Effective responses to mental health crises require coordinated, compassionate action from multiple professional disciplines. This study examines the use of immersive simulated learning events to prepare nursing and policing students for real-world mental health interventions. Drawing on interprofessional education (IPE) principles and experiential learning theory, a 1-day event at Brunel University London in January 2024 engaged students in three realistic scenarios: an outdoor public interaction, a simulated hospital ward, and a sensory deprivation exercise. Participants, organised into mixed-discipline groups, practiced communication, empathy, decision-making, and crisis de-escalation skills while navigating complex, emotionally charged situations. Each scenario was followed by structured reflection and expert-led presentations, enabling students to link their practical experiences with theoretical frameworks, including trauma-informed care, SBAR ( Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation ) communication, and evidence-based approaches to mental health crises. Results demonstrate that immersive interprofessional simulation enhances students’ understanding of professional roles, fosters collaborative problem-solving, and strengthens confidence in managing acute mental health incidents. Notably, scenarios highlighted how complementary approaches—protective, fact-finding strategies from police students and empathetic, relational approaches from nursing students—can synergise to improve outcomes for distressed individuals. This study underscores the value of combining experiential learning with reflective practice to develop the practical and interpersonal skills essential for safe, effective, and compassionate crisis response. Findings support wider integration of interprofessional simulation into curricula for health and policing programmes, promoting both professional competence and public safety in increasingly complex mental health environments.
This article examines the prevalence and characteristics of reported Sexual Communication with a Child (SCC), based on British police data from April 2018 to April 2021, obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Insights provided include details about victims and offenders; well-known online platforms that are implicated to be utilised for sexual communication, and the outcomes of police inquiries. These findings highlight the need for proactive measures to address the escalating prevalence of SCC offences, as well as the necessity for enhancements in how data, including the age distribution of victims is documented in SCC investigations.
The research describes the development of the General Attitudes toward Police Scale (GAPS). In Study 1, participants completed a 60-item questionnaire designed to capture general attitudes toward police. IRT was used to develop a 14-item scale. In Study 2, the validity of the GAPS was examined. Participants completed the GAPS, viewed a police-civilian confrontation video, and were asked about the officer’s use of force. Results revealed participants’ scores on the GAPS related to their judgments of police use of force. The GAPS serves as an alternative to existing measures of attitudes when a brief and more general measure is needed.
This article examines operational domestic abuse policies across the four Welsh police forces: South Wales Police, Gwent Police, Dyfed-Powys Police, and North Wales Police. In the absence of a binding national operational policy prescribing a uniform policing response to domestic abuse, forces continue to develop locally defined policies and guidance that vary in scope, legal accuracy, operational coherence, and approaches to safeguarding. Drawing on a comparative qualitative content analysis of policy documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests, the study identifies inconsistencies in how domestic abuse is defined and operationalised, and in how key interventions, including positive action and structured risk assessments, are embedded within force policy. The article argues that policy divergence across Wales creates the conditions for avoidable variation in frontline decision-making, with implications for procedural justice, police legitimacy, and the consistency of victim-facing practice. The article concludes that a standardised, evidence-informed national operational framework would strengthen coherence, accountability, and victim safety in domestic abuse policing.
Taking a trauma informed approach to supervision have shown positive outcomes for police officers, reducing symptoms of burnout or compassion fatigue and improving wellbeing. This paper builds upon the findings of other trauma informed approaches adding a third dimension, by drawing upon criminological awareness as an intervention that could reinforce the sense of wellbeing and recovery capital. Joining psychological health and structural safety with criminological awareness closes the loop within the supervision process by boosting confidence reflexively through informed critical thinking. This gives both line manager and officer the additional tool of applying evidence-based knowledge to support trauma recovery.
