Workshop Description

The StopSO 2024 Annual Conference will take place on 1st November 2024

The theme this year is: ‘The Ripple effect of The Knock’

The Venue is Etc. Venues – Marble Arch, 86 Edgware Rd, London W2 2EA 

The conference will open for Breakfast from 8am with registration from 9am and first speaker at 9:30am.

Tickets are now ON SALE!

Our exciting Speaker line up will be revealed from June!

Buy your ticket now to benefit from the fantastic Early Bird offer! Ending Soon! 

Speakers:

Professor – Rachel Armitage

Rachel is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Huddersfield. and a founder, trustee and volunteer for the charity Talking Forward – supporting families when someone is under investigation or convicted of online child sexual abuse offences. She is also the Deputy Chair of Trustees for the Marie Collins Foundation. Her research has focused on the indirect harms associated with online child sexual abuse, particularly those experienced by children of suspects/offenders. She has written several papers on this subject (Armitage et al, 2023; Duncan et al, 2022) as well as policy/practice briefings – including the 2023 Faithfull Paper for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. Alongside colleagues she established the National Indirect Victims of Indecent Images of Children Strategic Group and has lobbied to improve policy and practice responses for the families of those under investigation.

T/Detective Chief Superintendent – Paula Bickerdike

Paula is a Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent within the Safeguarding and Local Policing Unit at West Yorkshire Police. She began her career as a primary school teacher before joining West Yorkshire Police in 2006. She currently has strategic responsibility for all things PVP and Local Policing including MAPPA, Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment, Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Abuse and Neglect, Missing Persons, Neighbourhood Crime, Mental Health, Early Action and Neighbourhood Policing amongst others. She is a PIP3 Senior Investigating Officer with a specialism in Major Crime.

Topics: 

The ripple effect of ‘the knock’: supporting families following a child sexual abuse material arrest

Framed within the context of academic research, frontline delivery and lived experience, this presentation will discuss the impacts on families when someone is under investigation for/convicted of an online child sexual abuse offence. As well as focusing on the harms, this presentation will share good practice in minimising the impacts on families from the knock, right through the criminal justice system and beyond. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on gaps in the research and next steps in improving policy and practice responses.

The Policing Lens – Safeguarding, supporting and investigating after ‘The Knock’

Online Child Abuse Investigation Teams face unique challenges in their work. In order to secure and preserve evidence they often need to arrest suspected perpetrators of Online Child Sexual Abuse offences from their own homes. With a significant proportion of suspects not being previously known to police, they must make quick risk assessments, considering their responsibility to safeguarding children in balance with any investigative requirements. This input will provide an insight into how the police make these decisions, how they work with other agencies and how they seek to support children, families and suspects in such cases, not just at the time of ‘The Knock’ but over the life of the investigation.

More speakers being revealed Soon!

We will also have an exciting Open Forum with a panel of experts!

Buy your ticket now to benefit from the fantastic Early Bird offer! Ending Soon! 

Additional Information

type	Earlybird member, Earlybird non-member, Member, Non-member