Supporting Ukrainian Police: Child Interview Techniques Training Completed

Last week our company directors Bernie Gravett and Colin Carswell MA were back in Ukraine, training senior investigators from the National Police of Ukraine in ‘Interviewing sexually abused children’.

This is a difficult subject, but incredibly important skill set for investigators to learn. Sadly, the same as every country in the world, some children in Ukraine are victims of sexual and physical abuse. However, this is compounded as many children have been subjected to harm as a direct result of the Russian full-scale invasion.

The professionalism, skills and willingness to learn, including fully immersing themselves in role-play interviews, of our Ukrainian police colleagues was incredible. On several nights sleep was interrupted by air alarms and Russian attacks, but the participants were back the next day, all on-time and raring to go!

Bernie and Colin had the pleasure of delivering the training alongside Dr Anna Kozlova and Dr Rymma Yurchenko, both highly experienced experts in the interviewing of children.

We want to thank the National Police of Ukraine for hosting the training and releasing their senior investigators to participate. Policing in any context is hard, but to continue with such professionalism and dedication in the middle of a war, with your country invaded, is incredible. To all our Ukrainian colleagues – you have our total respect.

It was a pleasure and honour to work with our friends and colleagues.

Slava Ukraini!