use our research and expertise on spiking to inform our service. our unique analysis into spiking perpetrator behaviours through speaking with victims, analysing descriptions of incidents and running surveys with our community, is used to inform police of how perpetrators may act prior to, during and after a spiking. we show police how to be forward thinking in catching perpetrators and assist them with disseminating this information to night time economy venues. we also look at the real life experiences of our community, how spiking has impacted victims, the results of being spiked and how it could have been prevented.

‍dealing with first disclosures - drawing on experiences from our community, we help officers understand their importance when it comes to empowering victims of spiking and making sure they are being believed, supported and listened to. ultimately, this encourages victims to push prosecutions forward, engage with the police and are more likely to report other incidents they may become victim to in the future. helping officers understand the motives behind why people spike others will improve their response to disclosures, increasing their ability to communicate effectively with victims and track the rate of spiking on a national level we use real life examples to show the importance of the role police officers play in ensuring drug tests are taken in a way that is sufficient to use as evidence.

‍a trauma-informed response: an anti-victim blaming narrative - we help officers understand the importance of listening to the victim, ensuring that they are aware they are in control of what happens to their report and they are not to blame for what happened to them. we ensure that officers understand trauma responses in specific relation to spiking, using the lived experience of our trainers and our community to cover the impact of spiking on mental health, well-being, safety and other aspects of life affected by the trauma. we provide helpful phrases and techniques in ensuring a victim-led and trauma-informed response when speaking with victims using our knowledge on the motives behind spiking, we ensure that officers have considered all avenues in terms of evidence, thinking about sexual offences, theft and testing a drug on another person. we explain the different trauma responses to spiking, helping officers consider the victim’s feelings.

‍restorative justice - we provide a line of communication with victims and venue staff when a spiking incident has taken place at their venue, as it allows the victim to feel heard, supported and taken seriously.whilst a restorative justice process will involve the perpetrator, not the venue, we will still be aiding the victim to express their feelings. it is more often than not that victims blame themselves for what happened to them and a restorative justice process will help the victim put blame elsewhere and regain control of their experience.we will not make assumptions of feelings or inform people of how they should react; we will act as facilitators not enhancers.

workshopsour workshops focus on being victim-led and trauma-informed, the fundamental principle of our organisation. we help officers understand the importance of empowering victims and making them feel listened to, valued and cared for. officers will understand common trauma responses to spiking, in the moment and the long term impacts so the police are informed on how to be trauma-informed when dealing with victims.

officers will be able to identify the different types of suspicious behaviours that perpetrators are conducting prior to spiking someone, meaning that they can identify them when they are receiving a report from a venue or a first disclosure from a victim. we have valuable insight from our Spike Report data regarding how people are getting spiked and what their experiences are when reporting to the police. we will analyse these scenarios so that officers can draw on real life experiences and apply them to their work.

flexibility
every workshop we create is bespoke for your organisation. we’ll get on a call with you and chat about the topics you’d like us to focus on, whether that’s as a result of an increase of spiking / sexual violence in your area, or you would just like an increased knowledge on a specific subject such as responding to first disclosures. our consultancy service calls can be arranged for any time that works for you. another call with you prior to workshop delivery will take place to go through our workshop and ensure it is exactly what you want from our Safe Place Project.

our workshops can be long or short, and we can fit multiple in a day should you wish. we will also ensure that our training works in parallel to any reporting systems you already have in place, and liaise with you to establish an understanding of how policing works in your area. our meetings and consultation with you mean our training will not only incorporate the principles of your organisation but also draw on learnings from previous training you have already delivered.

relevant content
we know that our workshops present officers with eye opening perspectives on issues that may be normalised in their daily lives. during the workshops officers will discuss with each other why these may be wrong, and speak about real life experiences from our community that show the harm that can be caused by these incidents.

‍signage will be provided for your organisation, promoting trauma-informed phrases and techniques for your officers to refer to during their shift, as well as directional factsheets with guidance on spiking trends and helpful phrases to say when dealing with a first disclosure.

our Safe Place Project™ offers enlightening and progressive workshops, teaching Trauma-informed approaches to incidents of spiking, disclosures, and victim support.