JustGroup Investigative Interview experience
In 2019, the first Ukrainian practitioners – detectives, investigators and prosecutors – went through the training programme “Investigative Interview” with the help of UK experts who have been working professionally with this approach for the past 15 years. On the basis of four groups that received a 5-day training, an expert group was set up, which worked with the topic and promoted investigative interview approaches in Ukrainian institutions. The study can be found here. English version is also available. A mentor team was created on the
basis of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which analyzed the daily practices of detectives using investigative interview approaches. Detectives and prosecutors shared their experience in different ways and formats.
More information that has been collected over the years is available here. Together with practitioners and experts, experts of Public Organization “DZHASTGRUP” began working on possible training tools for practitioners to disseminate investigative interviewing approaches. In particular, JustTalk created four training episodes “Emotional intelligence and investigative interviewing” where the team of the organisation combined hard and soft skills for practitioners and explained how the approach can work to obtain more reliable information in the interrogation process. To all these activities practitioners from OPG, Prosecutor Training Center of Ukraine and NABU were involved.
At the initiative of the community of practitioners who share the values of the investigative interview approach, the work started on Guidelines for Ukrainian practitioners on how investigative interview can be used in Ukrainian context and how institutions can implement this approach internally. This is an important step that allows to record the practice of those detectives, investigators and prosecutors who have already tested this approach, but at the same time to disseminate the approach to a wider audience. These Guidelines have been drafted by practitioners from different institutions including the PTCU, OPG.
In October-December, initiated, designed and organized by JustGroup, the national training program for practitioners was launched for two pilot groups of prosecutors. detectives, police representatives. It consolidated the progress made by the group of practitioners who have already tested the approach and disseminate the philosophy of obtaining information without pressure and confession to a wider audience of prosecutors and investigators. Tha launch of the national training program only proved the high demand for investigative interview skills especially in the war time context.
In 2023 we launched Investigative Interview Advisory Group which consists of practitioners from the National Anti Corruption Bureau, the Prosecutor Generals’ Office, the Prosecutors’ Training Centre of Ukraine, etc to unite and enhance the efforts on making investigative interview approach an institutionalized practice and a a regular part of law enforrcers’ job.
