Keep #CovidSafe and Carry On
An Update From iTS
It was lovely to see so many of you at the Oxford Investigations conference. It’s a testament to the reputation of the event that, when many other online conferences have been rather poorly attended, the Oxford event had a record number of delegates!
I think we can all agree that this has been a challenging year for all of us, professionally and personally. ITS has done its best to maintain a ‘service as normal’ attitude throughout, and the team has gone beyond that, changing the way we train and developing training that helps you carry on doing your job in these difficult circumstances.
The first challenge for all of us was how to carry on investigating whilst keeping safe. That has involved an increased use of remote investigative tools, which has brought its own potential issues as the risk of Open Source techniques drifting into Covert Investigations increased. Some areas have been easier, as we’ve all recognised that most witnesses don’t need to be visited in person, and the use of Simple Cautions and the Single Justice Procedure has reduced the need for court hearings. Combine this with the correct use of the National File Standard and we’ve seen the potential for decreased workload without an impact on results!
Suspects have been more of an issue for many, with interview rooms in public sector often being so small that social distancing is simply not an option. Happily, a national protocol and a knowledge of IT, combined with some pragmatic thinking, allowed us to design a system that allows for remote interviewing of suspects. We’ve also been emphasising the need to thoroughly review case planning, in order to identify those cases where an interview is not needed or where it could be limited to inviting the suspect to make a written comment…
Finally, we’ve recognised (as I’m sure you have) that the current circumstances have placed a considerable strain on both the system and all those involved. Investigators have to manage the day job whilst worrying about the safety of themselves and all those involved in the investigation (to say nothing of obvious concerns about their families) ; witnesses and victims are feeling isolated and exposed – many are concerned about giving evidence and what that might mean right now ; suspects may feel pushed into fraud as they watch jobs disappear and businesses implode. In reality, anyone you deal with is, potentially, dealing with impaired mental health.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the courses we’ve developed in this area, have a look on the ITS website on our dedicated Covidsafe Investigation page : http://www.its-training-uk.com/covidsafeinvestigation/ or drop me a note : mike@its-training-uk.com
(By the way, there’s a £10 discount on the Mental Health Awareness for Investigators course for all conference delegates – just quote OXF2020 when booking!)