Last week, LimeCulture enjoyed a visit to West Yorkshire Police to deliver specialist training to their officers on Section 28 Pre-Recorded Cross Examination (PRCE).
The Government has committed to the national roll out of an additional special measure – Pre-Recorded Cross Examination (PRCE) – across all Crown Courts in England and Wales. Known as ‘Section 28’, the special measure allows victims to have their cross-examination pre-recorded earlier in the process and outside the courtroom.
In a programme funded by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS last year, LimeCulture delivered specialist training on Section 28 to upskill 550 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) across the country between June and November 2022.
Further to the training for ISVAs, and in response to requests from several police forces keen to develop their knowledge and practice around the new measures, LimeCulture has been keen to develop similar training on Section 28 specifically tailored to policing.
LimeCulture was delighted to work with West Yorkshire Police to deliver this new training to support officers to better understand what Section 28 PRCE is, how it works for victims of sexual violence in relation to other special measures, the advantages and challenges of Section 28 PRCE for victims/survivors, and the process requirements for officers.
The training includes valuable reflections from ISVA services about their clients’ experiences of special measures and PRCE in their engagement with the police.
Gemma Kirby, LimeCulture’s Head of Sexual Violence Training, said:
“We are delighted to have delivered this important training for police officers in West Yorkshire and are now able to offer this to other police forces to support them to better protect and support victims and survivors engaged in the criminal justice process.
Special measures are an essential part of the criminal justice process for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including victims of rape and sexual assault, and it is critical that police have access to the same messages and specialist learning as ISVAs on supporting victims/survivors with Section 28 PRCE and the whole range of special measures available to them.”
DCI John Moore, West Yorkshire Police, said:
“The training was a massive success and the feedback I have received reflects why I had so much faith in LimeCulture – it was interesting, informative, well-delivered and engaging. Officers have recommended to their colleagues that should the opportunity to go on this training comes up again, they should jump at the chance. This is an excellent collaboration and surely makes a new pathway for the future.”
DCI Moore’s team has just been awarded West Yorkshire Police Team of the Year 2023.
To find out more about Section 28 PRCE training for the police, or for a bespoke quotation, contact our Training Team at training@limeculture.co.uk.