Training

The Trauma-Informed Justice Knowledge and Skills Framework defines the nature and type of workforce roles as follows:

Trauma-Informed – foundation knowledge and skills for all justice workers.
Trauma-Skilled – anyone in direct contact with witnesses. Includes the shared knowledge and skills that anyone working at any of the enhanced levels will need. 
Trauma-Enhanced – additional knowledge and skills required for workers with significant responsibilities in meeting any of the aims of a trauma-informed justice system for witnesses. 

The framework has identified that all police officers should be trained to ‘Trauma-Skilled’ level.

There are four different enhanced levels, two of which are relevant to specialist officers including detective officers. These are:

Advocacy and Support

Evidence Gathering

The framework provides the following definitions:

Advocacy and Support 

“Designed to meet the needs of workers who provide advocacy and/or support services to victims and witnesses, for example workers from victim information and advice, Rape Crisis Scotland, Victim Support Scotland and potentially some specialist liaison officers (e.g. Sexual offences liaison officers (SOLOs) and Family liaison officers (FLOs)”

Evidence Gathering

“Designed to meet the needs of anyone who has a role in gathering information or evidence directly from witnesses, including those who direct or oversee the gathering of evidence. This may include Police detectives, Forensic medical examiners, statement takers, and some solicitors.”

There are approximately 4200 officers within Police Scotland who have a specialism. This includes sexual offence liaison officers (SOLOs), family liaison officers (FLOs) and investigative interviewers, who are required to be trauma enhanced. 

Police Scotland already deliver a number of training courses which include aspects of trauma-informed practice. This includes:

Probationer Training (CARES, Act Don’t React, Mental Health Training, Children and Young People Training and Lifelines Training.)
Safer Communities Early Intervention through Education (Children and Young People Training)
Detective Training (including SOLO, FLO, VRI courses)
Trauma Impact Prevention Training (pilot in North Command only)

Learning Training and Development, Policing Together and Specialist Crime Division continue to work to review all aspects of training and are liaising directly with NES to support this. NES have recently published two online training packages for the justice sector for the Trauma-Informed and Trauma-Skilled levels. This is available to Police Scotland through the NES training platform with work ongoing to add this to our moodle training platform for ease and monitoring purposes. A Short Life Working Group has been created to review current Trauma-Enhanced training to specialist officers and consider options.