The Institute for Coordinated Community Response (ICCR), in partnership with Boardman Training & Consulting, has released a new, free roll call training, “Trauma-Informed Framework for Working with Victims.” This five-part, on-demand series is geared towards law enforcement – easily viewed during shift change, or “roll call,” meetings – but useful for any practitioner working to eradicate violence against women.
Justin Boardman of Boardman Training & Consulting trains law enforcement and allied professionals nationwide on the impact of trauma on the brain and how to more effectively work with the traumatized victims they encounter every day. Without a trauma-informed framework, a first responder can unwittingly become the first link in a long chain of re-traumatizing individuals, processes, and events that victims often find themselves navigating.
Detective Boardman and ICCR – a program of the Conference on Crimes Against Women that works with rural communities to improve their systemic response to domestic violence – hope that providing this concise, accessible training resource will help large and small communities across the country better recognize the impact of trauma, help victims of crime feel heard within the criminal justice system, and ultimately lead to increased success in investigating and prosecuting sexual assault and domestic violence cases.
Each video segment is roughly 10 minutes and includes a discussion guide, along with a list of additional resources. All five videos will be immediately accessible after free registration at www.InstituteCCR.org/Roll-Call.
• Part 1: Recognizing Trauma
“We can’t control what the brain is threatened by or how it reacts when traumatized, but we can recognize trauma when it appears and use a trauma-informed
framework to mitigate its effects.”
• Part 2: The Traumatized Brain
“Understanding how the brain responds to threats provides the base of a trauma-informed framework. When we can see what’s behind victims’ counter-intuitive
behavior, scattered narratives or unexpected responses, we can gather more evidence, do less harm and ultimately increase opportunities for justice.”
• Part 3: Building Rapport and Softening the Environment
“By focusing on building rapport and softening the environment, we can create a safe space for victims to be able to share the details of the crime and reduce
the likelihood of re-traumatization.”
• Part 4: Trauma-Informed Interviewing
“Because the trauma responses of victims are often varied, there is no one-size-fits all trauma approach. We can, however, consistently ensure that first
responses do not cause more harm and assure victims, through both actions and words, that we are there to support and protect them every step of the way.”
• Part 5: The Impact of a Trauma-Informed Response
“When we take all of the knowledge from this course and apply it day-to-day by building rapport, softening the environment and framing our questions in a trauma-
informed way, we see one more victim gain trust in the system, one more offender more likely to be held accountable, and one less opportunity for trauma to be
passed on.”
You can access the videos for free by visiting www.InstituteCCR.org/Roll-Call. If you would like assistance facilitating a group viewing and discussion, visit www.JustinBoardman.com.
Questions? Reach out to Brooke Meyer, Institute Director, at bmeyer@conferencecaw.org or 214-389-7736.