3010/2026/WEB 'Investigative interviewing: addressing vulnerability and building rapport'

The aim of this webinar is to enhance law enforcement practitioners’ understanding of approaches to interviewing victims and witnesses, focusing on recognising and addressing vulnerability, developing rapport and supporting the gathering of reliable accounts. The webinar will also explore how organisational improvements, international cooperation and collaboration between academics and police practitioners can strengthen investigative interviewing practices.
By the end of this webinar, the audience will be able to:

• Outline how the RoadMap initiative and Europol’s Investigative Interviewing Working Group support organisational improvements and the exchange of good practices in investigative interviewing
• Describe how collaboration between academics and police practitioners can inform improvements in investigative interviewing
• Identify key considerations for recognising and addressing vulnerability when planning and conducting interviews with victims and witnesses, including victims of sexual offences
• Outline the relevance of witness categorisation to planning and conducting interviews
• Describe how developing rapport through conversation can support effective communication and the gathering of reliable accounts from victims and witnesses across different offence types